Marin Real Estate: 6. 22. 12 Prices On The Rise

Tales from the Trenches.

My condolences to new buyers seeking affordable housing in Mill Valley.These past few weeks,  I have seen numerous homes bid up to over $150,000 from the list price in a feeding frenzy of offers. The list agents look perplexed and unprepared for the avalanche of queries and offers.

In Larkspur and Mill Valley, expect to pay closer to $700,000 for the same home that was selling around $600,000 just six months ago .

Even Fairfax is seeing a flurry of offers riding up prices as well. From May 2011 to 2012 there was an increase of 22% in values as well as increase of 60% in units sold -- keep in mind that inventory is DOWN.... Crazy.

Belvedere homes increased in value year over year for the month of May by a whopping 69%. Units are up 50%. Tiburon is down for the month of May. Not sure if it is a blip. Let's wait and see what the quarterly reports look like in a few weeks.

Do I think this will be the new norm? No. I think the high end is witnessing a flurry of newly made millionaires thanks to the Facebook IPO. The lower end is getting pressure from the new hires all across the Bay Area in the Tech industry. But, I don't expect to see prices crashing either....That is unless Europe's mess engulfs the fragile US economy. If the San Francisco Bay Area Tech boom is stymied by recalcitrant European sales numbers of items such as I pads, then perhaps there may be a drain on jobs here which could lead to less hiring and thus less need for housing.

Overall, the County is up less than 1% in value. But, the real story starts with the ongoing increase in units sold. Up 22% from the same month last year. This  has been the trend all year which indicates that the pressure is mounting on buyers. That, in turn, puts the sellers in a much better position when negotiating price and terms.

Sellers: Time to get off the fence. Low inventory. Prices on the rise. Buyers plentiful. What are you waiting for?

If you are dreaming about starting that new lifestyle further north or east, what are you waiting for? Sell here while the prices are on the increase and take your money out of the area to Reno, Healdsburg, Cotati, Petaluma, Lake Tahoe, Willits, Middletown, Grants Pass, Bend, and bank some of your earnings.