Max Armour
Coastal bay and green hills viewed from a hillside road with a blue vintage car.

October

Marin Real Estate Market Report - 7 Months into the Pandemic

Marin County Real Estate

7 Months into the Pandemic

October 2020 Report 

The table below compares Q3 statistics across 5 years. The huge jump in the median house sales price will be discussed further later in the report. 

Marin County real estate market indicators compared across Q3 2016–2020.

Median House Sales Price by Quarter 

Chart of Marin County median house prices by quarter, rising overall from 2015 to 2020.

Median sales prices can rise because of increases in fair market value – i.e. buyers are paying more money for the same home (supply and demand) – and/or because buyers are purchasing larger, more expensive houses, often in more expensive communities. Both dynamics are currently at play, but it is certain that affluent and very affluent buyers have made up a dramatically increasing percentage of the demand in Marin and Bay Area markets. 

This next chart illustrates the large year-over-year increase in the average size of houses sold. 

Bar chart of Marin County home sizes by third quarter, rising to 2,397 square feet in 2020.

And this chart graphs the increasing percentage of higher-price home sales in recent months. 

Chart of Marin homes selling for $2 million or more, with monthly percentages from September 2018 to September 2020.

Annual percentage changes in median house sales price: The 2020 YTD percentage will almost certainly change, one way or another, by the time full-year sales data is in. 

Chart of Marin County median house price changes from 1991 to 2020, with annotations marking recessions and market shifts.

Median House Sales Price Trends by City 

Bar chart of median home prices in five Marin County cities, 2011–2020.
Bar chart of median home sale prices from 2011–2020 in five Marin County cities.
Bar chart comparing median home sale prices in five Marin County cities from 2011 through September 2020.

Selected Supply & Demand Indicators 

Bar chart of Marin County active home listings, January 2017 to September 2020, peaking above 600 in June 2019.
Chart of Marin County home listings accepting offers by month, September 2015 to September 2020.
Chart of monthly Marin home sales from 2016 to 2020, annotated with seasonal patterns.
Bar chart of Marin County active-listing price reductions from January 2017 to September 2020.

In September, we also updated our semi-annual Survey of Bay Area Markets. 

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