September in Marin: A Short Summer Ends, But Where Goes the Market After Labor Day?

September is here in our gorgeous county. This is our best weather month, at least for those who like warm sunny days and clear skies. It’s a near-perfect time to enjoy any of the local or nearby outdoor activities, including the harvest and crush in the wine country. That’s always spectacular if you haven’t been there.

The kids are also back in school, making the drop off / pick up hours a little more packed on the roads. But given that residents chose to eliminate buses years ago and put the money into the schools, that leaves us as the drivers and I think most of us are happy to do it. I for one love driving my kids to school or picking them up to hear about their day and what’s current. They’ll be out before I know it, so I’m grabbing it while I can and loving every minute of being a dad.

We have some of the best public (and private) schools in the state and it shows in the enthusiasm the kids have to show up and be a part of it. They’ve got every indoor, outdoor, art and sport activity you can think of, plus after school groups, projects and events to keep them engaged in learning. A far cry from the lousy school I went to as a kid, I can tell you. But at least we had a full three months of summer back then, not the weak two months these guys are stuck with today. The summer flies by for them, but I digress from the beat of this blog, which is real estate. More specifically, what will happen after Labor Day?

If you read this blog, you know where we’ve been: low supply levels of homes for (what seems to be) a growing demand to live here. Combine that with historic low interest rates and you’ve got a strong market for sellers, with buyers left to “compromise and flexibility” as their watch words to success.

September tends to be the last big push for real estate, with sellers capturing the great weather and buyers hoping to close and be moved in by Thanksgiving. More listings will hit the market this month, but it will be interesting to see how many and if it will slow the price advances we tend to see this time of year.

Buyers, if you’re waiting for a price drop, you may be out of luck. The demand to live here far exceeds whatever you think it is, I can pretty much guarantee you. Every busy agent I know has a dozen or so buyers looking in a variety of price ranges in areas, some for a year or even far more. Every listing that has five offers on it means four buyers remain in the market, with another one or two likely to jump in this month.

Also, don’t try and time the market. Not that we are reading about anything on the horizon, but experts say it would take a long, slow economic recession to lower home prices, which could take months or years. As they say, we won’t know we’re in this or any trend until we’re six months into it. So be careful. If a home looks good to you, hopefully that will be good enough and you can make a compelling offer and enjoy the holidays at your new place.

For now, enjoy this great weather, wherever you are. As always, let me know of any questions and thanks for reading and Happy September!

TS

Text or call 415.377.5222 or email ted@gomarin.com.

Filed under: Marin Real Estate Blog by Ted Strodder