Marin County median home price dips to $1.5 million

The December figure, released this week by the county assessor’s office, is down nearly 30% from a peak of $2.12 million in April.

The median price for a detached home in Marin County slipped to $1.5 million last month under the weight of elevated interest rates and the normal seasonal slowdown.

The December median price figure, released this week by the county assessor’s office, is down nearly 30% from a peak of $2.12 million in April. The median price in December 2021 was about $1.49 million.

The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less. The county logged 118 sales of detached homes last month, down from 170 the prior December.

Properties selling at the $1.5 million median price in Marin last month included several four-bedroom homes in San Rafael, a three-bedroom home in the Cascade Canyon area of Fairfax and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in the Heather Gardens neighborhood of Larkspur, according to the real estate data firm Zillow.

Spirit Wiseman, the sellers’ agent in the Fairfax deal, said the real estate market is following the “law of Tao,” ebbing and flowing like tidal cycles. She said the decline in home prices is a healthy adjustment after last year’s ramped-up bidding and all-cash offers.

“It’s a little bit distressing to see prices go so high,” said Wiseman, who works for Engel & Völkers. “I really want ordinary people to be able to buy.”

Jennifer Bowes, the buyers’ agent in the Larkspur sale, said she represented a family moving for school considerations. Her clients were able to get the property after another buyer backed out during the relatively slow holiday period.

“We actually got a little lucky,” said Bowes, a Compass agent based in Novato. “I think we got a good value there.”

Bowes said the market has “a lot of pent-up buyer demand now that the interest rates have ticked down.” She said she hopes the first fiscal quarter will pick up steam once the rain eases and more homes come on the market.

“I don’t think it will be double-digit gains, but I think it will be stable, maybe single-digit appreciation,” she said.

The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.33% as of Thursday, down from 6.48% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. A year ago, the average was 3.45%.

“While mortgage rates have resumed their decline, the market remains hypersensitive to rate movements, with purchase demand experiencing large swings relative to small changes in rates,” Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac, said in a released statement. “Over the last few weeks latent demand has been on display with buyers jumping in and out of the market as rates move.”

Rob Spinosa, a mortgage banker in San Anselmo, said many homeowners remain reluctant to list their properties because they already have favorable loan terms and home prices are still relatively high.

Traditionally, he said, more owners decide to list around mid-February. He said motivated buyers are out there.

“I think they’re still waiting to see what comes on the market,” said Spinosa, who works for Guaranteed Rate. “The mortgage industry, everyone’s kind of waiting for that day.”

Belvedere had the highest median home price in Marin last month at $4.65 million on three sales, according to the county data. Tiburon followed closely at nearly $4.5 million on two sales. Ross, normally a price leader, had no home sales in December.

Other median prices last month included $3 million on three sales in Sausalito; $2.2 million on eight sales in Larkspur; $1.755 million on six sales in Mill Valley; $1.62 million on seven sales in Corte Madera; $1.5 million on 24 sales in San Rafael; $1.5 million on 31 sales in unincorporated parts of the county; $1.325 million on six sales in Fairfax; $1.3 million on five sales in San Anselmo; and $1.14 million on 23 sales in Novato.

In the Marin County condominium and townhome market, the median price last month was $809,950, up nearly 4% from $780,000 the prior December. The county recorded 46 such sales last month, down from 61 the prior year.

At the upper end of the condo market, three sold in Tiburon last month at a median price of $1.3 million. The most expensive one was $2.8 million.