Marin County’s median house price edges up to $1.64 million

The median price of a house in Marin County floated to $1.64 million last month, a year-over-year increase of more than 7%, according to new data from the assessor’s office.

In the Bay Area as a whole, the median house price was $1.23 million in February, a 23% increase from the prior year, the California Association of Realtors reported. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

The association said Marin had a 57.7% increase in active listings between January and February, the highest of any county in the state.

Ninety house sales were recorded in Marin last month, compared to 71 in January and 87 in February 2023, the assessor’s office reported.

The median figure for houses in Marin has hovered between $1.5 million and $1.8 million for at least a year. The market peak was in April and May 2022, when the median exceeded $2 million.

Keith Offord, an agent who is the founder of Ross Valley Real Estate, said he does not expect the Marin market to return to its peak in the near future. Many prospective buyers are still hesitating because of elevated interest rates and their effect on mortgages, he said.

Offord estimated that the monthly mortgage payment for a $1.6 million home would be about $1,300 more now than the monthly payment for $2 million home in the spring of 2022. The estimate assumes a down payment of 20%.

“It’s definitely a very different market from the peak,” Offord said.

The U.S. weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.79% as of Thursday, down from 6.87% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. A year ago, the average was 6.32%.

In particular areas of the county, median house prices last month included $4.99 million on two sales in Tiburon, $2.5 million on eight sales in Larkspur, $2.3 million on a single sale in Belvedere and $2.2 million on four sales in Sausalito, according to the county data.

Other median prices included $1.84 million on seven house sales in Mill Valley; $1.66 million on 23 sales in unincorporated areas; $1.6 million on five sales in Corte Madera; $1.51 million on 18 sales in San Rafael; $1.42 million on 14 sales in Novato; and $1.2 million on eight sales in San Anselmo.

The county recorded no house sales in Ross or Fairfax in February.

In the Marin condominium and townhome market, the median price last month was $718,000 on 29 sales, according to the assessor’s office. The prior February, the median was $790,000 on 37 sales.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, San Mateo County had the highest median house price last month at $1.92 million, a 7.6% year-over-year decline, the California Association of Realtors reported. Other medians included $1.8 million in Santa Clara County, a 20.6% year-over-year increase; $1.59 million in San Francisco, up 8.5%; and $1.3 million in Alameda County, up 22%. Sonoma County’s median was $826,500, up 6.7%.

The association said the statewide median for houses last month was $806,490, a 9.7% year-over-year increase.

“While the recent upward movement in interest rates may result in more moderate sales in March, we expect homebuyers on the sidelines to reenter the market as the economy slows and rates begin to trend down again in the second quarter,” said Jordan Levine, chief economist of the association.

Marin real estate dataThe median prices for detached homes in the county over the past year.

Feb. 2024: $1.64 millionJan. 2024: $1.5 millionDec. 2023: $1.56 millionNov. 2023: $1.74 millionOct. 2023: $1.75 millionSept. 2023: $1.65 millionAug. 2023: $1.51 millionJuly 2023: $1.61 millionJune 2023: $1.7 millionMay 2023: $1.8 millionApril 2023: $1.7 millionMarch 2023: $1.67 millionFeb. 2023: $1.53 million

Source: Marin County assessor’s office