“We May Be in This For Quite Some Time”

November is here in Marin and despite this being a monthly newsletter, there’s not much new to report. It was more of the same in October as many homes continued to sell, while others remained untouched. For the record, there are currently 268 single family homes for sale in the county, with another 55 in escrow. This is mainly to do with price, but also my three L’s of Location, Lot and Layout. The better those three factors look with any property, the better and faster the sale. Just don’t forget the importance of pricing. 

With home values here among some of the highest in the nation, most sellers take their sale price very seriously, and for good reason. Marin home buyers tend to abhor overpricing, passing on anything they don’t feel has an attractive price tag on it. That doesn’t mean a Red Tag Sale price, per se. Just whatever the current market will bear given all the economic factors that day, and perhaps the weather. Smart sellers often opt to go below the cumulative perceived market value, spurring buyers to giddyup and make a compelling offer. Given the low inventory, this is often a wise choice. Given that we may be in this for quite some time, even more so. 

If you read all the real estate media posts like I do, you’ve seen that many people could stay put in their homes for much longer these days. When I first started, back in the Crogmagnon era, the average was 6 years. It then climbed to 8 years in 2021, but today sits closer to 12 years. While this can (and will) fluctuate, it likely will just be by a couple years. We’ll know more in a year, but for now, if you’re a seller, price it to sell, not sit. If you’re a buyer, don’t pass up a good 10-15 year opportunity, even if it seems to be at a price higher than your own data shows. In my experience, your enjoyment of use will quickly surpass any value jitters.  

That’s it for now. Until next time, enjoy November 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