Marin Real Estate

The median price of a detached home in Marin has dipped to $1.7 million, a year-over-year decline of nearly 10%, according to the latest data from the county assessor’s office.

The figure was down from $1.8 million in May and the prior peaks of more than $2 million in April and May of 2022. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

But Patricia Oxman, an agent with of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International in Greenbrae, said median prices are just one metric to gauge the state of the market. She said comparing them to a year ago, when the market was in a frenzy, gives a distorted view of conditions now.

Oxman said 42% of detached homes in Marin are still selling above the asking price, although there might be fewer offers on properties than last year.

“We have to remember, 2022 was nuts,” she said. “In terms of Marin’s mentality and expectations, any planet that was getting 42% of properties over asking would say we’re in high grass.”

The June median price in Marin was enough for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Diamond Head Passage in the Mariner Cove neighborhood of Corte Madera. The buyer was Courtney Ott, an agent with Evoke Real Estate who is married with two small children.

Ott said she has been involved with about a half a dozen deals in Mariner Cove and wanted to live there herself, so she and her husband rented a home in the area for two years while waiting for an opportunity.

It came recently when three homes in the neighborhood became available around the same time. Ott and her husband paid about $25,000 over the list price for their home, but she says the residence had already undergone an expansion that would have cost her and her husband $100,000 to $200,000.

“The stars all aligned for us,” said Ott, who grew up in Marin and graduated from Redwood High School.

Ott said market activity continues to be dampened somewhat by rising interest rates, but she thinks it’s a smart move to buy when prices are not extremely elevated. A mortgage can be refinanced when rates drop.

“You’re going to pay at some point, whether the interest rate or the higher listing price,” she said.

According to the county’s data, the median prices for detached homes last month included $5.8 million on three sales in Belvedere; $4.03 million on 10 sales in Tiburon; $3.48 million on three sales in Ross; $3.26 million on four sales in Sausalito; and $3.13 million on 14 sales in Mill Valley.

Other figures included $2.03 million on 14 sales in Larkspur; $1.88 million on 51 sales in the unincorporated areas of Marin; $1.75 million on 11 sales in Corte Madera; $1.71 million on 10 sales in San Anselmo; $1.49 million on 38 sales in San Rafael; $1.27 million on nine sales in Fairfax; and $1.26 million on 39 sales in Novato.

The county recorded 206 sales of detached homes last month. By comparison, 270 detached homes sold the prior June.

In the Marin condominium and townhome market, the median price was $825,000 last month, compared to $775,000 the previous June. The county logged 77 such sales last month compared to 67 in June 2022.

Regionally, the median price of a detached home in the nine-county Bay Area last month was $1.32 million, a 2.7% year-over-year decline, according to the California Association of Realtors. The figure fell in every county except Contra Costa and Santa Clara, and even there the gains did not exceed 0.5%.

Median prices for detached homes last month included $2.04 million in San Mateo County, $1.83 million in Santa Clara County and $1.6 million in San Francisco, the association said. The median was $850,000 in Sonoma County and $843,750 in Napa County.

Statewide, the association reported a median price of $838,260 for detached homes, a year-over-year decline of 2.4%. The number of sales declined nearly 20%.

“Buyer demand appears to have stabilized after rates doubled last year, though rates could still move higher in the coming months,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s chief economist. “As inflation finally subsides later this year, the market could see some improvement as rates and supply conditions start turning around.”

The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.81% as of Thursday, up from 6.78% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. A year ago, the average was 5.30%.

Buyers struggling to finance a home have received a bit of good news. Starting in May, the federal government reduced mortgage fees for many buyers with lower credit scores, potentially slashing total closing costs by thousands of dollars.

The move is part of a broader effort to boost support for middle-income borrowers who have long been shut out of the mortgage market.

Brett Nicoletti, a mortgage broker in Los Gatos, said the change is also bringing down individual mortgage rates for some borrowers.

“I’m seeing it actually making people’s deals happen,” he said, “where it wasn’t going to happen prior.”

Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.

Marin real estate data

The median prices for detached homes in the county over the past year.

June 2023: $1.7 million
May 2023: $1.8 million
April 2023: $1.7 million
March 2023: $1.67 million
February 2023: $1.53 million
January 2023: $1.6 million
December 2022: $1.5 million
November 2022: $1.54 million
October 2022: $1.68 million
September 2022: $1.77 million
August 2022: $1.7 million
July 2022: $1.8 million
June 2022: $1.88 million