Marin Luxury Home Sales and Median Price Fall in January, According to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Report

Marin County luxury home sales and the median sale price of million-dollar homes fell in January from a year ago, according to a new report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the Bay Area’s leading provider of real estate services.

Just 15 million-dollar homes sold in the county in January, down sharply from 45 sales in January 2008. The median sale price of million-dollar homes also fell to $1.55 million, down 11.4 percent from year ago. However, the median was up 19.2 percent from December.

While the median sale price declined last month, real estate experts cautioned that the drop doesn’t mean home values have fallen that much. Instead, much of the decrease in the median – the midpoint of all homes sold that month – simply reflects the mix of properties that are selling right now, which tends to be lower priced homes.

Marin’s luxury market performance was similar to the overall market, which saw the median price decline 38 percent in January from the previous year, according to DataQuick Information Systems, the La Jolla-based research firm. The Bay Area’s overall median sale price was off 45 percent.

“Many of transactions in the housing market right now – both in the Bay Area and across the country – are short sales, bank owned real estate and other distressed properties,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “High-end markets like Marin, San Francisco and parts of the Peninsula aren’t seeing the same activity as lower-end markets. But this is a process we need to go through, and the rest of the housing market will ultimately catch up.”

Turley said he’s optimistic that the Obama Administration’s newly unveiled Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan will ultimately help the housing market, along with other incentives.“Between this program, the overall stimulus plan, and historic low interest rates, there are a number of powerful mechanisms at work to turn the market around,” he said. “I’m confident that we’ll see more buyers jumping into the market in the months ahead to take advantage of these incentives.”

Some key findings from this month’s luxury report:

• The most expensive sale was five-bedroom, three-bath, 3,350-square-foot home in Ross that sold for $3.2 million;
• Ross and Mill Valley boasted the most million-dollar sales in January with four each;
• It took an average of 102 days to sell a million-dollar home in the county, down from 110 a year ago;
• Homes sold for an average of 87 percent of their asking price, down from 91 percent a year ago;

The Marin County Luxury Home Report is a monthly report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a specialist in high-end real estate sales. Through its internationally renowned Coldwell Banker Previews® program, the company is recognized around the world for its expertise in the luxury housing market.  The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold for more than $1 million.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage serves Marin County with seven offices: 83 Beach Road in Belvedere; 350 Bon Air Ct., Suite 100, in Greenbrae; 500 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Greenbrae; 36 Tiburon Blvd. in Mill Valley; 1202 Grant Avenue, Novato; 711 Grand Ave. in San Rafael; and 1 Harbor Drive, Suite 110, in Sausalito. For more information, please call 925-275-3085. www.californiamoves.com