The latest employment numbers confirm that the Bay Area continues to drive California’s economic recovery, with employers increasingly calling back laid-off workers and thousands of new jobs helping to expand the economic base — and keep our real estate markets busy well into the new year. The state Employment Development Department reported that California’s unemployment rate fell to 9.8 percent in November, the first month under 10 percent in nearly four years. Marin County‘s jobless rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent, the lowest in the state, followed by San Mateo […]

John Fitzgerald Marin County: Q3 Results Homes sold briskly across all price points in the third quarter in Marin County, despite the constrained inventory levels that currently bedevil all real estate markets in the Bay Area.Open houses were well-attended throughout the quarter, attesting to the pent-up demand among buyers, and Mill Valley remained especially popular. Most sales in the county involved multiple offers.Home prices are creeping higher but still nowhere near where they were in 2006 and 2007, and it may take several years before those […]

Photo credit ArmchairBuilder.com From Pacific Union – here’s a look at news this week of interest to home buyers, home sellers, and the home-curious: NEW-HOME CONSTRUCTION REBOUNDING U.S. builders started construction of new homes and apartment units at a blistering pace in September – up 15 percent from the month before and 35 percent from a year earlier, for the highest level of housing starts in more than four years, according to numbers the Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released Wednesday. In a separate report showing renewed vigor in home construction, […]

Typically, our summer housing market slows down as people head out on vacation (or just try to get away from the fog 🙂 ).  And then post Labor Day “BAM” – the faucet opens. We saw this happen again this year, as the Tuesday before Labor Day, there were only 98 new properties on tour.  Compare that with the past two weeks – 247 on 9/11 and 220 on 9/18: roughly a 150% increase. Buyers that were ready to go jumped on the increased inventory, and several properties, […]

For Apple fans, yesterday was big – and the reviews have started coming in:  “iPhone 5 Blends Beauty With Versatility”, “Apple iPhone 5 upgrades aren’t mind-blowing, but final product is incredible”. Most of what was expected with the new iPhone 5 materialized:  thinner, lighter, a larger retina display, a more powerful processor (that uses less power), and LTE capable (for lightning fast connectivity).  What I really love about Apple is the attention to detail – and this phone looks beautiful. http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video Now I need to get me […]