Sales Drop But Prices Still Rise as Buyers Wait for More Inventory, or Are They Taking a Break?

October is here in Marin, one of our nicest weather months, no question. The last gasp of summer warmth fills each day as the season changes towards the end of the month, bringing cooler temps and–hopefully–normal seasonal rain. We need it as a county and not just to fill the reservoirs, but to quench the parched forests and undergrowth to avoid a repeat of a high risk fire season next year. We seem to be out of the woods (sorry) for now, but this is also the last month of awareness of that all too common natural threat.

Speaking of change, there’s a lot of news out there now on the housing market starting to slow, at least on the sales end. Price appreciation has slowed and stabilized, providing a good opportunity for patient buyers, but as of yet we haven’t seen any decline per se, only a drop in month over month price increases. I called this “normalizing” in the last newsletter and more normal it went, if you call our limited choice of housing options “normal” in any language. Buyers today have maybe one or two homes to look at in any area and any price range these days. While that sounds scant, at least it’s up from zero. In some cases they may have 2-3 homes to look at, though smart buyers aren’t picky and they don’t wait as multiple offers still abound, at least if the property tends to check a few major boxes on the common Wish List. That would be a one story home with at least 3 bedrooms, needing no updates on a flat lot in a good neighborhood with good weather, excellent schools, close to town, close to shops and not too far from the commute. At the right asking price, that house now sees 3-5 offers, which is also way down from the 10-12 they would have seen in our hot buying season of the spring. Not to say there isn’t plenty of demand for the privacy of view homes up in the hills, but given we are a county with only 25% flat ground, you can see how the supply issue works on those lots with most or all of the boxes checked for many buyers. 

Where we go from here is unknown, though I do get asked all the time about the market in 2022. These are still unchartered waters for us as a county, a state and a nation, so much remains to be seen with the current or future pandemic(s) and how it impacts our work force which drives the economy, the stock market, interest rates and housing. I’ll stay in touch on my end with the housing. We’ll see how it goes with everything else. 

For now, that pretty much does it. Enjoy October and the rest of this year wherever you are and please stay safe. As always, thanks for reading.

Ted

415.377.5222

ted@gomarin.com

Filed under: Marin Real Estate Blog by Ted Strodder