Kelly - You work in a beautiful part of California. It is interesting that the lagging market in touching all markets across the board. With interest rates low and the inventory high, it is a great time to be a buyer and I think longterm this represents a great opportunity for investors with foresight.

Best wishes!

James

Novato is the Northernmost city in Marin County, furthest from San Francisco.  The rest of the County is showing that we are moving to a Seller's Market.  Novato is soon to follow and then Souther Sonoma County (Sonoma and Petaluma).  Sonoma usually gets the "wave" before Petaluma because of it's proximity to Napa Valley, the East Bay, Solano/Sacramento and a straight shot into Marin County via Highway 37.  Petaluma has the 101 bottleneck to contend with, unless you are lucky enough to be able to take the coastal route and avoid that.

That said, you are correct that someone with some foresight should be making a move if they have not already.