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Food, Music, and Bocce at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Stephen Pringle

I stopped by former Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh’s new Terrapin Crossroads restaurant and music venue with the family recently, and what a great place. We sat outside and had dinner on the water with the kids, sipping beer and margaritas while they played bocce. Locals pulled up in their boats while we ate, and after dinner we headed into the bar for some live music.  The food was tasty, with a nice selection of small plates and entrees to choose from. Looks like they have private lounge rooms to rent as well. The ambiance is super cool and this is one of our new favorite spots! We’re looking forward to checking out a good bluegrass show coming up on August 3rd and 4th.

Terrapin Crossroads
100 Yacht Club Dr.
San Rafael, CA 94901
415.524-2773

 

Marin Pending Rates for June

Posted on July 13, 2012 by George Crowe

Here are the pending rates for Marin towns for June, 2012.  They are calculating them a little differently now, so are actually more accurate that they have been for previous months and the rates will now appear to be lower across the board (no more 135% pending rates for example). I won’t get into the changes in methodology here, as even the old ones are useful as relative activity between the various areas. If you’re curious let me know and I can send you more info. Greenbrae led the charge with a 70% pending rate, with Mill Valley, San Rafael, and Novato coming in as “slight seller” markets. As has been the case for some time, the rates are much stronger in the lower price ranges, as shown in the second chart.

May Housing Market Stats for Marin: A Little More Inventory

Posted on June 18, 2012 by George Crowe

The housing market has remained pretty crazy around Marin County through May and into June. The number of homes for sale has ticked up slightly as you would expect in Spring, but with continued demand there has continued to be lots of competition for good properties, especially in the under $1 million segment of the market. The increase in new listings has at least reversed the downward trend in months of supply a bit, so things have stabilized somewhat after bottoming out in March. We’re hoping Summer will be a time for supply and demand to even out a little so we can get back to a healthier, more balanced market.

If you’d like market stats tailored to your town or price segment feel free to drop me an email here.

Marin Homes For Sale, Pended, Sold through May 2012

 

Marin County Months Supply of Homes

 

Where Have All the Short Sales Gone?

Posted on May 22, 2012 by George Crowe

Everyone is speculating about why the inventory in Marin County has been so incredibly low all of a sudden this year, and I think I can offer at least a partial explanation: buyers are snapping up short sales and less are coming on the market. The chart below shows all residential short sales in Marin over the last five years, so basically since the time we started seeing them come on the market back in 2007. The number of active short sale listings has come back down to about where we started, with a dramatic drop in new ones coming on in April (the blue line that dives down at the bottom right). There were only 13 new short sale listings in Marin in April, compared to 38 in March, and 44 in April of last year.  And so far in May only 13 have come on. This certainly is affecting inventory overall, and it’ll be really interesting to see if this is a trend or an anomaly.

And then the real question is why are so few new short sales coming on the market ? Are sellers who were thinking about short selling now having second thoughts because the market has been so hot, thinking maybe they can wait it out and their homes will come back in value? Are they more successful at getting loan modifications lately? Is it some combination of these things, or something else altogether?

If you have thoughts or insights please share them in the comments, and as always feel free to email me at george@sfnorth.com with questions or to get more detailed markets stats.

 

Marin County Short Sale Listings

 

Marin Market Madness Continues

Posted on May 4, 2012 by George Crowe

I was just looking at market stats and came across an amazing one that paints a clear picture of what’s happening around here lately–the absorption rate for Marin homes under a million dollars. It was over 90% for March (April numbers will be out in the next week or so).  You get that number by dividing the number of pending sales for the month by the number of active listings. It’s a little lower for all price ranges, but still pretty crazy, especially compared to the way things were just months ago.

 

Marin absorption rate for residential properties under $1 million.

 

Marin absorption rate for residential properties in all price ranges.

If you’d like market stats tailored for your town or price segment just drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Kim Baskind

You may not have heard about Outstanding in the Field, but it’s an exciting culinary adventure that I am just itching to experience. The creators have a mission to reconnect people with the food they eat. They call them restaurants without walls and set up long farm tables in unique places, like in the middle of a vineyard, on a ranch, in a cave, or right by the ocean. We just discovered this but it’s been going on for 20 years. The aim is to bring people as close as possible to the ingredients on their plate–literally so close that they may be grown just a few feet away.

Take a look at the schedule and see if there’s an event for you.  Tickets run in the $200 price range and they have been selling out fast.  If you missed the one you want (we missed the Michael Minna event at Devils Gulch – bummer!) then sign up on the email list so you are sure not to miss out next year.

Outstanding in the Field does many events here in California, but they also travel. How about dining in a vineyard in the Rioja region of Spain? Or sampling some Mahi Mahi, taro, and starfruit at an organic farm on the island of Hawaii? Honey, I think it’s time to plan a vacation!

Marin County Activity Reports for February

Posted on March 27, 2012 by George Crowe

Here are the slightly delayed pending rate reports for last month.  We should have the ones for March before long but in the meantime it’s interesting to look at what happened in February. Other than a few areas with a large proportion of luxury listings, like Kentfield, Belvedere, Tiburon, and Ross, most towns in Marin were humming along, and that activity level has continued so we should see similar numbers for this month.

The pending rate is the percentage of the total listings going into escrow. Fairfax had a rate over 100% due to a couple of off market sales–homes that were not listed but were entered into the MLS for comp purposes.

If you’d like stats for your neighborhood or have questions about what’s happening in the Marin housing market feel free to drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.

 

New Elementary School Coming to East Corte Madera

Posted on March 19, 2012 by George Crowe

Big things are in the works in the Larkspur-Corte Madera school district. Bond Measure A, which passed last year, is providing funds for upgrades to Neil Cummins Elementary and Hall Middle School, and the biggie–a brand new elementary school at the site of the old San Clemente School on Paradise Drive, which has been leased to the Lycee Francais. The plan is to tear down the old facility and build a brand new public school, with construction slated for 2013 and 2014. I talked to someone in the district office who said they haven’t yet decided on enrollment boundary lines or what will determine which kids go to which elementary school, but she said to keep an eye on the website for updates.

Marin Real Estate Market Most Competetive in Years

Posted on March 12, 2012 by George Crowe

The numbers are in for February, and the anecdotal craziness that agents are reporting in the Marin housing market is supported clearly by the stats. The imbalance between supply and demand has continued, with the months supply of inventory still trending down. If you’ve been actively looking for a home in Marin lately you probably know exactly what I’m talking about, as many listings are selling right away, often with multiple offers. It’s frustrating for buyers but the best time in quite a few years to be a seller.

Marin County months supply of housing inventory

Here’s a look at the overall trend in homes for sale vs. those pending and closing. You’ll notice how the light green bars representing homes for sale are lower lately than they are in the rest of the chart, and the red line that represents houses going into escrow has shot up. There’s an important conclusion to draw from this: if this trend continues it will drive prices up. While it’s nice to see some strengthening in the Marin housing market after the wild ride of the last several years, we like to see things a bit more balanced because it’s healthier all around, so here’s to seeing more properties coming on the market to satisfy the demand.

As always, if you have questions about what’s going on in Marin or would like market stats specific to your town or price range please drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.

Ross Valley Sewer Lateral Replacement Grant Program on Hold

Posted on March 6, 2012 by George Crowe

We’ve talked before about the cool program the Ross Valley Sanitary District has had in place for the last few years, where they’ll pay for half the cost (up to $4000) of a new sewer lateral for homes in the district that qualify. Unfortunately the money has dried up for now. I talked with someone at the office who said to keep checking back as they think they’ll have funds again sometime before July, so it sounds like this might be a temporary situation.

You can get more info at their website, www.rvsd.org, or by calling (415) 259-2949.