We're not in Kansas

CLICK ON THE MAGIC SLIPPERS

FOR THE LATEST MARIN STATISTICS!

Well here they are! The latest Marin statistics. If you take a moment and click on the magic slippers, you will be able to see for yourself how Marin REALLY is doing. Too often the news in the papers leaves one feeling as if we are in a whirling house in the middle of a tornado. Just like Dorothy we are flying through the air without any control. When you finally are on the ground, you feel as if you aren't in Kansas anymore.

Not in Kansas, well, I should say not. Marin is its own place. Although we have seen a slowing in the past month, we are still holding our own. Fewer homes sell, but when they do, they are selling at fair prices. With mortgages at historic low rates, Buyers are in a unique position to get the home of their dreams, perhaps at the price the home would have sold for in the beginning of last year, in some cases lower. If you have seen in Marin as long as I have then you know, that opportunity will not last forever. Prices will rise. They always do.

Are you one of those people who wish that had bought a bigger home, a newer home or even just any home years ago. You know then that they only person who has regrets in regards to Real Estate in Marin would be the one who never bought any. (Ok, there are some people who had risky mortgages, and bought at the height of the market, perhaps overbidding on a property - but those are the minority here in Marin)

If you have been putting off buying a home. Don't make the mistake of waiting too long. Once this opportune time passes don't live in the land of "should have,. would have, could have."

Buy the house this year and then say, just like Dorothy and so many Marinites have said,

"There's no place like home."

Very Interesting.....

I was pulling together some statistics for a meeting I will be having on Thursday and I did a short evaluation of prices since 2000 in one neighborhood. Marinview is a wonderful enclave of homes ajacent to the National Recreation Area. Built in the early 70's, the homes are growing increasingly unique as improvements are made to many. The close commute and proximity to nature is truly a wonderful blessing. I currently have listed a 1625 sq ft townhome priced at $846,000. Back in 2000 this home would have been priced in the mid $500,000s.

Since 2000 the prices have gone up 65% for a detached single family home and 60% for an attached home. Do the math! Not only is Real Estate a wonderful investment, beating most stocks by yards and yards, but the added benefit is you get to enjoy your investment!

What about the market downturn I heard about on TV. Well, yes there is some evidence of longer times on market in this desirable neighborhood. Homes will now sell at a reasonable price and in a reasonable amount of time. It was getting to be that a listing would sell in 2 weeks time. Now our time on market is more like the average of the past 40 years. The average time on market over this time period is 4.5 months.

This is time for sellers to realistic about price and timing. Sellers need to find the person who will use every tool available to keep the house in people's minds. They need to make the home as available as possible. Patience is something severely lacking in the recent Real Estate boom. Now its time to head back to earth, and be thankful for the incredible gains realized. For those people who bought when the market was hot, and now worry their investment is at risk, take a look at the long picture. There is no better place to own Real Estate than Marin.

October in Real Estate

The following is a recap from Avram Goldman of Pacific Union. Avram takes a look each month at the entire Bay Area. What you will note is the higher priced counteis are fairing better than other counties. This is because the recent tighting of mortgage money has not hit the higher end Buyer like it has the more moderately priced homes. You will find this trend even in Marin, where Novato's sales and prices are off while the prices in other parts of Marin have risen.

"Here is how each county fared for the month of October. The numbers are based on sales of single family homes and condos. As I stated above sales prices for the majority of counties did well. I will give both the median and average sales price percentages. The first number will be median and the second average. San Mateo county lead with +14%/+18.7%, Marin +8.4%/+15%,
Santa Clara +7%/+11% and San Francisco +5.4%/+11%. All these counties have the highest prices in the Bay Area. This shows the strength of the upper end markets. There is a great deal of wealth in the Bay Area due to the tech industry, venture capital and export/import businesses. Alameda county (+8%/+4%) although down on median was up on average again reflecting part of
the influence from the expense markets in No. Alameda county. Three counties were down Napa slightly at -2%/-.5%, Sonoma -8.6%/-10.6%, Contra Costa -10.6%/-2% and the hardest hit county Solano at -18.5%/-23%.

Number of closed sales was off significantly year over year for October; however seven of the nine counties were up month over month. The first number given is year over year for October and the second number is month over month Sept. to October. The leader in being least off from last year is San Francisco -11%/+21.5% followed by San Mateo -33%/-1%, Marin -34%/+21%, San Mateo -38%/+9%, Sonoma -40%/+2%, Napa -44%/+31%, Alameda -46%/+8%, Contra
Costa -48%/-3% and Solano -56%/-13.5%.

Months supply of inventory (MSI) gives us a picture of the type of market each of our counties are in---seller’s, balanced or buyer’s market. Three months and under is a seller’s market, 4-6 months a balanced market, 6-10 months a buyer’s market and over 10 months a strong buyer’s market. MSI is higher in every county this year compared to last year. I will note that San Francisco and Marin counties were only slightly higher than last year’s supplies. All counties were down in MSI Sept. compared to October which is a positive sign. The only county still considered in a seller’s market is San Francisco at with a 3 MSI. Only San Mateo county at 5.2 MSI is in a balanced market. Santa Clara 7.5 and Alameda 8.7 MSI are in a buyer’s market. Sonoma 10.2, Napa 13.4 and Solano 15.1 MSI find themselves in a strong buyer’s market. As a reminder these are county-wide figures. Within each of these markets there can be diversity. Meaning that in a seller’s market county you may have specific markets that have higher inventories and conversely within a buyer’s market you may find specific markets that have smaller inventories. "

Where does all the money go????

Boomers, here's something I bet you already know.

At least those of you with grown children!

A study by 'Ameriprise Financial,
Money Across Generations '

(http://www.ameriprise.com/amp/global/docs/pr-money-generations-research.pdf)

shows that many Boomers are caught between financially
helping elderly parents and adult children. Thus,
the term “the sandwich generation.” Sometimes they open their wallets too easily and don’t realize that such generosity affects their ability to fund their own retirement.

Only 9% of Boomers believe assisting their parents has
hurt their retirement savings, but 29% believe assisting their adult children has slowed their savings progress.

To assist adult children, four in ten boomers draw from “regular savings,” one in six even takes out loans, and six percent pull money from retirement savings.

Story #1 - Harvard MBA or Marin Real Estate 101

After being in Real Estate as long as I have you have stories! Here in this Blog I hope to tell you some stories that may or may not make a valid point.

Today's story is about statistics.

Back in 2000, I had a client, a Harvard Business School MBA. This young fellow was very good at statistics and he ventured out into the Real Estate market confident that this skill would help him make a great deal. We looked at many properties and none measured up to what he considered appropriate. Then we came upon a beautifully remodeled home in San Anselmo. The home was listed for $1,400,000. It had a separate cottage for the office, a full four bedrooms, beautiful landscaping and a gourmet kitchen that would be the envy of all their friends.

He asked me for information on all the homes that had sold in San Anselmo in the past year, and he proceeded to do an analysis of the information. We were meeting at the office during dinner time to write up an offer, so I brought in a Pizza. I informed him the agent had called and there would be another nine offers being submitted. He laid out his spread sheet and told me the average price of a home in San Anselmo of this size was $1,100,000, and the percent of asking that a home received was 100.73. The price he was going to offer was $1,250,000.
After I spit the pepperoni across the room, I suggested he reconsider this offer if he truly wanted the home. "What's average about this home" I asked. Since the offer was not contingent on the sale of another property, he felt this should compensate and put him in better stead than the other offers. Even though I insisted that non of the other offers were likely to be contingent and some if not all would be over the asking price, he was adamant this be the offer price.

I wrote up the offer and told him the next time, because there would be a next time, he could buy the pizza!

Well, I presented the offer with all the professionalism I would muster and was complimented on the best presentation of the day. ( I give the listing agent credit for not laughing at this offer given the circumstances!)

When the dust cleared, the home sold for 250K over the asking price. My client was back on the hunt for a "deal" in a seller's market. The next time we found a home that was more"average" and he bought that.

Houses are widgets, they are each unique. The value they have depends on many factors and some of these factors are not measurable. You can walk into a house and just be blown away by the view, or the smell of the 12 cats that have made the living room home. It is very important to remember, when looking at sites like Zillow, for example, the statistics only hint at the story. They give you a broad background in which to position your unique home.

If you are considering selling a home, call a Realtor. Hey, call me. I can help you understand how your home stacks up against the stats!

STATS

Want stats on Marin Real Estate?

Check out the line below. You will be amazed at this wealth of info.

http://www.sfmarin.com/cgi-bin/password_manager/program_files/omlsmarstats.pl?search1=cyoungling@realmaringal.com

ENJOY!

Did you feel the earth move? 5 STEP EVACUATION PLAN

As Halloween approached last night some people were scared

by a 5.6 Earthquake. Not only do we live in Earthquake country, but we are blessed with beautiful trees and landscape that can (and has ignited in the past). My Father lives in North San Diego County and was on evacation alert.

I thought this might be a timely and valuable reminder.

The following plan is a good one to keep in mind.

Thanks to Costello Insurance!

In the event of a sudden emergency, you may have just minutes
to gather your family and important papers, and get out of your house, possibly
for good. Are you prepared? Where would you go? What would you take with
you?With preparation and practice, you stand the best chance of getting out with
what you and your family need, and ending up in the right place. Planning ahead
is crucial; this five-step plan can help get you

and your family on the road to safety:

1. Arrange Your Evacuation Ahead of Time

Identify where you can go in the event of an evacuation. Try to have more than one option: the home of a friend or family member in another town, a hotel or a shelter. Keep the phone numbers and addresses of these locations. Map out your primary route and a backup route in case roads are blocked or impassable. Make sure you have a map of the area available. In case your family members are separated before or during the evacuation, identify a specific place to meet and ask an out-of-town
friend or family member to act as a contact person. Listen to Weather Radio,
local radio or TV stations for evacuation instructions

2. Create a Home Inventory

Create a complete home inventory of your personal
property. A home inventory will help you ensure that you have purchased enough
insurance to replace your possessions. It will also speed the claims process,
and will substantiate losses for income tax purposes. The I.I.I. has created the
Know your Stuff home inventory software, which can be found at www.knowyourstuff.org . This free, downloadable software helps you organize and list your possessions on your computer and then and burn the finished inventory onto a CD-ROM; you can also print a copy for your records. Whether you do your inventory electronically or on paper, make sure you keep a copy with your important documents and a second copy in a safe place outside your home (in a safe-deposit box, or with an out-of-town friend or family member).

3. Plan What to Take

Medicines, prescriptions and first aid kit. Bottled water
Clothing and bedding (sleeping bags, pillows) Flashlight, battery-powered radio and extra batteries Special items for infants or elderly or disabled family members
Computer hard drive or laptop. Photographs, Pet food and other items for pets (litter boxes, leashes)

4. Gather Important Documents

Keep important documents in a safe place
that you can access easily. In the event of an evacuation take the following
documents with you:
Insurance policies, Prescriptions, Birth and marriage , certificates, Passports, Drivers license or personal identification, Social Security cards, Recent tax returns, employment information, Wills, deeds and recent tax returns, Stocks, bonds and other negotiable certificates, Bank, savings and retirement account numbers
Home inventory

5. Take the Ten-Minute Challenge

To find out if you are ready, do a
real-time test. Give yourself just 10 minutes to get your family and belongings
into the car and on the road to safety. By planning ahead and practicing, you
should be able to gather your family members and pets, along with the most
important items they will need, calmly and efficiently, with a minimum of stress
and
confusion.

GREAT HOUSE TO SEE THIS HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

If you are looking for good eats and a great townhome, come on by today 10:30-2:30.

406 Durant Way in Mill Valley is a perfect example of what makes Marinview a great value in Southern Marin. Prices are up in this wonderful neighborhood! 406 Durant is fully staged to show off its warm and inviting nature. Take a look at its dedicated website.

http://www.406Durant.com

We will also be open 1-4 on Sunday Nov. 4.

Come see me and this great house. It will be a Halloween treat!

EAST or WEST... Marin is best!

I'm Back!
We just got back from sailing on the Chesapeake. The weather was unusally warm and we both know we were at the perfect time. We thought, as we looked at the charming homes on the water and the beautiful boats on the Bay, how different this would be in the winter. Boats most likely would be hauled out of the water, all those houses had shutters by design (it gets cold!)
I also remembered another trip where I took 5 showers in a day.
I inquired about the home prices in St. Michaels and Annapolis (as the Presidential helicopter flew overhead). I was surprised that prices on the water with a dock.... are appropriately high everywhere.
The boat we rented had air conditioning. Wouldn't have thought of that on a sailboat, but, then again thinking about the summers in the east, I guess there are times when you wouldn't want to do without.

Hey, there's no place like home. Our crabs are better, our weather is better... now if I could just move that nice 6,000 sq ft home on the water with 5 acres, with the Adirondack chairs here... ahhhhh.... That would be perfect!

2008 Forecast from CAR

NEWSFLASH!!!!
2008 CALIFORNIA HOUSING MARKET FORECAST
"Home prices throughout most of California will post modest declines next year while sales of existing homes will stabilize from the precipitous decrease experienced in 2007, according to C.A.R.'s "2008 California Housing Market Forecast" released today."

I bet this will make people in the Central Valley feel better! Once again, I am glad to be a Marin Gal!

To stage or not to stage....

Recently there was a poll done of top Realtors about whether they thought staging was worthwhile. Without hesitation ALL respondents said YES! In fact the majority felt that not staging a home in Marin County would seriously negatively affect the ultimate sales price.

I know it is difficult to imagine that investing in staging could make that much difference. But just imagine if you were looking for a used car. One car smelled of leather - the other of old socks. One was meticulously clean inside and there wasn't a scratch on the paint - the other was dented and there was an McDonald's wrapper thrown in the back. Now imagine, which one would you consider buying. Even if the price was higher the car that looks, smells and feels better, will sell. The other one will have to wait until there isn't another car competing for the potential buyer (or else it will sell for substantially less).

Staging is pretty standard in Marin homes. This means if your home is competing against other homes that are staged - and you have decided to go "au naturelle", then you are creating an up hill battle to sell your home. At the very very least, you must use staging principles when marketing your home.

I work with stagers, and have had a good deal of experience myself, in making homes Real Marin Gal represents sparkle. If you want to know more...send me an email or post here.

Welcome to Real Marin Blogging!

Welcome to my latest adventure in Real Estate. This blog, I hope will help answer questions you may have about Real Estate, Marin or Real Marin Gal. Please post and comment away so we can create a vibrant discussion.

As you know the market has shifted a wee bit. I read an article not long ago about the depressed market in Detroit. Where is a house sells at all, it may sell for the price of a car. There are even homes that are boarded up. My daughter lives in Salt Lake City. The market there in the past few years had been quite brisk. Today however, on the outskirts of Salt Lake, prices are falling, many people are losing their homes. Guess what happens when that happens? Rents go up, available rentals are fewer.This scenario is being played out throughout the country. But there are places in the country where the market is still strong.

We are so luck to live in Marin. Besides it's natural beauty and enviable lifestyles, these down times are much less notable here. Here, in my experience, there may be fewer homes sold, but prices remain quite good. Visit http://www.greathomes.org/adpages/frame-mlsstats.html to view statistic from 1965.

In 2007, as seen during other slower years, our sales are down but this
year our prices on average have increased 8.8%

Normally September is one of the busiest months for Real Estate sales in Marin. This September our sales were down. The uncertainty of the mortgage crisis impacted sales by keeping would be buyers away. Many of these buyers have opted to wait it out. Therefore the number of people looking for rentals is on the rise. Thus, rental prices are also on the rise.

How are you feeling about this market? Ultimately, no matter how many statistics tell you Marin is a great place to invest, your own personal circumstances will dictate how the Real Estate Market is for you.

For me.... this has been my best year yet and I hope you can say the same!