The median price of a detached home in Marin has declined nearly 7% over the past year, even as overall values rose in the Bay Area real estate market.
The median figure for last month was $1.65 million, down from $1.77 million in September 2022, according to new data released by the county assessor’s office. However, the price ticked up from the $1.51 million median for August.
The Marin median remains well below the $2 million threshold it broke in April and May of last year. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.
In sales volume, the county recorded 147 deals for detached homes last month, compared to 158 the prior September.
In the Marin condominium and townhome market, the median price last month was $790,000, compared to $875,000 the previous September, according to the county data. Sales fell from 61 in September 2022 to 45 last month.
In specific parts of Marin, median prices for detached homes last month included $3.55 million on seven sales in Tiburon; $3.14 million on eight sales in Larkspur; and $2.9 million on seven sales in Mill Valley. The county posted a $13.5 million median in Belvedere, but it was based on a single sale.
Other median figures in Marin for September included $2.33 million on three sales in Sausalito; $2.2 million on three sales in Ross; $1.86 million on four sales in Corte Madera; $1.7 million on four homes in Fairfax; $1.6 million on 49 sales in the unincorporated areas of the county; $1.52 million on 18 sales in San Rafael; $1.46 million on 12 sales in San Anselmo; and $1.12 million on 31 sales in Novato.
In the overall Bay Area, the median price for a detached home last month was $1.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 6.6%, the California Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. Sales declined nearly 24% over the one-year span.
Santa Clara County led the nine-county region in year-over-year median price gains last month, rising 9% to $1.85 million, the association reported. The Sonoma County median rose 5.3%, to $848,000.
Napa County had the steepest decline, falling nearly 11% to a median of $890,000. San Francisco’s median declined 4.2%, to $1.58 million.
Higher interest rates continue to weigh on the market. The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.63% as of Thursday, up from 7.57% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. A year ago, the average was 6.94%.
“As mortgage rates surge to new highs not seen in more than two decades, home sales are being tested and are likely to remain tepid for the next few months,” said Jordan Levine, chief economist of the California Association of Realtors. “With the Fed planning on holding rates higher for longer, the cost of borrowing will remain elevated and may not come down much in the near term. Housing affordability will continue to hinder sales activity for the rest of the year, especially in the low- and mid-price ranges.”
The mortgage rates, at their highest level in 23 years, have discouraged some would-be sellers from trading up their homes, keeping the supply tight.
“We have an extreme lack of inventory here, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon,” said Jim Hamilton, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and an agent with Compass in Los Gatos.
Bay Area home sales declined 23.7% from September 2022 to last month. Nationwide, sales of previously owned homes in 2023 are expected to hit their lowest level since 2011, when the U.S. was recovering from the 2007 housing market crash.
Properties aren’t sitting long on the market: The average Bay Area home spent 14 days on the market in September, compared to 26 days a year ago.
Some potential buyers last year chose to wait until interest rates came down, but that is not likely to happen anytime soon.
“Some of my buyers have been waiting for rates to drop since last year, and regrettably rates have gone up since then,” said Jen Robles, a real estate agent in San Francisco.
Sellers, too, complain that despite prices rebounding in recent months, they haven’t been able to fetch the high prices seen when interest rates were lower, said Ana Mernik Bohra, an agent with Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno in Santa Clara County.
“Both the buyers and sellers feel like they’re getting the short end of the stick,” she said.
Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.