Regardless of what you thought of the Nov. 4 elections, I think we can all agree it was good to have some diversion from the gloomy financial news that has plagued us for months. Unfortunately, whether it was Barack Obama or John McCain who won, the times ahead will still be rough-going. I thought the celebrations and parties following the election were a thing of joy and a necessary release of the frustrations and fears that have had us in their grip for too long. I just hope that after the celebrations settle down people understand the scope of problems facing Mr. Obama and his administration. Let’s hope all parties can join together to make a unified effort to get us through these difficult times with as much grace and as little pain as possible.

 Getting back to Marin’s real estate market, I’d like to talk a little bit about our condominium resale market. In my July 11 posting I pointed out that the sales volume of condos was down from 2007 by 37% and that prices were down 13%. As I’ve mentioned in previous postings, this market is all about pricing. Buyers can smell value a town away, and until they do they will be not be submitting purchase offers. Since July there have been deeper reductions in condo pricing, and the impact on voume has been substantial. As of November 5, 2008, there have been 423 condos sold throughout Marin County vs 444 for the same period of 2007. That translates into a 4.7% drop in volume over the same period of 2007. Quite a difference from the 37% drop I reported in July. What happened? Well, condo pricing went from July’s asking price of $416.91 per square footdown to the current price of $389.19 which is almost a 20% drop from 2007 prices. Apparently, in condo sales it took/takes a drop of about  20% over 2007 prices to generate prchase offers. Again, I’m talking in Marin County generalities with each town and each neighborhood within each town performing diffierently. However, as a generalization these statistics speak volumes in helping with condo pricing.

 Feel free to contact me for a information regarding Marin County condominium activity and pricing for 2007 vs 2008.