As Steve Dickason, manager of Alain Pinel Realtors, did a powerful power point market update for a group of us agents at a marketing session we all nodded and figured we now understood the market just a little bit better.

I’m still not sure I fully ‘got’ it. This is a confusing market, so I’ll try to give you a bit of the picture as I see it, thanks to Steve. Oh, by the way, I was at the meeting to present photos and information on 122 Alder, San Anselmo … and got a great response after the meeting with showings … in fact, I returned to my office and Jen Pennington, one of my fav agents, who is now once more with Coldwell Banker, called to check before showing. A real great home with potential in Yolanda Park. Why hasn’t it sold after seven days?

End digression: Steve broke the market into segments. Here’s part of the view, collapsed and changed as I did my own formatting …

In the price range of up to $1M there are 629 single family homes on the market … in the last six months there have been 683 sales … so we pretty much have a six month supply of homes. Of the homes on the market 59 are simply awaiting a moving van. Average market time, 87 days. (One of my favorite homes is the short sale at 37 Palm in San Rafael’s Dominican … $1,250,000 and it went pending after 28 days! … amazing work on a short sale. Good Show, Ted C Strodder from Frank Howard Allen’s Greenbrae office … and congratulations to the buyer for recognizing a great value amid multiple offers).

Small woopsie among multiple offers … Susan Swan, Bradley Real Estate, corrected me on her listing at 355 Redwood, Woodacre …. seven offers (got that right), all but one over asking (the woopsie) and four all cash.

Back to homes … between $1M and $2M the average market time was 112 days … a much greater time frame than in the lower price ranges … and then, for contrast, there’s 40 Murray in Larkspur, listed by Jennifer Peck (Frank Howard Allen) for 507 days before selling … versus Stephanie Witt’s 17 Baywood Terrace, San Rafael, a bank-owned luxury home that sold for $1,320,000 in ’06 … did not sell for $1,569,000 in ’08 but came on the market and sold … quickly … good show, buyers … when she listed it for $1,175,000.

The meeting went on … Craig Burnett mentioned a listing he has coming in San Anselmo … ideal for one of my soon-to-be buyers, a blog reader … Hi Duncan … that he’s bringing on in a week or two. Sherrie Faber, First California Realty, talked about a new listing she has … an estate for $3.3M in Sausalito near her current listing at 678 Sausalito Blvd, which is listed at $2.485 … ah, the information that flows!

And there is a bottom line … there are some great buys out there for the intrepid. Calling all intrepid buyers! www.tomverkozen.com or 637-7974. C U at the title company.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen