The prices for single-family, re-sale homes and condos gained ground last year. The median price for homes rose 8.4% to $1,035,000, while the average price gained 11.5%. This is the first time the median price has been over $1,000,000 annually.
The median price for condos rose 4%, and the average price was up 6.9%.
This in the face of declining demand. Home sales were down for the third year in a row, dropping 8.5% from 2006. Sales of condos were off 20.6%.
The story of the year was the credit crunch. It slashed demand to the bone. Gone are 100% mortgages and no-doc mortgages. The tightening of underwriting has caused many people not to qualify for a home loan. Plus, the spread premium between conventional and jumbo loans, needed to buy almost anything in the city, rose from a typical 0.5-0.75 to 1.5.
Sales were already weak before the credit crunch, but afterwards, they went into free-fall. In the first seven months of the year, sales were actually up, year-over-year, in four months and down by single-digits in three months. Starting in August, these are the year-over-year declines in single-family, re-sale homes: -26.4%, -33.3%, -32.5%, -20.8, and -28.4% in December.
As for predicting 2008, we're not going to even try. The talking heads are all over the place and they're throwing out statistics to support every position. The thing to remember is real estate is very localized. Marin County is a special case, because of the lack of buildable land, and even within the county, what happens in one city does not carry over to other cities.
For full details on the individual cities in the county, click on the city name in the menu to the left.
| Marin County | ||||||||
| (Single Family Homes) | ||||||||
| Prices | Other | Percent Change | ||||||
| Average | Median | Sold | DOM | SP/LP | Average | Median | Sold | |
| 1995 | $424,464 | $352,000 | 1,938 | |||||
| 1996 | $451,210 | $372,495 | 2,366 | 6.3% | 5.8% | 22.1% | ||
| 1997 | $482,795 | $395,000 | 2,883 | 7.0% | 6.0% | 21.9% | ||
| 1998 | $543,443 | $430,000 | 2,869 | 41 | 97.9% | 12.6% | 8.9% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | $667,643 | $510,000 | 3,041 | 37 | 98.9% | 22.9% | 18.6% | 6.0% |
| 2000 | $816,364 | $615,000 | 2,701 | 32 | 101.8% | 22.3% | 20.6% | -11.2% |
| 2001 | $853,558 | $650,000 | 2,106 | 56 | 97.3% | 4.6% | 5.7% | -22.0% |
| 2002 | $889,011 | $705,000 | 2,620 | 60 | 97.7% | 4.2% | 8.5% | 24.4% |
| 2003 | $926,946 | $732,000 | 2,731 | 64 | 97.6% | 4.3% | 3.8% | 4.2% |
| 2004 | $1,062,756 | $849,000 | 2,837 | 55 | 99.5% | 14.7% | 16.0% | 3.9% |
| 2005 | $1,228,610 | $959,000 | 2,590 | 56 | 99.6% | 15.6% | 13.0% | -8.7% |
| 2006 | $1,231,156 | $955,000 | 2,159 | 73 | 98.1% | 0.2% | -0.4% | -16.6% |
| 2007 | $1,372,240 | $1,035,000 | 1,975 | 81 | 97.8% | 11.5% | 8.4% | -8.5% |
| Marin County | ||||||||
| (Condos & Town Homes) | ||||||||
| Prices | Other | Percent Change | ||||||
| Average | Median | Sold | DOM | SP/LP | Average | Median | Sold | |
| 1998 | $246,120 | $219,000 | 604 | 39 | 99.1% | |||
| 1999 | $274,809 | $247,000 | 617 | 25 | 100.8% | 11.7% | 12.8% | 2.2% |
| 2000 | $338,191 | $295,000 | 567 | 24 | 102.4% | 23.1% | 19.4% | -8.1% |
| 2001 | $395,749 | $360,000 | 579 | 47 | 99.3% | 17.0% | 22.0% | 2.1% |
| 2002 | $439,357 | $399,000 | 814 | 54 | 99.6% | 11.0% | 10.8% | 40.6% |
| 2003 | $475,783 | $429,000 | 876 | 52 | 99.0% | 8.3% | 7.5% | 7.6% |
| 2004 | $521,822 | $490,000 | 939 | 45 | 101.9% | 9.7% | 14.2% | 7.2% |
| 2005 | $584,911 | $540,000 | 819 | 43 | 102.0% | 12.1% | 10.2% | -12.8% |
| 2006 | $601,762 | $548,250 | 626 | 79 | 99.0% | 2.9% | 1.5% | -23.6% |
| 2007 | $643,148 | $570,000 | 497 | 83 | 98.3% | 6.9% | 4.0% | -20.6% |
