You might think that we could pull ourselves away from Scrabulous long enough to walk a few blocks to see Mill Valley's newest "green house," a mid-century modern redo (asking price $2.2 million, previously sold for $973,500 in 2006) that recently went on the market in a trendy walk-to-town neighborhood. Especially after we made such a fuss about Marin's growing obsession with sustainable living, bamboo flooring, tankless water heaters, etc. But our friends at the ultra-hip design blog Remodelista.com beat us there. Their verdict:
Monday, June 2, 2008
Our Far-Flung Correspondents: A Report From Sycamore Park
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Danielle Steele's Stinson Beach House For Sale
Add Danielle Steele's name to the growing list of homeowners who are trying to sell their beach houses in Stinson Beach's gated Seadrift community. The best-selling author's 3BR, 3B "personal play house on the beautiful Seadrift Lagoon" went on the market today, with an asking price of $2.65 million. Not everyone thinks it's worth that much, however. Meanwhile Steele, who paid $1.55 million for the house in 2003, still has another personal playhouse in Pacific Heights.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The House Down The Block Sold For How Much Again?
April sales figures for Marin are in, showing that the local market is still weaker than last year. In other words, there were fewer sales (147 vs. 212 in April 2007) at slightly lower prices ($1.02 million was the median vs. $1.08 million) after houses sat on the market for more days (75 vs. 56).
That said, 31 houses in Marin sold above their asking prices. What did those houses have in common? Some were well-priced, others were brand-new, some had one-of-a-kind locations. A lot of them you read about here first, because they caught our eye for one of the above reasons. Here's a comprehensive list:
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Why Is This Man Smiling If His Company Just Lost $1.8 Million On A Tiburon Mansion?
Maybe because it was his mansion?
The Italian-style villa at 3650 Paradise Drive cost Edward Mueller $8.3 million a few years back, and it came with bay views, beach access, a wine cellar, a bar and a large limestone veranda.
But then the former Williams-Sonoma exec got hired in August to be Qwest Communications' CEO and moved from Marin to Denver; Qwest bought the house for $8.9 million in September.
Qwest listed it for $9.95 million—but ended up selling it for $7.5 million in December. According to today's Wall Street Journal:
Qwest ... reaped only $7.1 million after closing costs and commissions when it sold in December, the latest proxy statement says.The moral of the story:
Read More......
Google vs. MLS: Guess Who We're Betting On?
Here's What Marin's $116,626 Median Income Will Buy
Median incomes in Marin are among the highest in the state—OK, in any state. Among married couples who file joint tax returns, the median adjusted gross household income is $116,626. If they're first-time homebuyers, how much house can they afford these days? One that costs $462,126.15, but only if they have saved up a 20 percent down payment:
462,126.15
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Where The Brokers Hang Out Online To Get The Inside Scoop
Think of it like a Facebook for real estate brokers. About two years ago, two Seattle-area entrepreneurs launched a blog-hosting site for brokers, called ActiveRain, which has grown into a social network where nearly 90,000 members post and bid for each others' referrals.
We recently conducted an interview via email with co-founder Jonathan Washburn, who noted that the referral service has helped ActiveRain set itself apart from the herd of Web 2.0 real estate sites competing for agents' attention. "Our members receive a great deal of value from the site. Both in terms of income earned and knowledge gained," Mr. Washburn wrote.
But what lures the average real estate junkie to the site? The same thing that keeps us coming back: gossip.
How the Real Estate Bubble Differs from the Dotcom Bubble
At the turn of the century, day trading—tech stocks in particular—was the great American past time. Everyone was investing in fly-by-night companies that had little more than a .com bolted onto their idiotic business plan. That, needless to say, didn't end well. Too many people saw their savings wiped out when the companies they invested in crashed and burned.
But as bad as it is now? For people living in Northern California, unless you bought a home within the past few years, your real-estate investment is still looking smart. Check out this chart: the median price of a home in Marin County, while down 26% from its historic peak last June, is still up 56% since 2000.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Got $1.1 million? Buy a Starter House in Mill Valley
You can get get "vintage charm" and "character" and 1,094 square feet of living space if you buy this brand-new $1.099 million Mill Valley listing. No, that's not a typo and yes, it does work out to $1,004.57 per square foot. 
Nice-looking kitchen, no?
A Flipper Horror Story
Starting four years ago, a guy buys nine homes in Northern California as investment properties. One by one, they slip into default. Now, he's looking at likely foreclosure—and the bank's coming after his own home and assorted assets, which could force him into bankruptcy. Is he freaked out? Nope: "Everyone stumbles. I'm not going to hide or run or live in denial, or with regrets,"he tells Reuters.
Monday, May 5, 2008
In Escrow: A Flurry Of Pending Sales In Marin
Conventional wisdom is that April and May are the best months to put a house up for sale. Based on what's been going on in southern and central Marin in the past couple of weeks, it looks like conventional wisdom is right, for once. Here's a look at nine recent listings—including one $5.995 million San Anselmo house—that have gone into escrow after being on the market for fewer than 14 days:
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Breaking: Houses Selling Above Asking
Remember that house at 111 Locust Street, Mill Valley (see here)? The asking price was $3.395 million. Our sources say it closed yesterday after getting three offers. Price: $3.75 million.
Meanwhile, 55 Buena Vista Avenue, a remolded three-BR stucco house in a flat, sunny walk-to-town location, got at least two offers in under a week. The house, which was listed for $1.749 million (1,800 square feet), is already in escrow. Let us know if it also sold above asking.
Mill Valley: Bizarro World.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Same House, Lower Price
Back on the market in Mill Valley is a recently renovated house at 45 Laverne ($2.35 million for 2,753 sq ft, 4BR plus office, 3.5BA). Last fall, when we first heard this modern house located behind Whole Foods in Homestead Valley was for sale, the owner was asking $2.5 million. More of the scoop:
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Lots of Foreclosures In California; Not So Many In Marin
Lenders moved to foreclose on 110,392 homes in California during the first three months of 2008, according to DataQuick. The high number of foreclosures was a record for every county in the state except Los Angeles (which was hard hit during the recession of the early 1990s and which, as a result, had even more homes in foreclosure eight years ago than today). What about the local picture? A 166-percent increase in foreclosures in Marin sounds scary, until you look closer at the real year-to-year numbers:
| San Francisco | 216 | 420 | 94.4% |
| Alameda | 1,578 | 3,194 | 102.4% |
| Contra Costa | 1,969 | 4,718 | 139.6% |
| Santa Clara | 1,058 | 3,074 | 190.5% |
| San Mateo | 382 | 911 | 138.5% |
| Marin | 118 | 314 | 166.1% |
| Solano | 914 | 2,091 | 128.8% |
| Sonoma | 407 | 1,392 | 242.0% |
| Napa | 88 | 284 | 222.7% |
| Bay Area | 6,730 | 16,398 | 143.7% |
Read More......
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
New Listings: $1.7 Million In Southern Marin
Somebody took a finger out of the dike. More than 60 new southern Marin listings have come on the market in the past week, and here's a sampling of the kind of kitchen you can get for $1.7-$1.75 million:
California Scene: Inventory Up, Asking Prices Not
HousingTracker looks at asking prices and inventory in more than 50 metro areas around the country. So, how are things in San Francisco? Um, bad:
| Trend | 04/21/2008 | 1 month | 3 month | 6 month | 12 month |
| Median Price | $521,000 | +0.2% | -0.8% | -10.9% | -13.5% |
| Inventory | 18,072 | +5.5% | +19.5% | -3.9% | +28.1% |
Read More......
Friday, April 18, 2008
Weekend Reading: Buying a green home in Marin
Lots of things start in Northern California, then spread, trend-like, to the rest of the country. Williams Sonoma, for instance, was born in Sonoma way back in 1956 when the rest of the U.S. had yet to find frozen peas. Banana Republic (Mill Valley, 1978); Smith & Hawken (Mill Valley, 1979); and Restoration Hardware (Eureka, 1980) all debuted here. Mountain biking was invented on Mt. Tam, and the American love affairs with hot tubbing and biscotti originated here, then rolled out like hula hoops to the nation.
So it's a little surprising that the green homes movement actually started in... well, probably Colorado or Washington State. Not to worry, though: Northern California is playing catch up with a vengeance. The whole sustainable-homes thing—as exemplified in Dwell Magazine (brain child of a Mill Valley resident!)—is sweeping across Marin County like a brush fire.
Recently, we visited a pretty amazing, green, luxury home (of all things) high above San Rafael. The 5100-square-foot residence is the first of six units for sale at Live Oak Estates, an eco-friendly enclave with protected (and spectacular) views of Tam. We drove up there with Stacey Stephenson, the first Mill Valley-based real estate agent to be certified as an "EcoBroker," who filled us in on the burgeoning green real-estate scene.
Back On The Market
Among this week's "new" southern Marin listings are two houses that were on the market last fall. Trying again (one at a reduced asking price, one not) are:
Thursday, April 17, 2008
But on the other hand, Bay Area is the strongest market in the state
A silver lining of sorts. Never mind that the Bay Area has also seen the median home price drop to its lowest levels on record (Note: records started in 1988.) See San Francisco Chronicle story here. The take-away message: Just like elsewhere in the U.S., the closer you are to the action (jobs), the better.
As has consistently been the case, several counties - notably those close to job centers and in affluent areas - were in better shape. In San Francisco, the median price inched up to $755,000, up 0.3 percent from last year - the only county where the median grew. Sales in San Francisco were down 20.6 percent versus last year, a modest drop compared to the 47.2 percent decline in Alameda County, for example. San Mateo and Marin counties saw their medians slip about 4 percent, compared with the double-digit declines of the six other counties.
Pew: 1 in 33 homeowners will be in foreclosure within 2 years
More fallout from the subprime lending crisis. See here. California, to no one's surprise, is actually doing worse than 1 in 33:
Some states with severe problems have lagged behind. California, where one in 20 homeowners is projected to experience foreclosure, primarily over the next two years, issued a notice to loan servicers encouraging them to agree to wholesale loan adjustments, but as of the end of 2007, had provided little additional help to financially distressed homeowners. California has a task force and is exploring other relief, however, and has proposed expanding the types of loans regulated and strengthening the state’s underwriting standards for high-cost mortgages to prevent future challenges.
Soon It May Be Easier (And Cheaper) To Find A Rental In Manhattan Than In Marin
Move over, New York City. The famously low apartment vacancy rate in Manhattan—about 1 percent—is not that much lower than the rate in Marin County these days. According to data collector Real Facts, the vacancy rate here in the first quarter of 2008 dipped below 3 percent, making it one of the lowest nationwide. And, according to the Marin Independent Journal, some apartment complex managers here aren't even bothering to advertise vacancies anymore; wait a few days and an empty unit miraculously fills itself:
Josephine Agnew, resident manager at Strawberry Shores in Mill Valley, credited the housing market with boosting the demand for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. The 202-unit complex on Seminary Drive has been completely occupied for the past year, she said.
Agnew said she gets calls and e-mails from people who don't understand the tight apartment rental market.
"Some of them call and want an apartment in weeks or months and that just doesn't happen in Marin anymore," she said.
No wonder Marin rents have been risking steadily; the average is $1,669 a month.
Photo credit: [Whyfiles]"X" Out The Ex-Urb: Shorten Your Commute
Here's an interesting piece from BusinessWeek that correlates rising gas prices with declining home values. If everybody in your town is commuting an hour to work, you may have experienced a steep drop in home prices:
Take Murrieta, Calif., incorporated in 1991. The population of Murrieta more the doubled to 100,000 over the past eight years, as residents traded hour-long commutes to San Diego or Orange County, Calif. for newly built mini-mansions at lower prices. In the past year though home prices in Murrieta fell 31% to a median $329,000.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
How To Get Multiple Offers: Anatomy Of A Successful Sale
When we published a list yesterday of all the sellers in Marin who sold their houses above the asking prices last month, it raised a lot of questions. Well, one question, mainly: How did they manage that?
Easy. They did everything right. Of course, you can too. Here's a blueprint to follow, a case study of how the owners of one Mill Valley house flawlessly played their hand and got $1.835 million for a house they listed at $1.795 million:
How To Get Negative Information Removed From Your Credit Report
Yesterday, a client called and asked about refinancing, so the first thing I did was run his credit and his wife's credit, because they're co-borrowers. Within seconds, I see the wife has a 730 FICO score, but the husband is lower, at 719. They're both still high enough to qualify for the best rates, but just barely.
"Let's see what's dragging you down," I tell him, and then, as I scan the readout, "Uh oh, you have 10 late payments. On an auto lease. That you paid off in 2006."
Of course, he flips out. He says he has no idea why Bank One reported 10 lates. So I say, "We have to get them off your credit report." Then I tell him how:
Dear So-and-So, Recently when my credit report was run, I found you reported this account no. xxxx as delinquent. As you can see, by my attached records, this account has never been late. All payments have been made on time. Please stop reporting this account as delinquent and send me evidence you have done so. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Thank you. Sincerely.
You want to get a letter from them saying they're taking it off. That's the holy grail. The phrase "send me evidence" is key.
Read More......
Monday, April 14, 2008
A Tale of Two Counties
While there's no denying that the real estate crisis is hurting Marin along with the rest of the country—the county's foreclosure rate doubled in the past year, for instance—there's also evidence that an unusually high percentage of listings still are selling above their asking prices. In March, for instance, 12 percent of the 134 houses and condos sold for prices higher than asking. Those listings also sold much faster—after an average of 21 days on the market—than the typical Marin listing, which was on the market for 74 days. Here's a look at those 16 sales by location:
4 Wildflower, asking price $1,089,000, sold for $1,112,000 (102.1%)
438 Oakdale asking $850,000, sold for $885,000 (104.1%)
In Fairfax:
43 Bay , asking $939,000, sold for $950,000 (101.2%)
In Mill Valley, four sales:
171 Elinor, asking $2,368,000, sold for $2,430,000 (102.6%)
74 Nelson, asking $1,795,000, sold for $1,835,000 (102.2%)
111 Stanford, asking $1,595,000, sold for $1,600,000 (100.3%)
78 Marguerite, asking $899,000 sold for $975,000 (108.5)
In Novato, two sales:
801 Sutro, asking $470,999, sold for $480,000 (101.9%)
27 Lakeview, asking $279,000, sold for $290,000 (103.9%)
In Ross:
5 Madera, asking $2,595,000, sold for $2,800,000 (107.9%)
In San Rafael, three sales:
14 Westwood, asking $889,000, sold for $905,000 (101.8%)
106 Plymouth, asking $649,000, sold for $659,000 (101.5%)
25 Wharf, asking $336,900, sold for $342,000 (101.5%)
In Sausalito:
1 Willow, asking $889,000, sold for $890,000 (100.1%)
In Tiburon, two sales:
143 Gilmartin, asking $4,795,000, sold for $4,800,000 (100.1%)
1837 Centro West, asking $1,250,000, sold for $1,357,000 (108.6%)
COMING TOMORROW
How They Do It: An Inside Look At The Techniques One Marin Seller Used To Get Multiple Offers
Read More......
Greenbrae Condo Prices: Then And Now
One of these things is not like the other:
Just sold:
632 Via Casitas
2BR, 954 sq ft
Built in 1974
$410,000
Sold a year ago:
823 Via Casitas
2BR, 954 sq ft
Built in 1974
$485,000
[Photo credit: Skovgaard]
Friday, April 11, 2008
Weekend Reading: How do you know if a deal is a steal?
Here's what I'm looking at now: A bank-owned property in Oakland priced at least 40% below its market value in 2005. And the question is: Can this really be the screaming bargain it appears to be on first glance, or am I the proverbial sucker at the table?
Marin (elementary) Schools of Distinction
Four Marin elementary schools were among those honored as "California Distinguished Schools" this week. They were among 343 elementary schools cited by the state Department of Education across the state—roughly 5% of California's public schools. The program is voluntary, and honors elementary and secondary schools in alternate years:
The criteria for school selection are designed to reflect the consensus of the education community regarding what constitutes a quality education program by incorporating the major themes of state and national policies and research related to effective schools. The criteria focus on all aspects of the school's educational program.
Full list of schools here.
Other, related state stuff here.
Warning: This house is in a spray zone
Marin County real-estate agents are considering disclosing whether homes are in moth-spray flyover zones, according to the Associated Press. Pesticides, described as "a low dose of a synthetic pheromone mixture approved for use on organically grown crops," are being used to fight the light brown apple moth, which has been feasting on cash crops. Flyovers are scheduled for the Bay Area this summer.
In Marin County, real estate agents are considering amending their disclosure forms to tell future home buyers about the aerial sprays scheduled in the Bay Area this summer and advising them to consult a doctor for more information before closing a deal, said Levi Swift, president of the Marin Association of Realtors.
Though analysts say the spray is unlikely to have any lasting effects on properties in the spray zone or on the real estate market, attorneys said it was wise to notify buyers to ward off potential lawsuits.
"If my real estate agent had knowledge of the spraying activity and didn't tell me, I could certainly sue for misrepresentation," said real estate attorney Lewis Feldman, a senior partner with Goodwin Procter in Los Angeles. "The fact that the government says something isn't harmful doesn't prevent people from filing suit."
Thursday, April 10, 2008
You don't get many murders in Mill Valley. And at these prices—no wonder.
Case closed: A body found in an unused part of a Mill Valley cemetery in February turns out to be that of a local resident missing since 1964. Her husband, Bruce Jones, an erstwhile San Fransisco longshoreman, appears to be the suspect, but he died nearly 20 years ago.
The killing may have been—what else?—real-estate related. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:
Bruce Jones told authorities that he had an argument with his wife because she refused his request to have his name placed on real estate that she owned separately. He said that she became angry, walked away down the road - and never returned.[Picture credit: Tam Valley Improvement Club]
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Marin inventory surged 25% last month—biggest jump in Northern California
Marin County saw a 25% increase in the number of homes for sale last month, according to Zip Realty's blog. (Note that this is for single family and condos only.)
The data, which shows 955 homes on the market in March, versus 763 last month, was culled from the MLS. San Francisco is in second place with 1,342 homes on the market—up 11% from 1,210 last month.
Welcome To The Neighborhood
After barely a week on the market, a $3.395 million Mill Valley house at 111 Locust Ave.—yes, the one with the new two-story garage that some neighbors would have preferred not to see built—is in contract. Will the sale price will set a new record for Sycamore Park? Last year, 50 Walnut (3,850 sq ft) went for $2.936m; an oldie at 35 Sycamore Ave. (3,876 sq ft) went for $3.1 million.
Robin Williams Does Mill Valley. A lot.
One of the great unkept secrets of living in Mill Valley is Tuesday Night Comedy Night—"Mark Pitta and Friends"—at the 142 Throckmorton Theater. Local comedian Mark Pitta, who looks a lot like a young Charlie Rose, and has a Jon Stewart-like delivery, does a great job hosting the event.
But the main reason Comedy Night tends to be standing room only (like, buy tickets at least a day in advance) is that San Francisco resident Robin Williams and Mill Valley resident Dana Carvey tend to show up, unannounced. Our neighbor, who goes pretty often, says Williams has been performing there about once a month, and bet that Williams would be there last night. He was.
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