The outlook from consumers improved for the month of November signaling that the concern about another recession is starting to disappear.

The Bloomberg consumer comfort index climbed to a minus 32 (which is the best reading since July) from minus 45 the previous month. The measure of current conditions climbed for the second week in a row for the period ending November 13, after sinking to an almost three-year low.

Household spending, which accounts for 70% of the economy, has picked up in the second half of the year even as stocks and confidence sank. The recovery may mean Americans are going shopping to relieve pessimism brought on by the jobless rate. The jobless rate actually was reported to drop below the 9 percent that it has been hovering around for the last year.

It sounds as though there has been pent up demand for products and that consumers are finally opening up their wallets again, although it’s too early to conclude that consumer sentiment has bottomed out.

An important indicator this week will be Black Friday and Thanksgiving sales. If consumers head out to shop this weekend despite the lack of an agreement by Congress on the debt crisis, it could mean that people are “over” the government stalemates that continue to haunt us, and are going to spend anyway. Holiday shoppers are likely to be looking for bargains again, and retailers will be competing for market share during this time frame.

Applications for unemployment decreased by 5,000 for the week as well, and is at the lowest level since April; in addition, the number of people on unemployment benefits fell to a three-year low.

Builders broke ground on more homes in October and construction permits climbed to the highest level since March 2010.

Finally, it was reported that confidence among men exceeded that of women, and Democrats are less pessimistic than Republicans for the third straight week.

Click here if you would like the full story.

Questions on how it all relates to real estate? Please don’t hesitate to call me: 415-755-8919 or email: rsmith@ fhallen.com.

Have a Wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Posted by:  Rick Smith

The news has come that everyone has been waiting to hear, whether you are a homeowner, investor, or in fact just about anyone. The data released recently from the commerce department revealed that the economy grew 2.5% last quarter, signaling the movement towards a growing and more stable economy.

Consumer spending, particularly cars, helped boost the economy. Consumption increased 2.4%, compared to a .7% increase in the second quarter.

Much of that increase came from consumers and businesses catching up after an extremely sluggish economy the early part of the year, caused by the shortages in inventory by the Tsunami and Japanese earthquake. Japan is now back to catching up with the supply of automobiles, parts, and electronics that Americans depend on. Third quarter growth was a step in the right direction, but economists are still cautious as to whether the trend will sustain itself.

There are continued woes in the housing market, as reports are still coming in that Banks are still holding back shadow inventory in order not to glut the market with additional foreclosures and REOs and to keep prices stable. Reports about Marin housing are that there will be some additional shadow inventory that will pop up through 2013, but Marin homeowners will be spared a glut of homes being released like what has and is still happening in places like Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. This should help restore confidence to Marin homeowners by keeping their home prices stable; we may actually see some single digit growth in 2012 and beyond.

The threat of a double dip recession is behind us for the moment, although the economy is muddling along. Fears of a double dip recession grew in Spring as the economy only grew at a rate of .4%. A recession is considered two economic quarters of negative growth.

Also released were reports that the unemployment rate declined slightly as well, to 9% from 9.5%, where it has been hovering for quite some time.

Last month the government had revised its second quarter growth up to 1.3%, so it’s terrific that the economy grew at a faster rate than originally forecasted.

It helps answer the question of whether it’s a good time to buy a home in Marin.

Let’s see: Home prices are back to 2001 levels, interest rates remain at historical lows, and the economy is growing.

Hmmm….... I would say it’s an awesome time to buy a home in Marin!

If you would like more information, I would be happy to talk to you, just give me a call at 415-755-8919 or email me at .

Posted by:  Rick Smith

Home ownership rates have dropped significantly since the 2009 recession, as many people lost jobs, and were underwater on their home values. Currently, the home ownership rate is around 59.2%, which is the lowest level since the Census Bureau began keeping quarterly records in 1965. Falling home prices along with reduced access to credit have kept may prospective buyers out of the market.

The top benefits for home ownership haven’t changed however. Here are five good reasons why you should buy:

1. Savings – You could be saving money by buying a home once you consider all the tax breaks; and once you build up equity, you could have an automatic savings account for retirement or for purchasing another home once it comes time to sell.

2. Tax Breaks – Home owners are able to take the mortgage interest as tax deductions each year, and also benefit from great rebates and credits associated with upgrades made to the home.

3. Equity – When you rent and pay a landlord, it’s basically money thrown away. When you are paying on a mortgage, you are paying towards owning something. You may still owe $200,000 but in time your home can be worth much more and you stand to make a large gain when it comes time to sell.

4. Budgeting – Unless you are living in a rent-controlled apartment, each lease renewal could mean an increase in the rent. As un-occupancy rates are at around 2%, rents have gone up an average of 6% this year, and it’s looking like they will go up again if the predicted un-occupancy rates remain low. If you were paying $3,000 a month to rent a home, that’s an average of an additional $180 per month or an extra $2,160 per year. With a fixed-rate mortgage you know what you are going to pay for the life of the loan, so you can budget your money more effectively.

5. Security – When you own, it’s yours. You can paint, improve, decorate, add landscaping – because it’s your investment for life.

Homeowners are in neighborhoods, giving an owner a chance to meet other people in the neighborhood to build friends and relationships. Studies have shown owners rank themselves much healthier that their renter counterparts, because of these relationships. Experts have recommended for years that if you are planning on staying in the same place for five or more years, then buying becomes a better deal. You will have time to recoup any extra expenses found in closing costs and you are now making an investment through price appreciation.

Home affordability is at near record highs. It is a great time to run the numbers to see if it makes good financial sense for you .

If it does, then you’re in store for a wealth of benefits that only homeowners can experience!

If you would like to know more, please give me a call at 415-755-8919 or email me at . I’d be happy to help.

Posted by:  Rick Smith

The Good news in Marin Real Estate is that February sales increased 4.7% last month. The not-so-good news is that it could have come with a cost to Sellers as the median price fell off by 18.9% from a year ago. The median price of a home dropped to $607,500 from $749,000 a year ago.

A recent article ran in the Marin IJ last week discussing the current state of housing in Marin.

California’s Median price for an existing home also slid 6.3% in February. However, there are many issues that cloud this report as the continuance of distressed properties accounted for 44% of sales last month. This percentage significantly overweights the true values of non-distressed sales in each neighborhood. The other key issue at hand is the weight of affordability ─ Marin is bringing in a greater number of first-time buyers entering the market at lower price points, thus skewing the median home prices in a downward way.

With the increase in sales volume, there is still good reason to believe a full recovery is well on its way to the Marin market. Personally speaking, I have noticed a significant increase in the amount of Sunday Open House traffic versus a year ago, and it appears there may be two years worth of pent-up demand of Buyers wanting to get into their next home. It continues to be a great time to buy a home right now with the terrific interest rates that are out there. The current situation with the unfortunate tragedies in Japan and Libya are actually helping the home buying consumer as people trade stock equities into bonds, forcing the interest rates to come down again from the higher levels in February.

With prices continuing at be at 2002 levels, and interest rates continuing to remain low, the conditions are certainly very favorable for those looking to purchase. For more information about starting your buying process in Marin, give me a call at 415-755-8919 and I’ll be happy to go over opportunities that exist in one of the most beautiful places to live, with all the great amenities of fantastic public schools, a terrific climate, and proximity to San Francisco and the Bay area.

Posted by:  Rick Smith

Quick take … of the 11 sales in my office this week, two jump to mind … one an REO, the other a short sale … both with huge interest …

There was a short sale at 24 Woodland, Fairfax, where Eduardo had five offers … house needed all of its interior redone when I saw it two weeks ago … five offers, three all cash …

And the second memorable sale was 2121 Vineyard, Novato … an REO … this four bedroom home, currently listed by Shad Cloney, sold in ’05 for $1.23M …this time it was priced at $642,500 … indeed, a half price sale …. And it flew out with eighteen offers!

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Good News: In San Anselmo, one in three (20 of the 63 single family homes) are in escrow … of the 63, one in four (16) are short sales or REOs (bank owned) … which is the same as last year … a reflection of market stabilization, low inventory and buyers buying with low interest rates but without the homebuyers credit that went away last year.

Sellers: If you’re selling, here’s part of a just completed analysis for a seller of a beautiful three bedroom home in a tremendous, private, sought-after San Anselmo location:

Currently there are 24 three bedroom homes on the market in San Anselmo … average of 79 days on the market … average ask of $775,954 … average square footage of 1771 … but these stats are a bit random, influenced by the following: two of these homes are just under $500,000 the next four are in the $600,000s … but included in the stats are 286 Butterfield at 998 square feet and a court sale at $375,000 … plus two homes over 2000 square feet and $1M … so let’s look further …

In the past six months there have been 23 sales .. with an average square footage of 1546 … days on market 111 … average sales price $682,798 …

In the six months prior to that … (two out of three homes in Marin sell between March and September) … 41 sales … so the number of sales at 41 is reasonable … average square footage 1855 (20% larger than the average for the prior stat, no explanation) … average days on the market 86 … (25% less time to sell) … ah, the glories of Spring! … average sales price $829,092 (a reflection of the increased square footage).

Buyers: If you’re thinking of buying, you have options, but be aware, the market is changing … when buyers are buying, as is the case right now, multiple offers are happening and then … shortly? … interest rates are going up.

Right now the market is stronger than it has been in quite some time … how it will fare with 1) the anticipated budget cuts by the State of CA; 2) improving unemployment numbers; 3) rising interest rates … 4) the next ‘event’ …. who knows …

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Short sales are rugged … while they’re improving, becoming more fully understood and more often successful … I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the role of laughter …

In his landmark book Deep Survival, Who Lives, Who Dies and Why … Laurence Gonzales unveils that in stressful situations where physical survival is the issue, people who have survived report that the pressure lifts, time stretches into slow motion and better decisions are made with laughter.

This short sales in Marin County series will be interesting and fun … if you respond … offering your experience and/or asking questions …

Last weekend, at the warm, wonderful home of Judith and Anthony Stern, the theme was laughter in literature. Yes, one of my now-traveling ‘Lit Celebrations’ … a white elephant-style … pick a number … exchange of grand books rather than gifts … this evening the theme was ‘laughter and mirth’ books …

I came home with Way to Go by Alan Spence … I devoured it … deep, dark, twisted and hilarious … I brought Jane Gardam’s Old Filth … laugh out loud funny) … Mike Snyder, a naval scurvy dog and history buff, brought First Salute … a book he contributed to that I’ve heard is marvelous … I had intended to bring Cooking With Fenet Branca … outrageous … but it went out on loan from Finola FitzClarence, to whom I’d lent it, before being returned to me … oh well, the renown poet Alan Anderson will give it back to me … trustworthy, that lad) … Natalie Shapiro knew almost all of the books …

We missed a few regulars, Bea, who will return … Michael, our local booksmith and Sherri Whyte, therapist to the stars … next time?

To the party someone brought Infidels, an amazing portrait of the Muslim world that reminded me of missing Terry Pearce, who’d have loved it if he hasn’t yet read it and Peter Sarkissian, who knows the Muslim world and his charming wife Toni Esposti (Old Republic Exchange … ahh best real estate exchanger in the world) …

A marvelous, laughter-filled time was had by all! Yes, laughter is a book theme to repeat …. laughter!

Back to real estate … within three miles of my San Rafael office there are 117 homes being sold by banks or short sales …

Another view: A home with foreclosure history just came on the market a stone’s throw from my home… you’re reading about it because when it last sold it brought the Zillow pricing down on my home …

75 Kensington, San Anselmo … this home sold in ’06 for $1,080,000 … it was a dark, dysfunctional six bedroom that was sold by the bank in ’09 as a foreclosure for $655,000 … now, after being taken down to studs and rebuilt as a stunning four bedroom, 2775 square foot beauty, it is on the market for $1,835,000.

Comments, please … experiences, yes …. And thank you!

Next installment, Part III, How Homeowners Benefit.

Part I of XV, Introduction
Part II of XV, I Believe in Laughter
Part III of XV: How Homeowners Benefit

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

A glorious neo-modern (???) five bedroom home, one of the finest homes in San Marin …. 26 San Benito: www.26sanbenito.com … an organic sale, this one …. (organic in real estate meaning that it is NOT a bank influenced short sale or repossession (REO)) … is now available. Call and J we’ll go see! (Quickly, two agents have already asked for the disclosures).

26 San Benito is a beautiful home that received rave reviews from the delightful Novato brokers on tour Wednesday … and is now on the market … an organic sale with lots and lots of distressed property competing with it ….

So about the market after a false spring … renewed cold weather, ahhhh, I love it …. and for all of you end-of-the-season fans, the Giants with Tim Lincecum on the mound played scrappy ball to win 7-6 in their spring training opener.

Back to real estate … with 832 single family homes on the market in Marin … there are 279 of them in escrow … versus the distressed property sales … 263 of the 832 single family homes on the market are short sales or REOs … and of those 263 homes more than half – 137 – are in escrow …. 

Cautionary note: ‘in escrow’ isn’t quite the same as ‘sold’ … because of dealing with real people in distressful situations AND dealing with the unreal ….. the banks, the overloaded negotiators who rightfully only approve a perfect package, and investors, attorneys, courts, real estate agents who leave doors open (what’s that about?), deadlines, masses of paperwork, buyers who are looking for (and getting) a deal and always shopping, rising interest rates, multiple offers … short sales and REOs are a specialty market, and because of the specialized nature of the business I’ve teamed up with Michele Barton in working with people with Financial Stress Disorder (my term of art, thank you)… 

Note … 26 San Benito is NOT a short sale …. simply a beautiful home in a great location at a price that makes it competitive with all of those distressed properties … come see it … you’ll love living there!

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The home market appears to be a great deal more active so far this year. A lot of people who were shut out of the housing markets in the Bay Area are now starting to see that they can afford to buy a home, even in Marin County. I ran across a great article from the Wall Street Journal that explains what is happening with home affordability.

To summarize the article, the Wall Street Journal talks about how housing affordability (the ratio of home prices to annual household income) has returned close to the historical average reached between 1989-2003 in 47 markets; this market today is about as affordable as it gets. If you can qualify for a loan, this is a pretty good time to buy. Unfortunately 27% of the homeowners with a mortgage were underwater at the end of the fourth quarter. Housing demands still remain weak because buyers are skittish about the economy and lending standards remain very tight.

Historical trends show housing could remain undervalued in many markets for up to 6-7 years, and in a lot of cases it’s become cheaper to buy than to rent. The question still remains whether you can qualify for a loan.

The shift in the sales trend is actually showing we are in a “balanced” market currently for homes priced under $1.0M, as over 30% of the total listings are currently under contract. If you take a look at any prices over that, it would still be a buyer’s market, although the home prices in the last three years have declined over 30%.

If you are considering buying a new home, I would advise to start looking now, as the interest rates are starting to move up. In November, interest rates hit an all time low of under 4%. You can still shop around a little, but today’s rates have already inched up to around 5% and are expected to go higher by the end of the year. What this means is, even if home prices were to drop just another few percentage points, what you would be saving over the course of a 30-year loan could add up to thousands, if you invest before the interest rates climb to 6% or higher.

Posted by:  Rick Smith

Oh my, oh my … when I say there’s a lot of pain out in the marketplace I mean it … people up, down and sideways in so many ways … just having returned from the Thursday brokers open house tour … where one home in four was a short sale or a bank-owned property …  Michele and I walked out of 787 Del Ganado, a retro-modern home in Terra Linda, listed by Lindy and Lydia for $594,000 … clearly a home that the owners love and are losing … it’s time to look at the big Marin picture.

Here’s a four-year-view of the short sale and REO (bank-owned real estate) sales through multiple listing service (MLS) in Marin County …. a study of people upside down and trying to get out of homes …

• In 2007 we sold 2509 homes … less that 1% were short sales or bank-owned
• In 2008, 2080 homes sold, 8% short sales and 12% bank-owned
• In 2009, 2173 homes sold, 12% short sales and 17% bank-owned
• In 2010, 2323 homes sold, 12% short sales and 14% bank-owned

Add to this some good news, Sellers … now is a prime time to sell because buyers have nothing to wait for … the conforming limit of $729,750 is due to drop to $625,000 in September … as money tightens and interest rates creep up … no more 4% interest rates … we’re now at 5% … because the Fed is concerned about deflation and kicking rates up.

 Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

In 2010 there were 32 sales in Belvedere … only one of which was a short sale … no bank owned properties changed hands. Belvedere stands tall with great water and SF views, an average price per square foot of well over $1000 …

Currently there are 31 Belvedere properties for sale …. one a short sale, another may become one … but mostly properties in Belvedere are solid … however today there are eight on by Frank Howard Allen Realtors alone …

Two properties are in escrow … 415 Golden Gate, listed by Linda Brown and previously mentioned in this blog as ‘the next home to sell’ because it’s a great opportunity … sold in less than two weeks … and Dave Ogden’s listing at 8 Windward which took about average time for Belvedere sales … currently the average market time is 246 days …

Compare these statistics to San Anselmo where 152 homes sold last year … 25 foreclosures and 13 short sales … and you see a distinctly different market … Want to go shopping? Let me know!

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Super Bowl …. Is past … dang it, good game … wrong team won, to my mind … a few great ads … ‘Detroit’ was my favorite … and Black Eyed Peas was wonderful half time … and now the selling season begins … so let’s look at a wonderful town … San Anselmo! 
 
In San Anselmo there were 69 sales in the past six months … 66 homes, three condos … average size, just under 2,000 square feet …. Average price per square foot: $433 … average list price: $876,918 … average sales price: $844,150 … so there you have it … pretty vibrant … solid … great town to live in …
 
Currently there are 49 homes and two condos for sale in San Anselmo … average list price is $895,580 … average time on the market is currently running at 97 days … 14 of these homes (and none of the condos) are in escrow … the only one awaiting a moving van is being sold by Tom and Jennifer Loucks in my office … the home at 6 Butterfield, listed by Marta Sousa  … great buy on a home that started at $550,000 … at the corner of Butterfield and Drake … lots of potential … currently listed at $379,000 … court approved the sale so you are too late!
 
The least expensive San Anselmo property is a one bedroom, upstairs condo listed by the Frost team … $275,000 asking … condo fees a touch high at $465 … but a great location … pool … near town … The other condo available is 1 Aspen, bank-owned, started at $424,900 and has dropped to $364,900  … listed by out of towner, Tom Casazza … but easy to show … Let’s Go!
 
The least expensive home is 57 Valley, bank-owned two bedroom one bath with some extra space … listed by Lee Spelman … again, easy to show … Let’s Go!
 
Five new to the market homes … including … Bob & Carla’s 116 Madrone, which came on the market this past week … $639,000 for a cute (small) home in a great location … and one of my favorites … 12 Raymond …. Val Roger’s home … a beautiful home back with a great price at $1,139,000 … immaculate, restored … wonderful home … superb location … 
 
In San Anselmo, 28% of the homes are in escrow …. There’s less than a five month’s supply of homes … and San Anselmo is a great place to live … so, come on down, let’s look around.

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

One marvelous reason for living in the San Francisco Bay Area is the magnificent water view homes … there are quite a few in the north bay … a quick search on my website led to a surprise or two … obviously most of the properties were in Belvedere, Tiburon, Sausalito and Mill Valley … with Tiburon leading the charge with nearly one in every four … but let us not forget some other locations … and as always, if you’re interested in a water view home I’m ready and all you need do is call! 415.257.2039.
 
For water views, Novato has Bel Marin Keys … with great, affordable homes on the water … there’s one short sale that’s been approved by the lender…  918 Bel Marin Keys … listed by Suzanne Rocha for $300,000 and ready to close … then there’s my Novato friend Dave Elgort, who has a beautiful Victorian listed in Belvedere … 288 Beach … a touch under $3M. 
 
A surprising find in San Rafael, which does have some great water view homes, was the least expensive water view home … listed by Greg Browman at 270 Channing Way … six months to get into escrow … a one bedroom condo short sale priced at $135,000 … at the other end of the spectrum there are a couple of beauties listed by Bill and Lydia … 63 Norman, Tiburon, listed at $7.9M, and for slightly less there, 333 Belvedere, previously mentioned … for $7.5M  …
 
And let us not forget the water view condos in Mill Valley’s Eucalyptus Knolls … there are two in escrow there …

Ready, set, CALL.

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

We’re early into the year … January … On the eve of the President’s State of the Union speech there’s a feeling of momentum in the market place. Pittsburg football fans are drooling in anticipation of February 6. And the sense of momentum has spread to buyers … we’re having multiple offers on properties …. One of my clients just lost out to an all cash buyer (a big advantage since lenders are still creating pain for even very highly qualified buyers) … This is a market that favors sellers … for now … and here’s why …
 
1.  Interest rates have slightly destabilized – anything with a four in front of it as an interest rate is …. Unbelievable … Remember when rates jumped from 10% to 18% … that was a great time to buy if you could. My favorite memory was purchasing a property with a 16% interest rate and refinancing the rate twice … to 8% and being very happy. But knowing that rates will not remain rock bottom has buyers wanting to take advantage of the situation.
 
2.  Buyers are buyers because they buy – they’ve held off long enough, they’re tired of waiting … many sitting on a load of cash … everyone is a bit tired of the stagnation …. 
 
3.  Inventory is low – and that’ll be a focus today – low inventory and heavily bank-influenced sales.
 
So take a peek at the Marin market with that in mind … the Realtors’ tour in southern Marin had a measly 54 homes on it (the four in Belvedere averaging over $2M) … some new listings, many relisted or on the market for months and months … hey, there are good buys in the ‘stale’ inventory …. Want to go shopping? Call me! 415.637.7974 or jingle my chain by email or whatever ….
 
In any event, there are 1,069 properties (single-family homes and condos) on the market … 728 active and available … 341 in escrow … that’s MORE THAN 30% … almost a seller’s market … except for the fact that of the 341, only 129 are organic … which means that 153 are short sales and 59 are bank-owned … pretty much a 2/3 vs. 1/3 division … which tracks with Novato with 113 in escrow, 31 organic, 21 bank-owned and 61 short sales …  
 
If you’re thinking of selling, consider moving forward … avoid the spring glut … avoid the mass of shadow inventory that’s hanging out there … get off the dime and take advantage of a market with nearly one home in three in escrow.

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Brian Moynihan, chief executive of B of A, called 2010 … a year in which the bank had a $4B charge … that’s right, four billion dollars … related to TARP and a write down of $12.4B … mortgage defaults … A year of Necessary Repair and Rebuilding .. and noted that their third quarter write downs for credit cards was $10B … Oh my, oh my.

Let’s take a look , for perspective purposes … at real estate in four local areas: Novato, Mill Valley, San Rafael north (94903) and San Rafael south (94901) ….

Mill Valley has seven of its 20 condos on the market in escrow … just short of half the sales (8) are bank influenced … with six short sales, two bank-owned that leaves a dozen ‘organic’ sales (sorry, organic farmers of America … the term organic is sliding) …. The most expensive condo, 47 De Silva, listed by Lotte Moore … began its listing life five months ago at $1,550,000 (it sold in ’07 for $1,645,000) and is now offered at $1.195M and in escrow … the least expensive condo in Mill Valley is a one bedroom at 554 Seaver offered by Dan and Sandra Fitting at $299,900.

In Novato there are 75 condos available … 27 (more than one third!) in escrow … and of the non-organics, 35 are short sales and 15 bank-owned. One condo, on Center Road, is below $100,000 … while Margaret Dale has 194 Ignacio Valley Circle on the market and in escrow, listed for $499,000 .. this is the most expensive condo in escrow in Novato …. It sold in 2000 for $442,000 … hey, that’s good news! This is an end unit in Marin Glen, Sante Fe Model, three bedroom and it held up well, eh?

In the south of San Rafael there are 45 condos on the market … nearly half of them (21) in escrow … and more than half of them bank-owned or short sales (25) …

In the northern reaches of San Rafael there are 65 condos on the market .. nearly 1/3 in escrow (19) … 23 short sales … nine bank-owned … of note would be 600 Deer Valley, listed by Constance Kirwin at $635,000 … this two bedroom, two bath unit began this incarnation at $825,000 … sold for $465,000 in ’04 …. Interesting numbers … more fun is the condo listed by CJ de Heer at 131 El Condor Court … $650,000 for a very LARGE end unit … went into escrow in no time.

There are bargains to be had … hey, agents and sellers, let me know of them and I’ll shout them out … or …. Hey, if you want to go shopping for a good buy, let me know (415) 257-2039 … but let us not forget that each of these bargains has a story … and we’re living that story ….

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

I get asked all the time about when the home prices will come back in California as there has been such a deterioration in home prices.

I read a recent article from the LA Times where the author, Alejandro Lazo, interviewed 5 experts to get their input. The article can be found here.

The forecasts range from the pessimism of a foreclosure specialist to the optimism of the chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.  Here’s just an overview:

• Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, predicts home prices will remain flat in 2011.

• Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, predicts home prices will rise 2% in 2011.

• Bruce Norris, president of the Norris Group in Riverside, expects home prices to fall another 5% in 2011.

• Emile Haddad, cheif executive of FivePoint Communities Inc.,expects home prices to “stabilize” in 2011 but declined to make a specific price prediction.

• Christopher Thornberg, founding principal of Beacon Economics, predicts home prices will remain flat in 2011.

As you can see, their predictions are all over the place and there is no real consensus between these 5 opinions. You would have to have a crystal ball in order to really predict the future of 2011.

The signs that I look at generally pertain to what’s around the housing market. First of all, the stock market has recovered to the highest level of stock prices since June of 2008, which is a strong indicator of a positive consumer market; people are feeling better these days about their stock portfolio. Another indicator is what’s happening at retail. The car market has finally rebounded across the board and sales are positive from almost every major car maker out there. Finally, retail sales during the November-December time frame were up 4.5%, indicating people are spending money again and have a more positive attitude these days towards their finances.

My view is that overall everything will improve and home sales will increase this year. With more activity in the marketplace, prices should be generally stable from the 2010 lows, but I really don’t look for them to rise by any significant level.

Interest rates have started inching up, but they are still unbelievably low, so I think if you are thinking about buying a new home or moving up, it will continue to be a great year to do it!

Posted by:  Rick Smith

Inventory is generally low early in January … this year is no exception … in all of Marin the number of available (active, not in escrow) single family homes has dropped to 535 … 205 are in escrow … so of the 740 single family homes on the market 28% are in escrow … that’s huge! And as I went on tour today, looking at homes in central Marin, there were a few gems … Abby Tanem had a beautifully updated home (a relist) open at 16 Tamal, San Anselmo … new price, better showing … there were four properties in Larkspur… including 140 Tulane, listed by Jason Bousquet … a well located, four bedroom, corner home with great finishes for $1,699,000 … and one, 7 Woodhaven Road in Ross …. Not a lot to look at …

To explore the market a bit more … look at Larkspur … at the end of the year the median price of the (five) homes sold was $900,000 …. Compared to a year ago in July when the median was nearly twice that number … ahhhh, the joys of a small sample.

Here’s a bigger picture of the Larkspur market … enjoy … and share your thoughts with me …. Look at the inventory picture, explore the prices … and go to my website if you want to search specific properties … or call me and I’ll rattle them off for you.

(Click to Enlarge)

One home I enjoyed seeing was Marty K’s own home, near Chalet Basque, and SHE have me and my touring partner Michele Barton, a golden dollar. A dollar saved is a dollar earned … and Marty’s home is a cutie …. 28% of homes in escrow … what a wonderful time to sell!!!

For more information, please visit www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Here’s a quick December snapshot of single family homes … excluding condos, just because … during the month of December, so far …

There are, on the market, 796 homes … of which 225 are in escrow … and slightly more than half that number have closed escrow (118) … Keep in mind that the end of the month/year provides a spurt of closings.

Of the nearly 800 homes available, 86 are bank-owned and 178 are short sales … of the 796 homes listed, when you take away the 264 that are directly lender influenced (short sales or bank-owned), you are left with 532 homes that are available and being sold without direct lender ties …

What is all the repeating of ‘direct’ ???? … whether or not the bank owns or is controlling the sale (a short sale needs bank approval), the price that a home sells for is heavily influenced by the bank-controlled inventory … look at the 225 homes in escrow .. 103 of those are short/bank-owned properties … and their sales price will determine the price an appraiser will arrive at in valuing the 122 not short/bank-owned properties.

Selling remains tough … but workable. Buying remains an elegant domain for the buyer who is willing to be patient and go for quality. Welcome to the end of the year sales in real estate … Now back to family … my home is filled with joy and yes, I’ve pretty much ignored real estate (aside from some showings of 12 Barber, San Anselmo and a few clients who’ve checked in, getting ready to move forward in 2011).

Happy New Year … and do call, email, blog and say hi!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

As I drove around Terra Linda, getting ready to counsel a client and viewing homes that have just come on the market THE THOUGHT struck …. Update northern San Rafael, Tom … So here you have it … there’s a set of graphs at the end that cover all of San Rafael.

In the past six months there’ve been 134 sales in the 94903 area … which means that the 153 homes currently on the market represent about seven months of inventory … That’s reasonable, even if that’s a few months higher than for all of San Rafael … and then more good news … 13 of the homes on the market (nearly 1 in 10) are simply awaiting a moving van … they’re ready to close, hopefully before Christmas?

In the past month there have been 29 homes brought onto the market while 34 were reduced and 31 sold … that’s brisk selling … and a reduction in inventory. All of this is good for sellers … especially compared to some towns that are simply not selling right now.

The least expensive property is the one bedroom condo at 260 Merrydale … listed at $99,000 … the most expensive is a subdivision that has been on the market a smidgen over six months … 277 N. San Pedro Road is a great ready–to-build opportunity for a builder at $2.750M … will take a bit of processing through the courts but ….

Why does this area sell so well? Schools, reasonable prices (the most expensive property in escrow is 101 Pikes Peak, just a tad over $1.1M) …. There are, of course, two homes on Leona offered in the mid-$2.5M range … time will tell.

Here are the statistics for all of San Rafael (note the inventory at 4.4 months)… and as always, if there is something specific you know, let me know!

(Click to Enlarge)

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

How’s the market?
… Before we get to the market …. My hat is tipped to Patti … damn it … :)  :(    :)… who ended our last email back and forth with the scream … IT’S TIME FOR US TO DO A DEAL! I’M SETTING MY INTENTION FOR 12 BARBER AND THEN SOME! … Look out, world! … How about the property in Sausalito that I’ll be listing shortly … First Barber, please, but this property on Bridgeway has great energy and five bedrooms (if you wish) with LOTS of extra space, potential and great parking … ideal for running a big home business? …

Onward .. yes, I recycle thru :( and :)   … it’s okay to be _ and to say _ but enough emotions for that listing ….

I’m feeling like right NOW is a moment in time … a zip zap of energy striking … the sun is peeking out and a spot of rain due for the next two days … so I checked in on San Anselmo … 20 hits on 12 Barber in week five (total hits at 381 … averaging more than ten hits per day)– I thought someone would have fallen in love and acted with an offer by now – there have been, to my knowledge, three parties who’ve fallen in love … one grumpy husband ‘needs’ a two-car garage and Suzanna, his agent, has tried … so you offer a price that’d give you the cash to build the dang garage … or not … the other couple are coming back from Hawaii on Thursday, says Ken, their agent … So much fun to be having good product on the market.

How’s the market? San Anselmo … let’s get to the point … in the past 30 days the real estate market in San Anselmo has seen: seven properties brought on to the market; 18 properties reduced in price; Flourish here … NINE sold.

Another reason for the upbeat is that our little-engine-that-can office is chugging along quite fine … Jin is wanting to return (stop it! Relax … want a good read?) right now … and Rocky is saying, “Seven is all we ask. One sale a day.” I’d like to try taking that personally and do a sale a day for a week or two, then level out and breathe … and Marney is throwing great bashes … great meal for the office and a bit of improv … tis great.

Hey, keep your comments and emails coming … tis the season …

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

There are three reasons why right now is both a buyers’ market and a sellers’ market ….

Reason I

Home prices and interest rates …. are lower than they’ve been in years. 

Buying has gotten considerably more affordable and easier as well. Loans are available, so sellers are able to sell …. you may remember the blog posts about a property I sold a few months back that had to be sold all cash (there are several on the market right now where cash is very much king) …. Let’s talk. www.tomverkozen.com

Reason II

Supply and demand … Using the following chart, drawn from MLS statistics ….

Click to Enlarge

You’ll note that in the past December and January months combined there were 274 single-family sales out of a supply (this is tricky part) 1,346 listings (666 homes were available in December, 680 in January, so I added them together, hmmmm) and that yielded a sales rate of 20% …. Using the same format in the traditionally hot months of May and June combined there were 413 single-family sales out of 2,372 homes for sale which yields 17%.

Reason III

Sellers be aware …. And maybe beware as well … 

So says Lesley Appleton-Young, California Association of Realtors chief economist …. If your property doesn’t sell, you’ve got to reduce the price. Yelling, ‘just bring me an offer’ is a form of harri kari. (spelling???) and it’ll hurt … time for tough love.

Thinking, “we’ll just rent it out ‘til the market recovers” will not be pretty either …. There are a slug of properties are coming to the market from the banks. Since few loan modifications are happening and homeowners are falling further behind in their payments the ‘recovery’ will take __ years … you fill in the blank.

As proof of the dire straits … Notice of Defaults are on the uptick, reports RealtyTrac … their information is based on foreclosure filings in 65% of the metropolitan statistical areas they track. In Seattle, where foreclosure filings include notices of default, pending cases, notices of foreclosure sale and repossessions, the increase from the third quarter of 2009 was 71%.

California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona accounted for 19 of the top-20 foreclosure rates in the country. If you’re going to wait for a better market, think globally …. Ireland, California, Greece, France … the economic slide is global and if you wait ‘it’ out you’re in for an extremely long wait.

Sellers are left chasing the market …. Being realistic is vital when the pain level is high but realistic sellers will sell. Gussy up that house and price it competitively … then listen to the foot steps of the buyers and reduce the price if that’s what the market tells you to do.

And therein lies the opportunity for buyers …. There are multiple, all cash offers on properties that are aggressively priced … but if you move quickly but don’t rush you will get a great buy.

So if you know of someone buying or selling, send them my way … they’ll get great service. www.tomverkozen.com

P.S. surprise sad note:

Bank-owned 35 Los Pinos, Nicasio, which was, until recently, owned by a very well known painter …. Is on the block … a rather spectacular property that was on the market for $1.750M is now 

available for $867,000 …. The bank held loans totaling $1.1M ….

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Before you are driven nuts with numbers, driving you nuts with numbers is a skill I learned in getting a BS from UCLA in Engineering … thus a short LA name-drop sequence… the (then) wild Bill Allen Jr, who, in an unauthorized, mid-day car chase through Westwood Village (cop car lights flashing, that’d be me!) stood and endured Frank Marshall’s ensuing rage; Bill, who has a 400-acre vineyard for sale (price upon request) … but as I recall Frank continued to laugh and do magic tricks and pulled off the only reverse kidnap anybody has ever heard of in the history of fraternities. …. oh, and the days and days and days Marshall and Tuttle had the pledges and CHiPs searching for their remains in Death Valley during finals … or Chuck Solomone’s pre-Vietnam Tri-Delt sorority raid with Elmer Fudd at the wheel in the Barfmobile … oh, the adventures … oh, our lives filled with Fun Momentum … see, there’s a point …remember some of your fun times and the momentum ….which we call Market Momentum … which is similar to but not quite as much fun as fun momentum …Let’s get some numbers flowing …. In Marin during the past seven days, there is some interesting market momentum to reckon with so, as gold soars and the Giants ready themselves for today’s playoff game … YIPEEEEE….

There have been 30 percent more price reductions than there have been new listings brought on the market … Good news? Sellers are listening? Agents making sense of the momentum they sense? We’ll see.

There have been 30 percent more new listings brought on the market than have closed escrow … a few brought on by the banks (ahem! Saw that coming, didn’t we?)

And … almost as many listings came back on the market (most having fallen out of escrow) as there are homes that have closed escrow.

Yet in some categories one in four homes is in escrow … which isn’t too shabby …

So here’s the rub .. tell me what market momentum theory says to you, Jeff ‘Stone Turner’ Sterley … or you, Scott of Bank Street … or you, James Cottle … quick, before your anniversary … CONGRATS (and thank you, Wyndee, for the loan of ‘The Imperfectionists’ … and you’re invited to the novel party on the 23rd, RSVP, or you … )

Try this … there is generally a ‘momentum’ to patterns, trends, habits and even markets. If you substitute the word ‘energy’ for ‘momentum’ and read the energy … which with my MIM (Masters in Intuition Medicine) I see as a dull orange with flakes of dull gold … if this is too woo wooo for youuuu, oh well … back to specific real estate until we hear more theory from those real estate folk ….

Today’s southern Marin tour featured 92 homes …. two luscious DeSilva Island homes … Karen Plastiras’ #43 … with a David Munson feast and Lois Scheinberg’s (previously mentioned one-level, waterfront, VIEWS, patio and so much more … both now priced at $1,495,000 (each)… amazing but that’s what happens these days … values getting there? Is NOW your opportunity? Let’s talk! www.tomverkozen.com or (415) 257-2039  … I’m easy to talk to …

Then there was the ‘most iconic’ of properties … 167 Lovell … a true love of a four bedroom near town … this so Mill Valley home at its best is offered by Tracy McLaughlin at $2,295,000 …

And the coup de grace was a stunning contemporary home, formerly home of today’s pitcher … standing 5’11’, it’s 26-year-old Tim Lincecum …real estate? Oh the VIEWS! This is a really fun home in the hills of Sausalito with …. drum roll … a back yard …offered by Susan Hewitt at a smidgen under $3M.

Looking forward to your wry observations ….

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Oh my, what a week this has been for San Anselmo real estate … one bank-owned property that was mentioned here as a ‘will sell quickly’ has closed escrow … the new owners got 350 Floribel … a three bedroom home listed for $704,900 … for $719,000 … quick decision making pays!

It’s the statistics that amaze me … average of 105 days on the market (that’s a lot of work time, thank you) and an average list price of $1,113,000 …. that’s $300,000 above the average in Fairfax (with 39 homes on the market, 25% in escrow, average time on the market a robust 111 days, price per square foot $409). But well-priced homes, prepped for the market sell, quickly.

Of the 84 San Anselmo homes that are on the market, 21 are in escrow and of those five are awaiting moving vans, i.e., ready to close escrow. Three of the five moving van homes are on Oak Knoll … #84, listed at $399,000 …. Wooops, talk about speed, just now, as I watched, the status changed to SOLD status … sold for $392,500 … listed by Alva Falla, sold by Jeff Sterley, both in my office; #127, was $572,000, now listed at $538,000 by Amy Hyde and Diana Hammer; and 140, listed at $775,000 by Julie Hunter (pending after 411 days on the market … that’s a lot of work, Julie!). And there’s John Ball’s 123 Saunders (listed at $1,559,000 with 371 days on the market … in and out of escrow, release clauses … lots of paperwork as well!).

Another home that I have had my eye on seemingly forever is Sherri Belluomini’s two bedroom, 916 sq ft listing on Grove Lane (cute home on a great little street right near town) that sold in April ’04 for $600,000 and is now offered (again, lots of work) for $680,000. So sweet!

As of this week there are two homes for under $1M in the Barber track … 12 Barber, a spacious, one-level, four bedroom home of over 2300 square feet offered now at $744,700 by James Hastings and 70 Barber, just brought on the market for a slight bit under the $1M mark by Mary Edwards and her sidekick Linda G.

Hey, real estate is alive … and well, I’m ready to be there for you after I chase down a home on Elm Street in Larkspur for Karen & Mike … who would’ve loved the home that just went into escrow (again) on Harvard in Larkspur … dang it, Bob Marks … dang it and congratulations (I ran them by Dartmouth but it isn’t the same). Dang it.

Let’s go shopping! (415) 637-7974.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The days grow shorter and shorter … last Friday 32,000 of us were at AT&T Park for a marvelous presentation by the SF Opera of Aida … and as the leaves turn, the Giants, back home, are now two games ahead in first place after winning 4-2 last night … That’s the good news. Soon the big end of season series and then PLAYOFFS.

A comparison: As a comparison of this week, look at same week, last month … while there were very nearly the same number of new listings (78 this past week vs 75 in August) the number of price reductions increased by 10% … from 106 then to 116 now. More good news, this for sellers and buyers (we needn’t be oppositional) … the week’s sales were up by 50% … 35 then vs 50 this past week. So we have slightly more inventory, 10% more reductions and 50% more closed sales. Interesting, eh?

Best news: 122 Alder, San Anselmo is now in escrow. Interesting how many people ‘felt’ they lost out. Truth … they didn’t get up and take a swing. That’s called a strike out for them, a victory for the buyer. (Buyers are still being encouraged to back up the offer but the buyer with the contract is the lucky one.) Want to see 122 Alder? Let me know.

Price reduction of note … Caroline Nelson’s 31 Bayview, San Rafael, a relist (was with another agent last year priced at $1,795,000) has been reduced over $100,000 and is now $1,015,000 …. a great buy at $558 per square foot … a three bedroom, single-level family home on an acre with GREAT view. … want to see, let me know!

Fixers and compounds … A search of Marin MLS showed that there are 21 homes listed as ‘fixers’ and 15 as ‘compounds.’ Of the compounds two are in San Rafael, four in Ross, one in Tiburon, three Novato (great buys) … 20 Rose, an eleven bedroom property in Bolinas was featured here in the past ($4,495,000) and Brooke MacKenzie of the MacKenzie Group is offering 2 Windward in Belvedere, reduced $500,000 (now just under $4M) .. this property features a four bedroom main home, a two bedroom in-law on a lagoon frontage, corner lot. Yummy!

Another blog responder wanted to talk about ‘the domino effect’ of supply and demand. “The supply of homes to sell is increasing while the demand is decreasing … a bad sign for values, right?” Yes, and the banks know of this imbalance … which is good news for buyers (I just presented an offer on a bank-owned Mill Valley fixer home for an internet buyer … over 2000 square feet of home priced under $500,000.)

On the supply side there is the soon-to-be-repossessed ‘shadow inventory’ which, as it comes on the market, drives prices down.

On the demand side, think of the consumer confidence index … dropping, unemployment at 10% with an additional ‘past unemployment’ rate and those state workers now underemployed (short hours) and all those of us ‘suffering’ reduced pay … the signs are great for buyers … now is a good time to buy IF you work at it. It is also a good time to sell … sooner, please, rather than later …. unless you foresee something improving the market … which I’d love to have you share with me!

Life is good … it is a marvelous adventure … so, email me, go to my website www.tomverkozen.com or call (415) 637-7974 and let’s have a chat and you get into advantaged liquidity. There are some intelligent, grateful sellers (along with some very squeezed sellers) and there are some stunning buys out there! Shop. Shop. Shop. 

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

There are currently fifteen homes in Marin and Sonoma the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) priced at or above $10,000,000. Of these, six are in Belvedere, three in Ross, four in Tiburon and two in Sonoma. None of them are currently in escrow.  Are there other homes not on MLS in this price range? Yes, we have others. Tell me what you want!

So “what’s sold lately?” you may ask … Isobel Wiener sold the Gray’s home at 1 Upper Road, Ross earlier this year … before she listed it this home had been on the market for $22M … Isobel listed it at $17.5M and it sold for $14M. I think there’s still a picture on my Facebook page from a party there. Lest you ask, Sean Penn’s Ross home sold, but not above the $10M mark.

For mere mortals, 96 Laurel Grove, Ross, a six bedroom beauty with four fireplaces, was just reduced by $500,000 … after six months on the market.

Closer to home for most of us, and a great buy, is 424 Forbes in Sun Valley, San Rafael, which had a significant price haircut dropping from $829,000 to $799,000 and now to $599,000. The trustee wants to sell, says the price and the agent, Russ Kundsen (of my office at Frank Howard Allen).

Back to the clouds … my favorite local home is 662 Goodhill, Ross …. a home where my Mercedes caught fire when Candi Grippi and I were previewing it … and I will call back my client who (I believe) has just landed a HUGE movie deal … he loved this six bedroom stunner at the top of Goodhill Road in the Kent Woodlands, listed by … yes, Isobel.

Now about the most expensive of the homes, Avram Goldman of Pacific Union International, has a listing called Villa Montana … bocce ball, skeet range, olive plantation and stables … on Franz Valley Road listed for $49M. The property has been on the market for eight months at $5000 per square foot … but if you want a stand out property, voila!

Real estate is a blast. Prices are dropping (compare the last week … in Marin and Sonoma there were 407 price reductions while 288 new properties came on the market). NOW is a GREAT time for ‘landing that deal’ … so call (415) 257-2039, email me or get to me however you can … let’s have some fun and go buy a home or investment.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The days grow shorter and the leaves turn, football begins (not my sport) and baseball heads to the post season … the Giants, still in first place, pulled it through with a single home run last night … 1 – 0 is a nail-biter of a game. Please step up the run support gentlemen. That’s the good news.

Good news for buyers: Here’s a price reduction to let you know that there are willing sellers who aren’t concerned about a few dollars and read the market as ‘sell it now while the selling is good’ …. 12 Saint Lucia Place, Tiburon, was reduced from $6.3M to $5,670,000 … every half million dollars counts but these people, according to listing agent Penny Wright-Mulligan of Pacific Union International, want to sell, now. This is a 5,000 square foot home with a pool and a deep water dock, a wonderful three bedroom main house and a two bedroom guest house. It’s a wow! Want to see it? Let me know.

Yesterday’s lunch with a real estate attorney I know was fascinating. Looks to be that he’ll be working with a firm that is going after mortgage brokers to recover moneys for banks that lost money to mortgage fraud. Hmmm … seems to me the banks got a bunch of their money back from the government and now are going to get more money.  Invest in bank stock, anyone?

After that lunch I had a discussion with a client (also nameless, just assuming that’s what he’d want), who years ago worked for B of A in risk analysis, told me of the time B of A was considering letting go of their wholesaling of loans. His analysis, which was accepted, was that there was no more risk in the wholesale loans than in the internally generated loans. Think of it, B of A was preparing to drop ¼ to 1/3 of their loan business until they saw that the risk (I think ‘fraud’) potential was no different internally vs. externally. Interesting.

Another eye-opener, one that I’d prefer to whisper, was what one blog responder called ‘the domino effect’ of supply and demand. The supply of homes to sell is increasing while the demand is decreasing … a bad sign for values.

On the supply side we have the normal sales, plus the foreclosures, plus more foreclosures (tax sales as well as mortgage defaults), plus the bank-owned properties, plus the cash for keys, short sales and the soon-to-come sale of homes (1 in 10 homeowners is behind in payments and loan modifications are few and far between). A big supply will drive prices down.

On the demand side, even with the tax incentive, that ended, the demand was moderate. In spite of the lowest mortgage rates in forever, sales have slackened. With the credit crisis, low consumer confidence, unemployment at 10% with an additional ‘past unemployment’ rate of 7% and a zillion people underemployed (short hours or reduced pay or furlough) … the signs are not hopeful. If you plan to sell, do it sooner rather than later …. unless you foresee some good news … which I’d love to have you share with me!

So perhaps reading this might point you in the right direction and render your life marvelous … if so, email me, go to my website www.tomverkozen.com or call (415) 637-7974 and let’s have some fun while you get into liquidity or shop and buy a bargain. There are some great finds out there! 

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

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

Labor Day is just a memory … the kids are settling back in school … the Giants’ season is at the make or break point and … the Niners have their season opener Sunday. Amid all that, real estate marches on.

Before we get to west Marin and the market analysis there, a peek at central Marin: Today there were 157 homes on the brokers tour in central Marin (yesterday was the Novato and southern Marin tour, unusually heavily loaded as well) …. one of the tour homes I went to see (because it is ‘competition’ for 122 Alder and because Michaela Lang emailed me after reading last week’s blog) was 16 Madrone in San Anselmo … a two bedroom, one-and-one-half bath home listed by Michaela Lang at $699,000 … a pretty home, well staged sited near town between Sir Frances Drake and Center Road.

In all of Marin there were 129 new listings since the 1st of the month … 97 reduced in price and 42 sold. Our inventory is loaded with reductions as all of us, sellers and agents alike, very unhappily, are chasing the market.

We discussed price reductions at our Frank Howard Allen office meeting … here are a few: 136 Peacock, San Rafael, which was purchased for $1,565,000 in ’05, was reduced and is now listed by Scott Cherry of Frank Howard Allen at $995,000, Scott who also has 60 Oakcrest, purchased for $750,000 in ’06, is now listed for $449,000. A great newish craftsman cottage at 10 Lucia Lane, Lagunitas, was just reduced from $812,000 to $725,000 … 245 Upper Toyon, listed by Steven Pringle and Helen Luttemo of Alain Pinel, was reduced $500,000 (from $2,395,000 to $1,895,000) … 43 Shady Lane, Ross, a three building, potential family compound on .4 acres in the heart of town, listed by Betsy Young of Coldwell Banker, was reduced from $4,225,000 to $3,950,000 … 25 Hunter Creek, Fairfax, reduced $210,000 … and on and on.

Here’s my view of the West Marin real estate market … a market that goes soft faster than the ‘inner markets’ of towns like Mill Valley or the core of the Bay Area, San Francisco: In West Marin there are bargains to be had! Best buys and bargains among the 98 homes that are listed…

Half of the West Marin homes in Dillon Beach (3 of 6) are in contract and ready for the moving van…. in Nicasio 13 of the 15 homes are available, in Woodacre, 2 of 6 are in escrow … there are a dozen homes available in Bolinas (some good buys I’d say … and remember, fixer-upper homes are tougher sales in rugged markets and tougher sales equal better buys) …. at Stinson Beach this blog’s favorite, 27 Calle Del Pradero, a one bedroom home near the beach, was listed at $364,900 and went into escrow amid a flurry of offers … well, it fell out of escrow but immediately sold to one of the several back up offers …

So perhaps reading this might point you in the right direction and render your life marvelous … if so, email me, go to my website, www.tomverkozen.com, or call (415) 637-7974 and let’s have some fun while we shop. There are some great finds out there!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

After a long tour of homes for sale in Mill Valley I returned to Ross, exhausted. My clients are looking for a ‘deal,’ so my job is to eliminate homes that simply won’t work. If you know of some good deals … (20 Marin View was too much work but an amazing opportunity) … let me know.

The BIG questions are: When is the best time to sell a home in Mill Valley? When is the best time to buy? 

Before I get you to the answers, think back … You may remember early last week, with temperatures hitting 105 in San Rafael … so in the evening it was time to head south from Ross into the fog. Not. Mill Valley was hot, too!

My buddy Michael Whyte, one of the last independent book store owners still alive in the post-Amazon era, with Whyte Booksmith at 615 San Anselmo Avenue, joined me for a Mark Pitta Tuesday night comedy adventure at 142 Throckmorton in Mill Valley.

After a café dinner outside at Small Shed Flatbread, a quaint organic café around the corner from 142 Throckmorton… we shared a wonderful flat bread with figs, prosciutto, caramelized onions and blue cheese and I had an IPA, Michael had a pinot … yummy … the night began … and what a night it was … the 20th anniversary of a young, pranksterish Mark Pitta having been on the Johnny Carson Show …. an evening kicked off by Jackie Kashian, achingly funny female comic … followed by Steven White, intellectually stimulating, thigh slapping ADHD (attention deficit in HD) comic with a bit of history to relate … along with a long list of lusty women on his mind …and then … with the theme song from Mork and Mindy … the night got raunchy with Robin Williams … joined by Mark Pitta … they used a fan to blow the audience … I’ve skipped half of the cast of characters … and even clicked a shot with my cell phone but got busted and promised to delete the photo … so all that’s left is for you is to check out www.markpitta.com … which will guide you to the Throckmorton website. Best show in town. A $20 bargain! Get your tickets and have a blast.

And now the answer on when to buy/sell, a partial answer at any rate (click graphs to enlarge):

With the exception of June, sales of single family homes in Mill Valley average around 20, plus or minus, month in and month out. If you’re selling, hey, do you want to compete with 150 homes or half that many? Timing is the key. And if you’re buying, how does August stack up when compared to December? Pretty obvious.

The graphs are a partial answer because in August of ’09 in San Anselmo, there were 87 homes on the market … and 45 days later (in September) six closed escrow … which differs from what you’d think if you simply look at the graph.

Clearly I want you to call me so that I can straighten out the statistical picture, help you make sense of it and then list your home. As always, www.tomverkozen.com or (415) 257-2039 … and know that I do straight forward sales, short sales and foreclosures as well as auctions (the 20 Marin View was a bank-owned, auction sale house with great potential).

Long and short, you need a guide and I’m thrilled you need me to make sense of this amazing market … a market filled with potential good deals and some great homes for sale. Come on, call!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

As agents flowed through the brokers open house at 122 Alder Avenue in San Anselmo, a marvelous home listed on MLS at $745,000 we talked about the market. Several of the agents work a lot in the San Geronimo Valley towns of Woodacre, Lagunitas and San Geronimo … and here’s the story …

A bit slow, they say, but there are 21 homes currently listed on the Marin multiple listing service (MLS) and six of those (30%) are in escrow …. doesn’t sound all that slow … and then look at some of the dozen sales in the last six months … 355 Redwood, listed by Susan Swan of Bradley Real Estate had seven offers and sold for 7% over asking … three of the offers were all cash (the highest offer was not take as it required a loan) … four of the seven offers were for over asking price … and Tamara Goldman, my Ross neighbor with Pacific Union International, sold it.

There was another smallish sale (the least expensive in the valley recently) of a fixer home on ½ acre listed by Bill Johnson of Frank Howard Allen and sold by Mike Cusick of Frank Howard Allen … for $125,000. Cash.

The largest sale of the dozen sold in the last six months was 295 Arroyo, another Susan Swan listing sold in 42 days for $1,180,000 at $786 per square foot … on 4.4 beautiful acres. Nice show.

In the past six months the average per square foot for sales was $391 … the days on market 76. The 21 homes currently on the market average 170 days and $382 per square foot .. so I’d say yes, the market has slowed AND good deals are there for the taking. So if you’re interested in a little land, a little garden and a bit of fresh air, let’s go …. call or email or tap me via my website and let’s go shopping.

P.S. Full Circle is still available … 5 acres, lots of house (9 bedrooms) and expandable. I’ve had the calls from the blog but haven’t yet sold it. Come on, folk, let’s … that’s a great opportunity.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

With 95 homes on the market, the best of all San Anselmo homes – location, location, location – is this freshly on the market Yolanda Park home …

As I popped this beauty on the market … most local agents knew it was coming two months ago when I did a PowerPoint presentation at Bill McKeon’s buy/sell meeting (we got delayed with a tenant moving, taking time for the market to spruce up) … within 24 hours we had had just short of 200 hits, any number of email and phone queries.

First the phone rang with …

Mary Edwards of the San Anselmo Frank Howard Allen office wanting pricing help as she’s getting ready to list a wonderful three bedroom contemporary home in the Barber Trac of San Anselmo …. which I’ll go see today … then…

Sue Ecke, in my Frank Howard Allen office, who has been telling us for some time that she’s listing a wonderful three bedroom home with style AND an income unit, Well, called to say that she just brought it on, not San Anselmo, but nearly … 70 Manor, Fairfax slightly over 1500 square feet at $509 per square foot, listed at $769,000 … great style, income, solid location.

And Abby Tanem has a home coming as well. Oh well … mirror mirror on the wall, this is the fairest of them all …. 122 Alder … location, charm, style, location, quality, location … over 1400 square feet on a 5500 square foot lot on a street not lined with telephone lines … it’ll go quickly (which is what all agents always think, right?) … in the first 12 hours, there were 128 hits on the website. Go, Alder, Go.

About the San Anselmo real estate market … of the 95 homes, 22 are in escrow, seven of those simply awaiting a moving van … and of those seven, four are between $1M and $1.5M. With that thinking I looked at sold homes close to the property at 122 Alder … in the last six months four had sold on Nokomis, Austin and Agatha … average market time, 19 days! (This as compared to the average marketing time of 99 days on homes sold in the last six months). Average price per square foot, $623 (Alder is listed at $515 per square foot, thank you!).

The ‘why hasn’t someone snapped up this home?’ question goes to Greg Browman of Marchant Chapman Realtors with his 1906 (modernized) three-bedroom listing at 77 Melville … two months and this marvelous, well located home has been reduced from $1,599,000 to a stunning $1,250,000 ($701 per square foot).

Want a home? Want to see what’s available? Click me or call and let’s go shopping.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Based on reported sales in multiple listing, the MLS, in the past twelve months there have been a total of 149 homes and condos sold in San Anselmo. Of these homes two dozen were short sales and twelve were either in foreclosure or bank owned properties (REOs) … which isn’t too bad, compared to say, Novato, Fresno or Merced. The market is holding its own here.

There are currently 70 homes and condos fully available (average price per square foot $495, days on market, 83). The least expensive is a 476 square foot, one bedroom condo … 1533 Sir Francis Drake … offered at $167,999 … the most expensive is the six bedroom beauty at 545 Oak (which has been discussed in prior blogs) … reduced nearly $2.5M from $6,488,000 to $3,999,000 (282 days on the market, $775 per square foot).

In escrow there are 21 homes (average $462 per square foot), including the listing of John Ball of Coldwell Banker … 123 Saunders, back in escrow a second time with buyers who need to sell to buy … and of these 21, four are simply awaiting moving vans … eg, no contingency contracts.

As stated earlier, in the past year there have been 149 sales in San Anselmo … an eight month supply of homes …. average price per square foot, $445 … average price, $850,166 and 90 days on the market … With 90 homes on MLS, 20 pending sales represents better than 20% … which is a solid mid-summer market.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The ‘pull’ of the expensive homes is returning to Marin. This is definitely good news!

Take a gander at a ‘last six months’ multiple listing service comparison of sales … from February 7 to August 7, 2008 there were 31 Marin County homes over $3M that sold … during the same period in ’09 the number dropped to slightly under half, 25 … and this year half of the drop has been recouped as 38 have sold.

Quick view … in ’08 vs ’10 … Belvedere 5 to 3; Corte Madera 3 in ’08, none this year; Kentfield 9 to 7; Mill Valley 8 to 5; Ross 6 to 3; San Rafael 1 to 0 (the ’08 sale was 305 Highland, which is now on the market … great multi-level, view home that sold for $3,850,000and is now available for less … want to know more? contact me and I’ll tell you); Stinson Beach 1 to 2 (the ’08 sale was 148 Seadrift … marvelous waterfront home); Sausalito 0 to 1 (that sale was 77 Harrison … a home that did not sell in ’09 but listed by Steven Mavromihalis of Pacific Union International for $8,750,000 and sold for $6,834,000 by Leslie de Bretteville of McGuire; sales in Tiburon climbed from 13 to 15; and then there was a ranch … 400 acres in Marshall handled by Fred Rodini of Coastal Marin Real Estate. Hi Fred, long time to talk, hope you’re doing well.

In the last month there were eight $3M+ sales … my personal favorite being the five bedroom contemporary home at 4639 Paradise Drive listed by Bill Bullock, Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International in Tiburon that sold, all cash, for $7M … congrats to Susan Kolb, Pacific Union-Morgan Lane on the sale. Linda Gridley of my office last sold that marvel in ’06 for $2.5 …

The best of the good news is that upper end sales tend to pull the market … and this market, currently slowed a bit for the summer, can always use the extra tug as it recovers. However, if you believe that it has slowed, check in on this: right now there are nearly 1600 single family homes and condos on the market … 1226 are active, 385 in escrow (roughly 25%) and of those 94 are ‘awaiting the moving van’. More good news … summer doldrums? ha! … in the last 30 days 201 properties have closed escrow.

Time to go shopping? Yes! Go to www.tomverkozen.com and you can search the MLS, figure out what to do this coming weekend (I’ll be at Camp Erin, the Hospice By The Bay bereavement camp for kids, back Monday and ready to shop!). Make plans to go to the Sausalito Art Festival (yes, time for the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Trash Committee). Have great week … play hard, think real estate!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The short (there were 90 homes open) real estate broker’s tour of 8/4/10 in Mill Valley was edifying to say the least … first there were two wonderful De Silva Island Drive properties … the two story, 3 bedroom end unit (great light) at 47 De Silva offered by Lotte Moore and Sarah Kowalczyk of McGuire Real Estate for $1,550,000 (on the market last year for $175,000 more) and the one story, two bedroom + den unit at 72 De Silva … listed by Lois Scheinberg with its price slashed by $245,000 … to the same price as 47 De Silva AND its selling commission raised (to 3.5%) … with a private elevator this custom unit shines!

Next to pop up was Pacific Union International agent Matthew Pouliot’s four bedroom + office gated estate on over ½ acre at 332 Panoramic … a stunning home with grand views near four corners, a $100,000 price reduction and a selling commission of 3% … motivated.

Oh, the competition … the wonderful view home in Scott Valley, 14 Albert Lane, a five bedroom home listed by Bruce Berlinger of Bradley Real Estate has been reduced by $200,000 or if it counts, by $300,000 from its last year’s listing (now $544 per square foot) … and Warren Mullen, Pacific Union-Morgan Lane’s three bedroom new home (18’ ceilings) with an office/guest house, on the market for just 2 ½ months, has dropped in price by $300,000 … now priced at $712 per square foot for a great, new home … amazing value … real value … worth seeing.

Then there were two homes three blocks from downtown Mill Valley on Bigelow that Andy Gellepis of Frank Howard Allen’s Mill Valley office suggested I see (thank you, Andy) … the three bedroom home at 21 Bigelow, listed by Tracy McCulloch of Pacific Union-Morgan Lane for $1,760,000 (reduced by $115,000) and now at $657 per square foot … and 25 Bigelow, a 1908 Victorian listed by Debbie Wright for $2,749,000 … a marvelous home that was owned by Andrew Lund, the custodian of Muir Woods … three bedrooms in the main house, an in-law unit plus a beautiful cottage … all together at a per square foot price of $808.

Here we have the best of Mill Valley, motivated sellers (selling is an intrusive process so you gotta imagine that all sellers are motivated or else why would they allow all of us to enter their homes and their lives … ) … many of these homes reduced in price and with higher than the norm commissions … motivating to us real estate agents. If you want more information or want to see one or more of these beautiful homes … or any other homes or if you have a home to sell … you know you can easily reach me at www.tomverkozen.com or (415) 257-2039.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

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

And quite a month the last one has been 6/24 – 7/24 … in those glorious days 212 Marin County homes and condos have closed escrow … right now there are 1250 such on the market for you to choose from … 296 are conditionally in escrow and another 123 are ‘awaiting the moving van’ ready-to-close. So let’s go shopping! To arrange your trip … contact me now www.tomverkozen.com .

If the fun is in quick sales, there have been a few: Barr Haney and Whitney Potter of Pacific Union-Morgan Lane teamed up to sell the beautiful four bedroom rebuild at 25 Heather, Larkspur … and it went with multiple offers before the brokers’ open house (listed at $1,450,000) … while Matthew MacPhee, Frank Howard Allen, recently retired assistant manager of my office, teamed up with Kerry Berry to sell 51 Austin, San Anselmo … to buyers represented by Mike Finelli, who’d showed it to the buyers when it was on the market in ’09 … it sold for $2,190,000 … $612 per square foot if you’re mathematically inclined.

Ahh, the statistics continue … my old boss Astrid Trauth always said, “Statistics are like a bikini, what they reveal is interesting, what they hide is critical.” … The average list price for this month in Marin was $973,571 and the average sales price was close enough to that at $939,438. The price per square foot was $444 … and the days on the market averaged 91.

But the glory is in the details … the least expensive sale was the San Rafael condo at 35 Fairfax which sold after 21 days on the market for $110,000. The two highest priced properties to sell were 133 Sugarloaf, Tiburon (blogged about earlier, six days on the market) and 3 Britton, Belvedere which went at $4,580,000 after 80 days.

The loudest WHEW was accomplished by David Shapiro, the Terra Linda expert and my San Rafael Frank Howard Allen office mate, representing the buyers when he sold the four bedroom home at 19 Hollyleaf in Novato’s Pointe Marin (off of Ignacio Blvd) after 695 days on the market … the home started at $1,089,000 in ’08 then was relisted by Marc O’Brien of Bradley Real Estate at $1,020,000 … and finally sold for $725,000. Whew!

The month’s information would continue but I just received a call from someone who made an offer on a Stinson Beach listing a year ago and now wants to go after one of the properties you read about here two weeks ago … and off I go. Wish us both luck! Then simply think REAL ESTATE and call (415) 257-2039, okay?

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

In response to the mention of the potential family compound property in Bolinas that was run as Full Circle for many years, Suzanne Shelhart wrote, “Many thanks, you have done a great job describing the property. We are getting a ton of showings now and he really has to sell. Thanks for spreading the word.”

“Also wondered why you did not mention that fabulous property (3325-3327 Shoreline Hwy), Barbara Chevalier’s amazing estate at Stinson beach on 3.5 acres with a pond, swimming pool, and the renowned architect design? That is really one of my very favorite properties of all time.”

And I could’ve and perhaps should’ve mentioned it because even though the property has less bedrooms (five) it is in a magnificent setting … 4382 square feet on 3.5 acres the Pacific Ocean with views, a cottage and an amazing design by Albert Lansbugh this is an oh my oh my home … if you peek south you can see the Steep Ravine cabins … if you drive a few miles south you can take a tour of Slide Ranch an environmental education teaching ranch (after the Grateful Dead moved out, thousands of children continue to learn about farms, milk goats and make butter at Slide Ranch … I was on the board of directors there for seven years), or go just a mite further and have a pint at the Pelican Inn before visiting Muir Woods. In any event, a grand ocean front property that was on the market in ‘08 for $6.45M and is now, after more than a year on the market, available for $3.885M …. this is one heck of a great buy co-listed by Hugh Macmillian of Decker Bullock Sotheby International and Jeanne Sherfey of Hwy One Properties.

 Of course, there are better photos available … use the website search property button and see … then let’s go and see!

REO (real estate owned) (bank foreclosure complete, they’re selling) … First ‘that little Stinson cottage’ that was on the market last year for $760,000, foreclosed on and offered in the $360’s … 16 offers as of today and bid WAY up … perhaps into the $600’s.

Second REO, amazing four bedroom condo in southern Novato… sold in the mid $400’s two years ago, on the market for $210,000. Talk about a bargain!

Not even remotely an REO … There are two magnificent ocean front Stinson Beach homes on the market worthy of note on Seadrift Road …. a shockingly beautiful home with cathedral ceilings and bells and whistles for $6.2M and another, on a .65 acre lot, which is described as charmingly shabby chic by listing agent Katherine Beacock, owner of Seadrift Realty, Inc. Oh my, oh my … these are the homes one drools to own. Waves crashing, pelicans gliding by just above the surface of the water, seals calling out to you … wonderous homes that change lives!

Since you asked … more about that special 1400 square foot, two bedroom, two bath home in San Anselmo’s Yolanda Park … drive by okay but DO NOT disturb tenant, stop, poke or anything else … tenant is in the process of moving. Price to be determined … mid-$700’s.

As always, you want to see pictures, check in at www.tomverkozen.com and you’ll find pictures (any difficulties, call or email me) but better yet … Want to go shopping? I love the beach so let me know I’d love to go! (415)257-2039.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

What a week this has been. The opportunities are everywhere … we just found THE home for a cute young couple and I am getting ready to bring a real special two bedroom, two bath charmer on the market in just a few weeks in San Anselmo’s Yolanda Park … agents everywhere have been showing property, pushing offers for clients and waiting with baited breath … a market replete with possibilities, bids, counter offers, activity and sales.

In the past week there were 69 new properties that came on the market in Marin … only two in Belvedere … there were six price increases, 100 reductions, 34 homes went into the ‘moving van coming’ status of pending and 45 closed escrow. The biggest sale was 133 Sugarloaf, Tiburon … $926 per square foot … this, as with 12 Canyon, Ross, is another home that did not sell last year (on the market for a year, pulled off the market in May) came back on with David Gilbert of Tiburon Land Company only to be sold by Kouros Tavakoli of Decker Bullock-Sothebys International (that’s a mouthful), in six days for $6.9M.

A few other interesting factoids … at Stinson Beach, where I reported Frank Howard Allen agent Sandra Parks’ great reduction on a three cottage, got to sell property … from $1,388,000 to $849,000, there are 30 properties on the market, two in escrow. Ah, Summer, second homes, etc. … and then along came 2 Calle Del Pradero, a cute cottage two homes from the surf, which now has at least ten offers rattling around on it … priced at $364,900!

… then there are four short sales that were mentioned here and are now in escrow … 551 Redwood, San Anselmo; 319 G Street, San Rafael; 37 Palm, San Rafael; and 5881 Lucas Valley Road, Nicasio…. when you’re hot, you’re hot, right?

Gotta go … Want to go shopping? Let me know! Vist me at www.tomverkozen.com.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Ross is amazingly amazing … people are talking about the summer slumber but NO, Ross goes the other direction and here’s THE sale to prove it …. 12 Canyon, a stunning eight bedroom, eight bath five acre property with ALL the bells and whistles just a stone’s throw from the former Penn estate in the downtown heart of Ross.

Originally sold for nearly $4M in 2003 as a ready-to-build piece of dirt with plans, Canyon was on the market most of last year for $10,750,000. Tracy McLaughlin, Pacific Union-Morgan Lane, brought it back on the market for a touch under $10M ($9,995,000) and went into escrow in 14 days. This fits the, ‘if you’ve got it, spend it and enjoy it’ mode of living. If you’re a more normal person with only half that much disposable to spend and you want to shop, let’s go … www.tomverkozen.com Yes, there are values available as the market slumbers into full summer.

More about Ross … there were nine closed sales in the past six months …. an average closing of one point five sales per month … and these homes were on the market for an average of 48 days …. compared to the 26 homes on the market today (lots of great choices!) which have averaged 132 days on the market (tomorrow the average will be 133 …). Four of the 26 are in escrow, none of them with moving vans en route, yet. The homes that have sold have averaged $634 per square foot, the listings are at $889 per square foot … and 12 Canyon? A Gigantic $1249 per square foot …. quality sells (as does uniqueness, location and acreage).

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

More Family Compounds

One of my favorite, historic large, possibly family compound, homes is the 1890s six bedroom Victorian at 43 Brighton in Bolinas. This property, featured a few years ago in Sunset Magazine, is listed by Tom Wredberg of Oceanic Realty. You’ll love the in town location … near everything. Listed on multiple listing service for $1,350,000, sold in 2001 for $819,000. It’s back now and has been on the market less than two months …. this beauty is ready for a new owner!

Next up on my list of amazing great bargains as a family compound is the former Full Circle facility at 5855 State Route 1 in Bolinas. This yummy nine bedroom home on 4.7 acres, is listed by Alain Pinel’s Suzanne Shelhart for $1,349,000 (reduced by $1/4M since it came on the market at the beginning of the year). Large property, commercial kitchen and oh so much more …. You read it here, hear? So check it out on my website and then call me. You’d love to see it, wouldn’t you?

Life in a Bolinas compound would be incomplete without the best of the best, an eleven bedroom ten acre three home passive solar compound … with sauna, media room and great views of Bolinas Lagoon, listed by Blanche Streeter of McGuire for $4.495,000 … Let’s go! 20 Rose has a killer knoll top location (click my website, then do the property search for 20 Rose, Bolinas). This home has been on the market before, listed at $7M …. this time it’s a deal that nobody has yet snapped up (4 months of marketing) and you know it’s been waiting for you.

I love the coast – some of you remember The Poet’s Loft and Kaizen, the stilt home in Marshall and the cottage on the bluff I built in Marshall … well, there’s one more beach compound to visit before we return to the core of Marin County … this a real dream and improve property consisting of three cottages in Stinson Beach, right across from the grocery store … 122 – 126 Calle Del Mar …. three one bedroom cottages on approximately ¾ acres with water views. Sad story with a bank being unhappy caused the price to drop from $1,388,000 to $849,000 …. owner needs to sell and buyer will probably need to bring cash to the table to make it work (in my humble opinion). Sandra Parks of Frank Howard Allen is the listing agent but once more, as always, check my website … then call me, email me, yell at me but contact me and let’s talk … this is a great buy for the right person.

Ah, back to the lovely shire of Ross … around a corner or two from me is a listing with Marilyn Rich of Pacific Union – Morgan Lane … this home should be a family compound. 12 Upper Ames Avenue, Ross at $6.5M is a new-to-the-market five bedroom jewel of a home on 1.375 acres that has a LARGE one bedroom guest house by the pool. You’ll see this as having compound potential when we go together to buy it. Just a hop and a step from the recently (almost finished) renovated Ross School and a short jaunt to Branson School, this is the most urban of the properties I put in the ‘Come from Brazil, China and India and live in style with great schools’ compounds.

And then I return to my quaint cottage, awaiting your call. You will call, won’t you?

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Flying back to pristine Marin from Bellingham, Washington my Silicon Valley seat mate updated me on a change that I’d been pondering … the meaning of the upswing of purchases by people from Brazil, India and China … fascinating…

These are, he assured me, multigenerational purchases … future oriented people buying property & thinking ahead …

“I’m seeing families buying with a multi-generational ownership plan … eight or ten family members are coming over, taking advantage of the jobs, the excellent schools and the real estate values … a few of my friends have told me that they’re going to live in the property for a long time, all together, and save and then buy more property.”

Then I thought of my friend Marteli telling me that she has a long time tenant doubling up …. they’ve asked for approval for additional roommates in a medium sized home. Saving half the rent!

Yes, it was disconcerting to think of space usage … I realized that I’m a bit out of touch, living alone in a big small empty nest cottage in Ross … but that is due to change, soonish. Stay tuned.

What is important is that long term thinking brings up the value of short sales … I’ve talked several clients into holding on (and a few about selling) … here’s the logic:

With great schools, proximity to a major urban area loaded with high tech and a limited supply of land, Marin will follow Silicon Valley’s lead and the influx of talented immigrants from one of the several prospering countries mentioned, who see our economic slowdown as being to their advantage, means our real estate will soon be seen as a bargain …. driving prices!

Think ahead … how long does it take to gather together a 20% down payment on a property worth say, $850,000 (the average sales price in San Anselmo) … saving $170,000 takes how long? …. now say you owe $900,000 on the $850,000 home … should you sell?

Maybe. Maybe not. If you can afford the property payments, stay. If you can’t afford the payments, how about other options? How about renting it? Bringing in an equity partner?

Say the mortgage costs you $5000 per month and you can only afford $3000. If you rent it for $3500 … can you afford $1500 plus pay for a rental for yourself? Do you know someone else who may be willing to take a half share in a future sale for making half of the mortgage payments? Let’s be creative … in a most creative area.

Equity partner, part II … You keep the property … in five years it could easily be worth $1,000,000 instead of $850,000. You live there. You and your partner share the proceeds from a future sale. Forced savings. Future thinking. Good life.

Shall we talk numbers? Call me!

Update on a few short sales:

New …. 10 Egret, Mill Valley $1,895,000

Blogged about and now in escrow … 312 G Street, San Rafael (a Victorian) … 37 Palm, San Rafael (beautiful Victorian…

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

What an Amazing Day of touring … today was a beautiful, sunny day when I left Ross and drove to work in San Rafael … it became a day of values galore…

Before we begin … 69 Taylor Drive in Fairfax …. yes, I’d shown it … finally sold for … hold your hat … what a value …. $240,000. Nice enough lot. Not much house. An opportunity.

For pure livability, the favorite home on tour was Laura and Kristin’s 30 La Cuesta, Greenbrae … with five bedrooms, five baths a pool and an amazing location this home was refreshed (very well staged) and priced substantially below last year’s price. $500,000 less than last time around … now priced $2,995,000 30 La Cuesta is a real life enjoyable bargain in my book.

Next up, three homes in Larkspur….

Cute, affordable and a value … 207 Madrone Avenue, Larkspur, in the canyon by Lark Creek, is a wonderful, affordable two bedroom 1907 cottage with a creek running (in the winter) behind it. Purchased for $880,000 and with another $70,000 into it, it is offered by Jean Mastagni of Coldwell Banker at $799,000.

After that Jim Cottle, who sometimes resists the sweets (he did today), drove us to 222 Monte Vista, a four year new four bedroom craftsman home off of William. Suzanne Shelhart of Alain Pinel was delightfully hosting the brokers tour with great food … back to the home … fabulous schools, two car garage, on the edge of town … a real find.

Did I mention the $150,000 reduction on 3 Hill Road, Ross? A wow of a home!

Onward …. 391 Elm Avenue, Larkspur is a true joy …

This top of the world five bedroom home of over 2500 square feet single level home sold for $1,750,000
 in April ’07. Now listed by Tina MCArthur of The Pacific Union-Morgan Lane M&M team for $1,650,000 it is fun to visit … try living there … it’ll be addictive!

For variety we next traveled to visit our own Patti Oxman in the Heart of Kentfield at 26 Hill Drive.

Owned by the same family since 1948 this classic four bedroom four bath home features large mature gardens (with a pool that considered pushing Jim into when he came up with one of his classic remarks) and has a separate downstairs 1/1 unit. Look at the detailing …

Offered at $2,595,000 … this would be a real gem to keep in YOUR family for half a century as well.

As always, to put the REAL in real estate …. email or call me …. now. 

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

… Coming Shortly to arriving today!

Oh my god, the value of the network meetings – we all learn so much about homes coming to the market – this morning a Frank Howard Allen network, tomorrow the Marin Real Tours bus with top agents from all the big name brokerages … next week two other big meetings!

From today’s meeting, coming soon … Three homes in San Anselmo and two in San Rafael …

First San Rafael …

305 Highland … owners paid $3.85M and are getting ready to go on the market at $2.7M … wow of a home with huge water views!

Then a home in Fairhills … four bedrooms, three baths with a piece of land to die for … nearly an acre of land that was used as an organic farm!!!! Less than a million, a few weeks off.

Then San Anselmo …

There’s a totally charming, large two bedroom plus in Yolanda Park due to the market in a few weeks. Great home, level lot, real quality in the low 700,000s.

Nearby, on Karl, Gary Fisher’s five bedroom home, probably in the $1.1M range.

And then there’s 84 Oak Knoll, just showing up on the market for $465,000.

After all is said and done, my office in San Rafael is sky high … Jeff Sterley is coming to town to be our assistant manager. We’ll miss the years with Matt MacPhee, but he’ll still be here, selling and getting married and …., what a guy! And now the forces gather.

What would Artie say?

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

A joy of real estate here in the Bay Area is the fantastic water view homes. Last week of the many homes I visited, two were in the category of magnificent homes.  Totally amazing was 55 Ridge, perched on a road off of the top of Panoramic.

A modern Lorcan O’Herlihy creation, recipient of a 2007 AIA award, 55 Ridge Avenue offers commanding views of the Ocean, Bay and our beautiful Parklands.

This wonderful four bedroom home, priced just a tad under $4M at $3,995,000 and offered by Matthew Pouliot of Pacific Union International, is a sanctuary … Jim Cottle, now again a Frank Howard Allen, was touring with me and didn’t want to leave. After you drool a bit, call me and we put the real in your real estate … and maybe Jim can visit?

Save $1M!!!

The other melt your heart water view home at 276 Beach Road in Belvedere is a four bedroom Victorian from 1900.

This home was purchased last September for $4.6M and tastefully improved at an estimated amount of $500,000 … life changes and it is being offered for $3,990,000 (reduced from $4,350,000 … that’s motivation!). Beautiful listing, Chelsea. Let’s sell it!

While mentioning Belvedere, how about 1 Cliff Road … a stunning contemporary at 276 Beach Road in Belvedere? A seven bedroom home of recent vintage this beauty is offered by Bill Bullock at $28,850,000.

If you’ve got it, spend it. If you’re a more normal person and need to shop, let’s go … there are values available as the market slumbers into summer. Call me, call me, call me, (415) 257-2039!!!

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Some towns are hot, others not. Here in the lusty town of Corte Madera homes are selling and inventory is down to a five month supply (27 homes available). In the last twelve months 69 of the tightly-priced homes have sold … blame the sales on the schools and the competition.

Tightly-priced is my personal term of art since the price per square foot asked on the sales was $544 and the homes sold at $530 …. with an average sales price of $994,841. The least expensive home was 57 Summit, which sold to a developer for $350,000 last year and this year for $410,000 to someone who is going to live and repair …. here’s wishing them good luck.

The most expensive home was a five bedroom 5066 square foot home 659 Chapman, which sold in April ’08 for $3,766,667 and this year started asking $3.6M, reduced to $3.2M, where it sold after 113 days on the market.

Right now there are 27 homes available, average price per square foot of $524, days on market at 98. There are another sixteen in escrow (approximately 40%), three anticipating moving vans (all contingencies have been removed on 9 Echo, 10 Mohawk and 8 Alta Way). The average asking price of those homes in escrow is $100,000 less than the average sales price over the last year … which I take to say that buyers are buying in the lower price ranges, there are no $3.2M homes in escrow, and prices are relatively firm.

If you’re thinking schools, recreation, proximity to 101 and home values, Corte Madera is a great place to live. If you are, CALL ME.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

A client requested per square foot pricing information on the Walnut/Sycamore area of Mill Valley, a central, sought after part of Mill Valley with the homes fairly tightly packed together. As a sample I selected a ¼ mile radius of 200 Sycamore.

There were five homes on the market … none in escrow … averaging $635 per square foot and 61 days
on the market. In the past year nineteen had sold … averaging $610 per square foot and 79 days on the market. Of perhaps greater interest were the twelve homes that hadn’t sold … averaging $788 per square foot, 30% above those homes that sold, with the sellers giving up after an average of 77 days.

When pricing homes in the salt and pepper Marin County, where massive homes are found cheek and jowl with small cottages, location still makes a huge difference. Information on Mill Valley homes (price, price per square foot, percentage of sellers who give up, days on market and so forth) varies greatly from the same set of information on Tiburon or Novato. And while towns vary in value per square foot and rate of sales, so do the mini-locations within towns ….

An illustration of this is easily seen when comparing the Walnut/Sycamore results to a ¼ mile radius of 310 Cascade, an area of less density, less sunlight (there are sunny spots but the perception is that much of the area is in shade), with relatively close proximity to town.

There were five homes actively on the market, none in escrow … and only been two sales in the past year … average days on the market for the sales was 270 … the sales statistics were distorted by a home that was abandoned by a builder who asked $1,395,000 and sold for $550,000 after 164 days on the market … yikes! ….

Also of interest in the Cascade sample were the seven owners who’d given up trying to sell after an average of 114 days at an average price per square foot of $700. (The giver-uppers include 310 Cascade, a marvelous home that was priced at $2,695,000 where the sellers reduced the price to $2,345,000 and just now relisted by Karen and Chelsea Hardesty with the enlarged commission of 6% and lower price of $2,250,000).

As another alternative I looked at the ¼ mile radius of a home I sold in the 900 block of West California. Tam Valley is a mixed area off of Loring with a mix of larger homes and some smaller ones. There are ten homes active, two of those in escrow … average cost per square foot of $589 and days on market of 65. In the past year a dozen homes have sold there with an average cost per square foot of $555 (versus an ask of $577), selling in an average of 124 days on market. There were two owners who gave up after an average of 27 days on the market at an ask of $639 per square foot.

Thus we have three great locations in the marvelous town of Mill Valley … Sycamore, with 19 sales at an average per square foot sales price of $610 (and 12 homes that did not sell priced at $788), Cascade with two sales at a distorted price (and seven that did not sell at $700) and Tam Junction with 12 sales at $589 (and two give ups at $639).

Square foot statistics is only one determinate of value, but as my former boss Astrid Trauth used to say, “statistics are like a bikini, what they reveal is interesting and what they hide can be critical.”

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

The California Association of Realtors reported that the May median price for California increased 23.2% and home sales increased 1.2%.

For the San Francisco Bay area, sales rose 1.7% over last year. Home sales posted their third largest increase on record for the month of May, due in part to first-time buyers who took advantage of the federal and state tax credits. May also marked the fifth month of double digit gains in the median price, indicating strong buyer demand relative to the supply of homes for sale. With a 4.6 month supply of homes for sale, unsold inventory continues to be well below the long run average of the past 7 months, and will hopefully continue to drive price appreciation over the next several months.

Sales in May 2010 increased 14.1% compared to the previous month of April. Specifically looking at the San Francisco Bay area, the price of a single family home in May rose 48% as compared to February 2010. The median price of a home in May for the Bay Area was $592,930 as compared to $399,040 in February. This, however, is still -30.6% below the peak median home price in May of 2007.

In looking further at the unsold inventory index by price point in California, the $1-million-plus category remains the highest percentage representing almost 38% of the total inventory. However, the good news for home buyers is that the amount of home inventory under $1M has risen significantly over the last year, representing almost 62% of the inventory from 54% last year, indicating that sellers are much more realistic in their pricing from a year ago, and understanding where all the action in sales are in 2010. The other good news for home buyers is that interest rates are still excellent, averaging around 4.89%. Yes, indeed, it is still a great time to buy a home. Consider if the interest rates were just 1 point higher, the average mortgage would be costing a buyer an extra $1,000 per month, and the savings of a 30-year loan is roughly $360,000!

Our local lender even quoted rates last week at 4.75% with a point down, for a loan balance of $729,750 or less.

Amazing!

Posted by:  Rick Smith

Three Properties … all Potentially Good Buys

Three properties … all potentially good buys and all definitely great values … jumped off the page as I planned for broker tour … the first 27 Escalle Lane, Larkspur is a stylish two bedroom condo at the top of Skylark … a 1361 square foot condo with a BIG view …

I went to view this property because Jason Lewis simply refuses to stop pushing it … he’s gone beyond beyond (including a U-tube presentation, gift certificates to the Buckeye, etc.) and none of us in the San Rafael office of Frank Howard Allen are immune …. last time on the market (1999) 27 Escalle sold for $339,000 … in 11 days … this time the price was reduced from $679,000 to $649,000 after less than two weeks …

With tall ceilings this property breathes well!

The second property is 551 Redwood Road, San Anselmo … ½ mile up the hill from my home at Glenwood and Bolinas in Ross … has a kitchen to die for … note the very function U shape … the sub-zero and great lighting ….


presented by Natalie Shapiro of Bradley Real Estate in conjunction with the Tina McArthur of Pacific Union/Morgan Lane … situated on a serene 2.6 acre lot with paths and views 551 Redwood is a colorful, peaceful home with four bedrooms and two and one half baths …

an eye-popper of value … last offered in 2004 at $1,795,000 … today’s price … $1,250,000!



The third great property is 40 Great Circle, Mill Valley …

This waterfront home, designed by Paul Ballora is listed by Alix Fagersten of Sotheby’s International for $3,250,000, the better part of $1M less than its prior price of a shade under $4M. This five bedroom home features big bay view windows, enchanting use of a variety of woods, a very short commute to San Francisco.



There are many great values currently available and listed on the multiple listing service (MLS) and quite a few others that are available or coming soon. With 80% jumbo loans now available we’re poised to see more sales in the above $3M range.

What would tickle your fancy? Are you ready to be lucky? You let me know and I’ll search the hills and flats for you … interest rates are low (for now).

Good News statistics … a comparison of the first quarters of 2009 and 2010 … in San Rafael sales were up 59% (49 vs 78) … the average time on market decreased by 14% (from 118 days to 102 days) and the inventory (good news for sellers) declined from a 9.1 month supply to a 4.0 month supply …. a 56% decline! Buyers, now is the time to hop to it … a housing shortage is coming to the SF Bay Area.

The best news … I’m here for you so contact me at (415) 257-2039.

Best Real Estate Buys & Bargains in Marin County
Installment 1: Sausalito, June 9, 2010
Installment 2: Aboard the Bus, June 10, 2010
Installment 3: Update on June 10, 2010 posting
Installment 4: San Geronimo & Nicasio Valleys
Installment 5: Condos in Tiburon, CA
Installment 6: Update on Sausalito Blvd
Installment 7: Three Properties … all Potentially Good Buys

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

New Law Offices for estate planning attorney James Hastings 

After a few restful years of regrouping … having sold his slightly damaged by the ‘Flood of 2003’ law offices in San Anselmo …. attorney James Hastings was ready to find a new, visible, headquarters for his expanding estate planning practice. The criteria were specific, the search took two years. Now success is at hand … Mr. Hastings will be moving to 1003 Third Street in San Rafael after a major remodeling effort is complete.

The search began with a range of possible locations … in the core of Marin County with buildings in Greenbrae, Larkspur and Kentfield. It was then expanded to San Rafael. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was of little use as MLS is designed for and primarily functions to serve buyers and sellers of single family homes.

For this project I re-entered the world of commercial real estate … I am primarily a residential real estate agent but have chaired the commercial and investment committees of the Marin Association of Realtors, have a broker’s license and a securities license as well.

One of the buildings we looked at in our two year search is 1850 Fourth Street in San Rafael, offered by Isobel Weiner of Sotheby’s. A beautiful building but a mite expensive for Mr Hastings’ needs.

About the time we let go of Fourth Street, up popped Third Street. The real estate negotiations with Theo Banks of Keegan & Coppin followed the normal commercial track … a letter of intent, verbal agreement, the redesigning of the space with the owner’s architect Peter Gallagher of Corte Madera and a bid by their contractor Loic Humbert. With this information in hand we began the negotiations and then, finally, wrote a lease that detailed payments, improvements and timing.

The location, location, location of the new building? … directly adjacent to the downtown San Rafael Kaiser Permente building. The Hastings Law high visibility location has its pluses and its minuses. The plus is the 44,000 people who drive past the building every day (according to the sign on Isobel’s listing or 30,879 people according to the sign on the San Rafael Corporate Center on 2nd Street) … the minus is that with that many people zipping and zapping past the property the energy is greatly impacted. To redirect the energy Finola Fitzclarence, a Berkeley classical feng shui practioner, trained by Joey Yap, was consulted. With some minor but important alterations, the building is going to be a real source of wealth building for Mr. Hastings and his clients. The most visible changes, aside from the full interior renovation, will be the color and the awning ….

 Marin County real estate comes in many forms and serves any number of functions … in this case a long term lease of a property that was underutilized (retail) becomes a stronger asset for the owners as it is developed to serve a higher and better usage as a law office.

Yes, I’m searching for a new office for another attorney and appreciate all leads …. Any ideas welcome! Contact me and let me know.

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen

Installment 5: Condos in Tiburon, CA

What a difference a year makes … through June 15 this year multiple listing (MLS) sales of condos in Tiburon showed a huge gain in number of sales, price and price per square foot … ten Tiburon condos closed escrow with an average sales price of $1,006,212 ($599 per square foot), up from the same time last year … four MLS sales reported with an average sales price of $805,250 ($516 per square foot).

The increase in sales does not mean that sellers are out of the woods … there currently are 28 condos that have been available an average of 108 days. These condos represent 1 ½ years of inventory (healthy healthy is 4 months).

About a sale that looks to be a bargain … a condo sold in Tiburon for $151,000. You’d think that at that price 25 Andrew represented a great price … it was originally listed at $299,000, which also seems to be a great price … and hey, I know these units … I bought one years ago from David and Mary Rabb several years ago. Even at the glowing price of $151,000 this sale represents long term thinking … this is a LOL (if you’re over 40, LOL is not little old lady but laugh out loud) bank REO (foreclosure) sale of a deed restricted unit (has to be rented). As if that’s not enough to nick the value, the tenant has recorded a rent controlled lease of … 75 years!

Even better value …

The Pt Tiburon ground floor unit at 117 Paradise Drive … for ten times the price … was a better ‘bargain’. A trustee sale, this two bedroom, two bath front row condo (dues $775 per month) has spectacular views of SF. It was listed at $1,695,000 and sold for $1,440,000 … a Union Bank trust sale requiring no court approval, it was a real value that all the agents were talking about (they’re giving it away!).

From my personal point of view 113 Paradise Drive … also two bedrooms and two baths … is a great value …

 … offered at $1.6M … if you enjoyed the taste of the view, go to my home page at simply call me and I’ll show it to you … 113 Paradise Drive comes with its own centrally located two car garage.

Where will your Bargain Hunter next travel? Stay tuned! Call me and get ready to have some fun, eat some great meals while you and I put the real in real estate … together.

Best Real Estate Buys & Bargains in Marin County
Installment 1: Sausalito, June 9, 2010
Installment 2: Aboard the Bus, June 10, 2010
Installment 3: Update on June 10, 2010 posting
Installment 4: San Geronimo & Nicasio Valleys
Installment 5: Condos in Tiburon, CA
Installment 6: Update on Sausalito Blvd
Installment 7: Three Properties … all Potentially Good Buys

Posted by:  Tom Verkozen