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Marin Home Sales Decline in January, But Prices Continue to Rise

Despite a sales slowdown in January, the regional housing market continues to rebound, and prices continue to rise.

Low inventory caused Marin's housing market to lose some of its holiday season robustness in January, but prices continued to outpace those from a year prior, a real estate information service reported.

The median home price rose by more than 20 percent in Marin County from January 2012 to January 2013, DataQuick reported. The median home price for the county last month was $640,000, up from $523,000 in January 2012.

It's expected the median home price in Mill Valley will increase by 5 percent this year, a recent study predicted.

But the number of home sales in Marin County actually declined when comparing January 2012 to last month: 181 homes sold in Janary 2013, down slightly from 191 a year ago.

A total of 19 homes were sold in Mill Valley in January, according to the real estate website Zillow.com.

Throughout the nine-county Bay Area tracked by DataQuick, home prices and the volume of sales completed in January were the in six years and the tenth straight year-over-year increase in the median sale price.

The median price paid for a home in the Bay Area was $415,000 in January. That was down 6.3 percent from $442,750 in December, and up 27.3 percent from $326,000 in January a year ago, according to DataQuick.

DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement that underlying Bay Area market trends like a still-dysfunctional mortgage market indicate that the market is still far from normal.

"That said, the market imbalances are moving toward normalcy, with baby steps,” he said.

Bay Area Housing Stats for January Sales Volume Median Price County Jan 2012 Jan 2013 % Change Jan 2012 Jan 2013 % Change Alameda 1,097 1,196 9% $295,000 $385,000 30.5% Contra Costa 1,115 1,165 4.5% $235,000 $301,500 28.3% Marin 191 181 -5.2% $523,000 $640,000 22.4% Napa 93 108 16.1% $332,500 $380,000 14.3% Santa Clara 1,183 1,115 -5.7% $418,000 $550,000 31.6% San Francisco 308 394 27.9% $602,500 $699,000 16% San Mateo 412 421 2.2% $465,000 $600,500 29.1% Solano 508 523 3.0% $179,500 $219,000 21.8% Sonoma 423 398 -5.9% $285,000 $340,000 19.3% Bay Area 5,330 5,501 3.2% $326,000 $415,000 27.3%

Here's what else is happening on Mill Valley Patch:

  1. Parks Guru Rick Misuraca Races to Retirement
  2. Ethan Allen Closing After 25 Years in Mill Valley
  3. Blithedale Terrace Project Back on Track, Heads to Commission
  4. Golden Gate Bridge District Eyes Shift to All-Electronic Tolls, Targets Cash-Paying Drivers
  5. Police Blotter: $16K in Jewelry and $3K in Clothes Stolen and Dude, Where’s Your Cell Phone?
  6. City Council Urges Stronger Staff Guidance, Better Communication Between City and Planning Commission
  7. Shots Fired in Beer Theft Sunday at Safeway in Strawberry Village

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Rhonda J. (Smith) McCormick May 18, 2013 at 04:14 pm
So wish I could be there for the Memorial Day Parade and picnic. I used to join in the fun forRead More years!
Rico May 20, 2013 at 06:25 pm
So, the traffic circles do impede traffic flow and slow motorists down. I do question why the CityRead More of M.V. decided to put a painted traffic circle at an isolated intersection like Cascade and Old Mill. There is not a high volume of traffic at that isolated intersection, and I haven't seen any reports of traffic accidents, injuries or deaths at that intersection. If people use common sense, it's real easy to figure out what to do at that intersection, even with no STOP signs. Perhaps the City of M.V. should remove the traffic circle, and do some more $tudie$. Maybe a STOP sign on Cascade Dr. would be a better solution.
Rico May 20, 2013 at 06:13 pm
I am aware of roundabouts in large cities, and also the concrete island at the library and near OldRead More Mill School. I know someone who lost his son at that location because of a speeding driver(decades ago).
ScottRAB May 20, 2013 at 10:19 am
Mini-roundabouts in the UK are often simply painted large dots in the road. While most USRead More installations are raised up 3 or 4 inches (also used in the UK) due to concerns about scoflaw drivers. The main point is to achieve the safety of a modern roundabout in a confined space, but still permit the occasional large vehicle to make all turns.
Rico May 15, 2013 at 05:16 pm
I guess I can't hit the enter button because that submits the post so from now on (until they fixRead More the problem), all of my posts will be one paragraph. What Angelina did was her choice, based on the multi-billion dollar per cancer industry, and by the people that like do unnecessary surgeries to line their pockets. Ask one of those male doctors if he is willing to have his testicles removed "just in case" he might get testicular cancer in the future. I'll bet that they would laugh at anyone who proposed that question. There are many ways that people can take care of their bodies to prevent cancer, like taking vitamin D, magnesium, selenium, turmeric and many more anti-inflammatory herbs. Also diet and environmental factors play a role in the pre-disposition to get cancer. In most cases, genes only play about a 5% role in a chance of inheriting or contracting cancer. But this big business of cancer research doesn't want hear about anything else besides expensive pharmaceutical drugs and surgery, anything else would threaten their business model. This post is a test of the new Patch commenting system.
Rico May 15, 2013 at 04:55 pm
Yes, and she also announced that she is considering having her ovaries removed also.
Rico May 15, 2013 at 11:04 am
Thanks Jim W. for your reply and explaining things to us. I look forward to a new Patch where peopleRead More are more considerate of other's opinions. I hope the new filters get rid of the hacker/trolls. And by the way, if you don't port over the comments about the transgender shower sharing article that I glanced at last night, you will be doing all of us a favor !
Jim Welte (Editor) May 15, 2013 at 10:32 am
Thanks Rico. You make great points. We had a bit of a tech glitch in that some content from earlierRead More this week did not migrate over yet to the new sites - but it'll all be there soon. And yes, we'll have more info on how to navigate the site. I'll direct you here with any specific questions for now: https://patchsupport.zendesk.com/home But if that doesn't cover it or if you'd prefer to ask me, feel free - happy to help. And that goes for anyone out there with a question about how to get around on the new site.