Fall is in the air, the Giants are in first place, and even though they lost, the 49ers almost pulled it out against the best team in the NFL … along with that we have a bit of good economic news … On Monday the stock market was up 145 points … and in the past week 38 properties (single-family and condos) in Marin closed escrow, while 92 properties came on the market and 102 homes were reduced in price. Kudos to those sellers and their agents … there are 1,646 properties available right now, of which 1 in 4 are in escrow (287 are under contract with conditions and 109 are pending, no conditions, simply waiting for the moving van).

As we look at these sales, we sometimes wonder about specific locations (let me know if there are some towns you’d like to track)… so today I checked in on a cluster of towns … Corte Madera, Kentfield and Ross. Four new properties on the market, four reduced in price, two sold and three awaiting a moving van. Not bad for this time of transitions … school, weather, sports, etc.

The two sales in these three towns were both in Kentfield … 45 Quisisana, a four bedroom, three bath home originally listed at $2,099,000 which sold for $1,640,000 after five months and a few reductions. Listed by Emile Chapot and sold by Kimberly Strub, both of Frank Howard Allen at $585 per square foot. … and 55 Kent, listed and quickly sold by Jerry Piro of Coldwell Banker for just about asking price, $1,570,000 in less than a month at $658 per square foot. Two good sales among the 38 that sold that week … if you multiply the 38 times 4.3 (the number of weeks in a month) that’s a month of around 180 units closing escrow … again, not too shabby for sales originated in the August doldrums.

While the market isn’t blazing hot (a la 2005) it has some power and 1 property in 4 in escrow is a good go. If your home is on the market you want to be one of those one’s not one of the other three. And the way to do that is to step back and ask … what will it take to move this property? … what will I do when I sell? … am I fully prepared to do what it takes to get there? … what will my life be like when I do sell? and … let’s do it now!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen