marin: Guess What Area of The U.S. Is Best Poised For A Real Estate Recovery? - 10/30/09 11:57 AM
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0910/gallery.housing_price_forecast/index.html
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marin: Marin County September '09 Condo/Townhome Sales - 10/06/09 04:53 PM

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marin: Marin County September 2009 Single Family Home Sales - 10/06/09 12:47 PM
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marin: Marin Real Estate Sales Statistics January 1 - June 30 - 07/08/09 05:41 PM
Check out latest sales statistics for Marin County at:
http://www.marinrealtygroup.com/category/insight-to-marin-real-estate/
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marin: Marin County Single Family Home Sales from 2005 to 209 - 05/15/09 05:30 PM
Yearly Volume of Single Family Home Sales since 2005
(Covering Sales from January 1st through April 30 of each year)
                    Saus        MV       Belv      Tib   CMadera    Lark       SR       
2005               22        115         14        39        31         26        149        
2006               15        108          9         31        20         13        134        
2007                22        105         12        37        26         20        141         
2008               11          48          6         27        16         10         99        
2009                 8          46          5         12        16         10         77    
      
              Nov        Kent        Ross       SA       Fairfax      Greenbrae
2005       179          26            6          60          19              15          
2006       146          17           11         50          16                7 
2007       122          23            8          44          25              26
2008       101     … (0 comments)

marin: Different Price Ranges, Different Sales Activity - 05/13/09 12:46 PM
It sure is interesting to watch Marin's monthly real estate sales in  different price ranges. I break our market into 4 price ranges and calculate statistics for Single Family homes and Condos/Townhomes separately. The price ranges I use are $0 - $499,999, $500k - $999,999, $1M - 1,999,999, and over $2,000,000. The reason for that should be obvious. However, what doesn't seem so obvious is the fact that the real estate market is different for Single Family homes than it is for Condos/Townhouses. Most of the statistics you read tend to lump the Single Family statistics with those for Condos/Townhouses which misrepresents both.
Looking  at Marin's April sales of Single Family Homes we see a disparity in sales … (0 comments)

marin: The Low-Down on the High-End - 02/19/09 03:59 PM
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marin: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You - 02/07/09 02:10 PM
I had the occasion to interview a middle-aged couple who was thinking of selling their home here in Marin. They had contacted an associate of mine who works in Boise, Idaho. They drove to Boise and were shown a number of properties that were for sale. Let me start at the beginning. The motivation of this couple was centered around the wife's sprightly 94 year old mother who has been living in an "old folks" home and was not enjoying the company J She is more vibrant than many of the elders at the home and she wants to get out, … (0 comments)

marin: Marin County Real Estate Sales 2008 vs 2007 - 01/23/09 12:05 PM
Marin County real estate sales in 2008 were pretty much down across the board. Single family sales down, condominium sales down (except for one town's huge increase in sales volume), dollar volume down, price per square foot down. Take a look.
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marin: How's the Market? - 01/09/09 06:23 PM
The questions I'm asked most are: "how's the market; are there buyers out there; can buyers get loans?"
Watch my video blog and find out what's going on in Marin County's real estate market.
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marin: It's Not Rocket Science, It's All about Pricing - 01/09/09 02:25 PM
Why are sellers so unwilling to face the reality of the current real estate market? It's so discouraging to talk with prospective sellers, give them the best advice regarding the sale of their home and their particular situation only to have them get a second opinion. Usually they listen to the agent who tells that what they want to hear in order to obtain the listing of the property. Man oh man, is that bad news. In a real estate market like the one we're in there is one, and only one, thing to understand. It's all about pricing. We are … (0 comments)

marin: Marin’s Deflating Bubble - 01/09/09 02:09 PM
No one thought there was a real estate bubble in marin county. Always buffeted from the economy's harsher cycles marin's real estate seemed above the mundane. Things change. since the middle of 2008 we've watched housing prices plummet as much as 30% and more. An example is a condominium currently for sale at $90,000. this same condo sold 1 1/2 years ago for $275,000 (overbid, of course). $90K is the "asking price". Who knows what it will sell for. Even at asking price that's a 67% drop in "value". If there's another wave of foreclosures, especially in areas like San Rafael … (0 comments)

marin: The Screwing Continues - 01/09/09 02:07 PM
As home foreclosures continue unabated, as the American workforce is being greeted with pink slips or simply showing up for work and being told there is no more work, as the debt heaped upon American taxpayers mounts, along come the credit card companies to add their holiday cheer. In case you haven't noticed, the American people are being nothing less than assaulted and abused by corporate America. It's becoming clear that we exist for their pleasure and profit. Know anyone who has lost his/her job recently? Unfortunately, way too many, regardless of how many years and how loyal the worker may have … (1 comments)

marin: What Doesn’t Make Sense? - 01/09/09 02:05 PM
If a home loses value and is in fact owned by the bank (as are all homes with an outstanding mortgage loan so let's just call the borrowers "home-occupiers") shouldn't the bank also share in the loss? It certainly seems so to me. Otherwise, what you have is a sharing between bank and home-occupier when the going is good and the home-occupier is left alone when the going gets tough. What I mean is since the banks were gauging their profits from mortgage loans on a "bubble" shouldn't they now adjust to the reality? In other words, adjust the value of … (0 comments)

marin: Complicity at the Very Least - 01/09/09 02:04 PM
The suspicion of conspiracy, at whatever level, is starting to make the rounds. Many people are convinced that the recent bailouts and other highly irregular government interventions are in fact grand larceny by our largest corporations with the blessing of the American government. Although that might sound cynical at first it starts to sound more plausible the more you hear of the ignored warnings, the rushed-through bailouts, the built-in lack of accountability for the massive amounts of money involved and the record-setting corporate profits and CEO compensations made at the very same time their business practices were tanking our economy.  If … (0 comments)

marin: Ever Feel Like You’ve Been Cheated? - 01/09/09 02:02 PM
It seems there's a lot of lip service being paid to helping financially troubled homeowners. I think most people who heard about the $700 billion bailout believed one of its objectives would be assisting troubled homeowners. On November 18 when Congress questioned Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson he asserted that he never promised assistance to homeowners and the rescue plan was designed to stabilize financial markets and the flow of credit and "is not a panacea for all our economic difficulties."
It's become more and more apparent that the $700 billion bailout was poorly conceived, politically motivated and had no stipulations or … (2 comments)

marin: Did I Mention Pricing? - 01/09/09 01:56 PM
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 … (1 comments)

marin: Housing Needs Help Too! - 01/09/09 01:54 PM
In a recent NY Times Business Day section had a very interesting article by Joe Nocera titled "Shouldn't We Rescue Housing?".  In it Mr. Nocera effectively argues that the root cause of the current financial meltdown is not being addressed. That problem is the continuing decline of housing prices. He believes, and rightfully so, that until housing prices stabilize and the on-going foreclosures halt we will continue to experience financial turmoil. It's perplexing that the Federal Government has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars to stabilize Wall St. but has thus far done little to stabilize the housing market and the lives of … (2 comments)

marin: “I’m Waiting to Buy Until the Market Bottoms Out” - 01/09/09 01:49 PM
How many prospective home buyers feel that way? Why is there no motivation or urgency to purchase real estate in today's market?There are a number of factors involved, but the biggest is confidence . Confidence has eroded to the point where we are now enmeshed in the proverbial vicious cycle. Once people lose confidence it takes a lot to restore it. Think about the person you trusted with your money, emotions - you name it. Once they've abused your trust, how likely are you to believe in them again. Not very likely at all. These days, that's where it is with … (3 comments)

 

Lou La Gatta

Larkspur, CA

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Marin Realty Group

Address: 444 Magnolia Avenue, Suite 102, Larkspur, CA, 94939

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