Eichler Real Estate Market Update for Marin County - Q1, 2010
With the first three months of 2010 behind us, I wanted to provide Eichler homeowners in Marin with a summary of the market for our homes during the first quarter of 2010.
For the first three months of the year, a total of 13 Eichler homes have sold in Marin County, all of them located in San Rafael. The least expensive Eichler home sold for $495,000 and was a bank owned Eichler in the Terra Linda neighborhood. The most expensive Eichler home sold for $1 Million and was located in Upper Lucas Valley. Of the 13 Eichler sales during Q1, 2010, 6 of them were either bank owned or short sale transactions.
Eichler Sales in Marin County were generally slow during the beginning of 2010 and many of the properties sold were bank owned homes or listings requiring quite a bit of work which negatively impacted home values. In fact, I personally had a few listings which went into contract quickly at an excellent price point which later had to be renegotiated when the independent appraisal was completed and came in at a lower price. Fortunately we were able to work out an agreeable solution for all parties however it’s important to keep in mind that actual market values can be strongly influenced by independent appraisals.
Independent appraisals are ordered by the buyer’s lending institution and are required for any purchase involving financing since lenders want to make sure that they are lending money on a property that is appropriately valued. Appraisers will typically utilize very recent home sales (usually like homes sold within the last 3 months) or pending sales (like homes in contract with all of the contingencies lifted) to determine a current market value. Current listings that may be priced higher but aren’t in contract won’t impact appraisals. This is an important concept that must be taken into consideration when determining the original list price for your home since a premium price that doesn’t reflect the recent comps will often remain unsold and result in low buyer traffic and subsequent price decreases.
On a personal level, I was pleased to have 5 Eichler or Alliance listings in Marin which either sold or went into contract during the first quarter (either close to, or above, the original asking price). All of my listing went into contract within days or weeks of initially hitting the market, and this was a result of appropriate Pricing, Presentation & Exposure.
If you're an Eichler homeowner thinking of selling, I'd be delighted to speak to you in greater detail about your home and the importance of appropriate pricing, presentation and how to maximize your exposure to prospective Eichler home buyers. Additionally, you can utilize our website to request a free Eichler CMA at any time.
If you're a prospective Eichler home buyer, let me put my experience as Marin County's #1 Eichler Agent (with relevevant statistics in todays market to prove it) to work for you. I've got a great pulse on both existing inventory and off market listings and would welcome the opportunity to assist you.
Renee Adelmann, Realtor & Owner
Marin Modern Real Estate
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