The median price for a detached home in Marin was $1.71 million in August in a market that continues to favor many sellers.
The price figure, part of the latest monthly data released by the county assessor-recorder’s office, was down from $1.8 million the prior month but up 12% over August 2020. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less.
The county had 277 detached home sales last month, slightly more than July but fewer than the 320 during the previous August.
After months of feverish buying, Cathy Youngling, president of the Marin Association of Realtors, said she has seen “slight slowing” in the market in parts of the county. She said desirable properties are still getting multiple offers, just not as many, and they are taking somewhat longer to sell.
“If I was a buyer, I wouldn’t be discouraged.” she said. “If I was a seller, I would price at market value and not where I hope it will sell.”
One property near the median was 426 Locust St. in Sausalito, a two-bedroom home near Caledonia Street that sold in mid-August for $1.725 million. Despite an unusual home configuration — no interior access from the main level to the lower level — the property received two offers and sold at slightly more than asking, said Julia Bernardini, the seller’s agent.
“Buyers are on a shopping spree, I would say, in all price ranges,” she said. “There’s a lot of wealth out there. … The only problem we have is, we need more houses.”
Bill McKeon, a 44-year real estate agent in Marin, said he has never seen a hot market last as long as the current one. He said a property priced around $1.5 million, especially in southern Marin, “just flies into escrow.”
McKeon was the seller’s agent for 86 Claire Way in Tiburon, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home of about 1,000 square feet. It listed for $1.295 million, got six offers and sold for $1.53 million.
“I personally haven’t seen the prices come down,” he said. “They seem to be pretty steady. I think it would be interesting to see what happens between now and the holidays.”
At the upper end of the Marin market, three homes in Ross sold for a median price of $5.5 million in August while eight homes in Belvedere sold for a median price of $4.45 million. No area of the county had a median price below $1.1 million last month.
In the Marin condo and townhouse market, the median price in August was $750,000, according to the county. It was $790,000 in July and $769,000 in August 2020.
Median prices for attached homes in August ranged from $1.23 million in Sausalito to $615,000 in Novato.
Statewide, the median detached home price was $827,940 last month, up 2.1% from July and up 17.1% from August 2020, according to the California Association of Realtors. It was the fifth new price record in six months, the association said.
The number of sales statewide declined 3.3% from July and 10.9% from August 2020.
In the Bay Area, the median price for a detached home was $1.265 million last month, the association reported. That was a 18.4% year-over-year increase but a decline of 2.7% from July.
“While home sales at the lower end of the market are underperforming due to a lack of supply and the economic uncertainty induced by the COVID resurgence, the higher-priced segments continue to see double-digit sales growth that’s keeping the overall market from moderating too fast,” said Jordan Levine, the association’s vice president and chief economist. “With interest rates expected to stay low for the rest of the year, sales in California will remain solid by pre-pandemic standards while price growth will likely ease further in the coming months.”
The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.88% as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company.
