Ross is a very special kind of small town. There are only about 800 homes with a median sale price of $2.812,500 in 2016. There are some grand old homes, many over 100 years old, which range in price up to $15M (7 bedrooms and 10 baths in 12,800 sq. ft. on about 2 acres, sold in 2016).
Ross residents collect their mail at the post office on the “Common,” the town square. The few shops on the Common include a grocery shop, Sam the Butcher (now an art gallery), two restaurants, a coffee shop, and a boutique selling fine women’s handbags.
Ross began in 1857 when James Ross, a Tasmanian immigrant and liquor supplier to the Gold Rush, bought the land that now includes Ross.
To learn more about Ross, you can visit the Ross page at LivinginMarin.com.
Here is a memorable, historic Ross CA home that sold a few years ago:
Grayoaks, by architect Bernard Maybeck, 126 Winding Way, $2,995,000
Courtesy of Donna Goldman, Alain Pinel Realtors
How Small is Marin?
Recently we showed clients several houses in Ross. In the process, we learned that Ross has only about 800 homes in 1.6 square miles, which surprised many of our friends. It is difficult to determine judge the number of homes, since the town is heavily wooded and spread out, hiding homes from view.
We wondered about the sizes of other towns. The San Francisco Chronicle conveniently published on April 11, 2010 these numbers derived from sf.blockshopper.com:
Community | Number of Homes |
Marshall | 93 |
Lagunitas | 297 |
Point Reyes Station | 322 |
Woodacre | 580 |
Bolinas | 646 |
Stinson Beach | 729 |
Ross | 811 |
Belvedere | 860 |
Kentfield | 2,343 |
Fairfax | 2,625 |
Corte Madera | 3,224 |
Sausalito | 3,401 |
Tiburon | 3,697 |
Larkspur | 3,751 |
Mill Valley | 4,936 |
San Anselmo | 5,173 |
Novato | 18,896 |
San Rafael | 19,010 |
You can see that the villages of West Marin, Ross, and Belvedere have the smallest numbers of homes. Most Marin cities have from 2,300 to 5,200 homes. San Rafael and Novato are tied for the largest number, at about 19,000.