Marin real estate: Median home price at $1.67M

The median price for a detached home in Marin County was $1.67 million in October as the median continued to ease off its $1.8 million peak from the summer.

The price figure was among the latest batch of monthly data released by the assessor-recorder-county clerk’s office. The October median was a 13% increase over the previous year. It was also a decline of about 2.5% from September.

The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less. Median home prices for October exceeded the $2 million mark in Belvedere, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Ross and Tiburon, according to the county. No area of Marin was below $1.1 million.

Sue Pence, a listing agent for a $20 million sale in Tiburon in October, said the deal was noteworthy in that it included no foreign bidders, a circumstance she attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pence also said the sale was unusual for its speed. The waterfront property at 2900 Paradise Drive — which includes a 10-bedroom home and a potential helicopter landing site — sold in about two months after getting two offers from local buyers. Pence said extremely expensive properties can sit on the market for more than a year.

The seller was a bank that obtained the property through a foreclosure. The list price was $28 million. Pence said the buyers got “a really good deal, for what it is.”

“In all my years of going to people’s homes, I’ve never seen a property like this,” said Pence, a Coldwell Banker agent who used to be a teacher at St. Rita School in Fairfax. “It needs a lot of work, but it’s 8 and a half acres of bayfront.”

The county reported 234 detached home sales in October, compared to 233 in September and 297 in October 2020.

In the Marin condominium and townhome market, the median price was $714,500 in October, a 9% year-over-year increase. The September median was $725,000.

Eighty-six condos or townhomes changed hands in October, compared with 81 in September and 61 in October 2020.

Yoko Kasai, a Marin-based agent who co-founded Front Porch Realty Group, represented a townhome that sold near the median in October. The three-bedroom residence at 12 Briarwood Court in central Novato listed at $679,000 and sold at $700,000.

“I feel like the market is a bit confusing,” said Kasai, an agent for 16 years. “While it’s still wildly active — homes can still sell for hundreds of thousands over asking — I feel like the condo market has slowed a little bit. There just seems to be a little more inventory on the condo side as opposed to single-family homes. It feels like the trend is the prices are not going as high as they used to.

“But I feel like that’s an opportunity for buyers,” she said. “Whether it’s seasonal, or a case of a slowing market, I think it’s a good thing.”

Across the Bay Area, the median price for a detached home in October was $1.275 million, according to the California Association of Realtors. The median rose 15.9% over the previous year. It declined 1.2% from September.

Statewide, the October median for a detached home was $798,440, up 12.3% year-over-year, the association reported. Sales declined 10.4% year-over-year.

The statewide condo and townhome median was $605,000, up 16.3%. Sales declined 7% year-over-year.

“Slower sales activity suggests that the market is returning to its typical seasonal pattern and further market normalization can be expected in the upcoming months,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s chief economist. “While the market is showing signs of cooling off in recent months, 2021 continues to outpace last year’s sale level so far and is expected to post a gain at year-end.”

The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.10% as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company.