Real Estate Market in Marin County!

The real estate market in Marin County is always a favorite topic of discussion at work, the park, or a party. People will often ask. "Are prices going up or down?" "How long will rates hold before they go back up? "Is the rising unemployment rate going to make for another price drop on Real Estate in Marin County?"

All great questions, and everyone has their own answers.

But 2010 has brought forth another question, one that many home buyers and sellers are asking. One that has got even the realtors scratching their heads. "When is the new spring time inventory going to hit the market?" The normal timing is often right after the Super Bowl.

Many potential sellers are not putting their homes on the market, because they are not convinced they will be able to find a replacement property. This of course compounds the problem even further.

Limited supply in the Real Estate Market in Marin County is one of the age old causes of price holding firm, or appreciating. This has started to work in some instances, but has not been totally successful for many areas. The available listing inventory at the end of February was lower than it has been in more than 3 years.

Although the Real Estate Market in Marin County had 31 sales in the past week, many homeowners do not have the same happy news report. 730 homes come off the market in the past 6 months, because they didn't sell. Another 215 have been on the market for more than 100 days.

Another market challenge is the major change in financing. Most loans are sold off by whomever does the origination, within several months of closing. Many of the institution, and even foreign counties that have purchased our mortgage debt by the billions over the past 5 years, have drastically cut, or stopped buying it altogether.

The amount of demand on Real Estate Market in Marin County usually has a more significant impact in the prices than supply. No past graphs or trends can predict the future for 2010. We are in uncharted waters. But if you have dependable employment, or money to invest, now is a good time to buy. Home prices and interest rates, are not often low at the same time. Upward pressure in mortgage rates is coming. If rates move up, before unemployment goes down, that will not help the recovery process for homeowner equity. Bottom line... rising interest rates are usually not conducive to real estate appreciation.