The Thursday brokers’ open house tour of Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax and San Rafael with Frank Howard Allen’s Michelle Barton driving was marvelous indeed. We real estate agents are so fortunate in the people we work with and our command of our time … hey, we only had two ‘ops, we passed the street, turn around’ s… one of those being as we climbed way up into the hills of Fairfax to see Bobbi Glasser’s 57 Bosque … a rustic, private two bedroom cabin type home on 1.7 acres by the Meadow Club WAY UP in the hills (reduced in price to $697,000). Ahhh, privacy. And gated property next to the old Barry and Diane Mineah estate at 75 Bosque which overlooks the golf course. A project, but a good one.

At 135 Meernaa, also in Fairfax, we heard a wonderful Barry Oldham joke as we saw a transformed home – a home mentioned in a recent blog, now reworked and refreshed with much of the ‘old’ taken out and staged. Barry’s joke was about horticulture …. Very funny indeed.

Favorite home of the tour … 9 Mann Drive in Kentfield … offered by Tammy Wilks Kornfeld of Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International for $2,275,000 this is a home with windows, lights and great flow … a happy home … within minutes of Bacich School, San Rafael, Art and Garden Center … fantastic weather, great schools, dramatic and yet peaceful. You saw it here …. now come, let’s go. www.tomverkozen.com let’s return together and you’ll see …

There were two other wonderful homes right there on Laurel Grove …. Thea Miller’s four bedroom at 205 Laurel Grove ($2,975,000) and Susan Bowman’s listing, a gated five bedroom at 230 Laurel Grove list ($2,815,000). Hey, three Del Mesa homes of great quality … seeing is believing!

Next up a rare very affordable beauty …. Jim Maloney’s new listing at 152 C Street … a well cared for, updated charmer with a workshop on a quiet street for $765,000.

SALE SALE SALE Returning to the office there were two messages …. 545 Oak, San Anselmo … a big beautiful six bedroom Mediterranean home with THREE fireplaces situated on the border with Ross … has just been reduced again … this time by $1,000,000. Originally at $6.488 the price is now a mere shadow of it’s former self … $3,999,000 … Very cool home/estate and a bargain awaiting your offer, right?

The second message … and I’d like your help here to find out more … was in regards to a beautiful, recently built five en suite bedroom home high in the San Rafael hills, BIG panoramic views of the bay and all three bridges. With over 6,000 sq. ft and all the bells and whistles … a home theatre and wine cellar plus a large yard and pool site in an enclave of three homes 305 Highland sold quickly in ’08 when brought to the market by Jimmy Marin … 305 Highland is a commanding home that was listed at a smidgen over $4M and sold, in 29 days, for $3,850,000 … and ‘rumored’ to be coming on the market for less, much less … any insights most welcome as I track down information. Buyers welcome too!

Oh, back to the heart of Ross Valley … a little insight into San Anselmo where sales remain brisk … over 20% of the 91 homes on the market … 20 … are in escrow, three simply awaiting moving vans… in the last six months 83 homes have sold so the 71 homes available represent less than six months of inventory, which is a solid market for buyers and sellers. Days on market are running 71 … on the average … and the price per square foot is at $406.

Note: Averages can be very deceptive … to be taken as data, not information … the area, the quality of the home, the price range and any of a dozen other factors influence ‘average sales price per square foot.’ In Belvedere the average price per square foot on homes sold in the last six months was $907 …. If the price was over $3M the average price per square foot went up nearly 25% … and in Stinson Beach the price per square foot was $1387 but over $3M it went up to $1940 … a big difference. Nonetheless, like days on the market, averages do give us a sense of things.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen