The market has definitely changed in Marin County. The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) is always a good gauge of where the market stands. The MSI for September 2007 was 6.8. This means that if no more homes go on the market, it would take 6.8 months to sell the existing listings at the current sales pace. An MSI of 6.8 is still good compared to the rest of the country, but high for Marin in recent years. In September 2005, the MSI was 2.9 in Marin. The city of Novato has taken the hardest hit, and definitely impacts the county-wide numbers. Novato’s MSI in September 2007 was 15.7 as compared to 4.6 in 2006 and 2.5 in 2005! A 521% change since ’05. Ouch.
The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) for the rest of Marin in September 07 is as follows:
|
City |
MSI- Sept ’07 |
MSI- Sept ’06 |
Change |
| Belvedere |
9.0 |
25 |
Down |
| Corte Madera |
3.8 |
2.4 |
Up |
| Fairfax |
8.0 |
3.7 |
Up |
| Greenbrae |
6.2 |
7.0 |
Down |
| Kentfield |
4.0 |
7.0 |
Down |
| Larkspur |
4.0 |
2.4 |
Up |
| Mill Valley |
4.8 |
4.1 |
Up |
| Ross |
6.7 |
5.5 |
Up |
| San Anselmo |
2.1 |
4.1 |
Down |
| San Rafael |
7.3 |
5.7 |
Up |
| Sausalito |
3.0 |
13.8 |
Down |
| Tiburon |
6.8 |
6.2 |
Up |
When the MSI goes down, there are fewer homes on the market. When it goes up, supply is increasing faster than demand. The city of Novato is definitely in a big time buyer’s market.