For your personal enjoyment today, let’s take a look at the last six months of sales in west Marin. West Marin is composed of 15 townships stretching along the coast from Muir Beach, through Stinson Beach and north to Dillon Beach. It also includes the numerous shires in both the San Geronimo and Nicasio Valleys. The green part of the county is a life-style driven set of communities (I’ve owned several western properties –in Inverness, Tomales and Marshall and it is also an area in which I’ve sold many homes, lots and acreage).

Right now there are 74 active properties on multiple listing. 22 properties closed escrow there in the past six months… which is close to four closed sales per month (not a huge number of sales to share among the agents of the west [and me because I do sell quite a bit out there] but keep in mind that as the economy has slowed membership in the Board of Realtors has dropped from nearly 1600 to less than 1200 so there aren’t quite as many mouths being fed by real estate sales). Significant is that almost as many homes have been on the market and not sold as are currently on the market.

Interestingly, of the western sales there has only been one closed sale of a short sale/bank owned nature (compared to Novato where 44% of the sales last year were distressed, and San Rafael where the percentage was the second highest in the county). Right now there are eight western properties in escrow which, were they all to close this month, would be twice the sales activity that we’ve experienced in the last 6 months. Spring has sprung!

Prices in west Marin are also at variance with the core of Marin: The average sale (thank you Stinson Beach) was just short of $1M at $983,489. As I talk to agents throughout the county, and review the sales, the average sales price, which was $1.3 two years ago, has slipped (due to the impact of the distressed properties which were primarily condos and lower priced homes).

Another notable strength in west Marin is the ‘price hold’ statistic, the ratio of list price to sales price. The price hold is 90.5%. The high average sale price and the ‘price hold’ both are proof positive that living in west Marin is, more so than in the rest of the county, a life-style choice. The low supply combined with the resiliency of the market in the west is a testimony to a strong life-style location. Give me a call and let’s go see!

Posted By: Tom Verkozen