Marin median house price dips to $1.6 million and sales rise

The median price for a detached home in Marin was $1.6 million last month, a decline of $10,000 from the prior July, according to new data from the county assessor’s office.

Over the same period, the median price for a detached home rose 6.5% statewide and 3.6% in the Bay Area, the California Association of Realtors said. The median price is the point at which half the homes were more expensive and half less.

“The year-over-year gain was the 13th straight month of annual price increases, albeit the smallest since January,” the association said, referring to the statewide figure. “Home prices could soften further in coming months but should continue to register moderate year-over-year growth for the rest of the year.”

The Marin assessor’s office reported that 192 detached homes sold last month, up 14.3% from 168 the prior July. Statewide, sales rose 4.1% statewide and 19.2% in the Bay Area over the one-year period, the California Association of Realtors said.

The association said homes for sale in Marin last month had spent a median of 57 days on the market, compared to 43 days the prior year.

“It’s shifted to be a little bit more of a buyer’s market,” said Jarret Weis, a Vanguard agent who represented the buyer in a $1.6 million deal for a Mill Valley house last month.

Weis, whose office is in Mill Valley, said he expects activity to pick up after Labor Day. He said interest rates have been “creeping down,” the Fed is signaling a rate cut and more inventory is becoming available.

“I think we’ll have a pretty good season,” he said.

The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.46% as of Thursday, down from 6.49% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. A year ago, the average was 7.23%.

“Although mortgage rates have stayed relatively flat over the past couple of weeks, softer incoming economic data suggest rates will gently slope downward through the end of the year,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement on Thursday. “Earlier this month, rates plunged and are now lingering just under 6.5 percent, which has not been enough to motivate potential homebuyers. We expect rates likely will need to decline another percentage point to generate buyer demand.”

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