You have been reading lots of press that the San Francisco Market is not very good. If you read through top the end of most of the articles you will find an admission that the SF market is defying what is going on in the rest of the county. San Francisco is still strong market in many areas.

Real Estate sales figures tell a very different story than most of the doom and gloom headlines generated by editors who want to sell newspapers.

The last week of October 2007 shows the following results,

Single Family Homes
1. 26 sold for more than list price
2. 12 sold for over asking price
3. 6 Single family homes sold for asking price
4. 12 single family homes sold for less than asking price.

Condo/TIC and Lofts
1. 18 Sold for more than list price
2. 12 Sold at list price
3. 13 sold for less than list price

There have been multiple offers on many of these sales telling a story that well priced homes in good areas are being picked up quickly.

Belvedere has been and still is one of the most desirable areas of Marin to establish roots and enjoy all the wonders Marin County has to offer. The supply and demand characteristics for Belvedere are quite unique, as there is a limited number of single family homes available for sale in any year. According to statistics of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), on an average year 30-40 homes trade hands. There are also a handful of homes that are sold through brokered transactions which never hit the MLS.

The data on the flip side of this report shows all reported transactions from January 1, 2007 through October 31, 2007. Some of the data has been extracted in detail so you can get a good feel for what has occurred in your city. When a home sells and is reported on the MLS, it calculates the sales price as a percentage of the last posted list price, not taking into account there might have been many price reductions prior to the home being sold. It is not accurate to look at the price variance from list price unless you drill down and take into account the interim price reductions. The data here reflects the entire interim price reductions on each home sold.

Twenty-six homes sold from January 1, 2007 to October 31, 2007. Of these 26 homes, 3 sold for list price, which is 11.5% of the total. Two homes sold above list price which is 7.6% of the total. The remaining 21 homes sold below list price. The range of discounts from original list price was between 1% and 45%. The average discount from original list price was 12%, being skewed a bit by the large discount taken on 30 Crest Road at 45% and 18 Eucalyptus Road at 29%. The average number of days on the market for homes sold during this period was 189. In the current market it is important to realize that the quick turnovers of the previous years are not the norm. Exceptions to the rule will always apply, especially with homes on the Lagoon as well as homes on prime parcels with breathtaking views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco. If you would like to discuss the market in more detail, please contact us directly.

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