Moving to Marin: Can You Get It All for Less than a Million Dollars?
Thinking of moving to Marin? The Marin County real estate experts at SF North, a team of Alain Pinel agents suggest some great neighborhoods to consider in this guest article.
Many of the prospective home buyers we meet these days are couples from San Francisco who are moving to Marin because they have young children or will be having kids soon. They’re attracted to the area because of the schools, sun, access to nature, and community, but they’re often concerned about commute distance to the city and many are working with a budget that limits their choices somewhat, because let’s face it—even after the price correction of the last few years homes in Marin County are not cheap.
When we begin working with new clients it’s useful to ask them to create a top ten list of the features and characteristics they want in a home. Here’s a pretty typical example of what we see from buyers lately looking for a three bedroom, in no particular order:
- Highly rated schools
- Charm
- Level yard
- Updated
- Walking distance to town or services
- Good sun/no fog
- Nearby parks and hiking/mountain biking trails
- Decent commute to San Francisco
- Safe/good neighborhood
- Smart investment
With a list like this and the right budget you have tons of options, including Mill Valley, Larkspur, Kentfield, and Ross. But if you’re looking for a home under a million, and especially if you want something in the 800s, there are some parts of Marin where you just can’t check off all or most of the items on that list. It can be tough to find the perfect home when you’re working with a limited budget, but if you know where to look you can get very close without breaking the bank.
There are areas scattered around central and northern Marin that can work for a buyer with this profile, but we find that in most cases we end up focusing on San Anselmo and Fairfax. This stretch of the Ross Valley is really the sweet spot for a lot of buyers these days, as you can get a charming home that meets many or all of the requirements on the list and still stay under a million dollars.
In San Anselmo the Millenium Park/San Francisco Boulevard, Brookside/Broadmoor, and Yolanda Park neighborhoods are good places to start. Millennium Park has a cool community garden, an awesome kids' park, dog park, great hiking trails, and coffee and restaurants nearby. The Brookside/Broadmoor neighborhood is filled with charming Spanish bungalows and is a great location for walking the kids to school. And the Yolanda Park area is one of San Anselmo’s most charming neighborhoods in any price range.
Fairfax also has some great neighborhoods where you can get a home under a million that meets a lot of the requirements on that list. Being farther out Sir Francis Drake Boulevard means a bit more of a commute, so some buyers who work in San Francisco count it out, but the groovy downtown and easy access to nature help to make up for the extra driving time. Deer Park and the other areas surrounding downtown are some of our favorites. It’s pretty cool to be able to walk to town for a tasty dinner and then stop by Peri Park to let the kids play on the swings or in the creek.
Of course we’re not the only ones who see the San Anselmo/Fairfax corridor as a sweet spot for a lot of buyers, and so far this year inventory has been low compared to the demand for homes under a million in these areas. With the scarcity of such homes, when something great and well-priced comes on the market it can garner a lot of interest and sell quickly, even in what’s perceived to be a bad market for sellers overall. That means it can take some time and effort to find the right property, but perseverance pays off, and when it comes time to sell your home it will be in demand for these very same reasons.
For more info about Marin neighborhoods and housing options visit www.sfnorth.com, email us at info@sfnorth.com, or give us a call at (415) 578-0572.
DRE license #01326676.
Comments
Great family buys in southern and central Marin!
Posted by PatRavasio on
Buyers wanting a good family home in a good neighborhood with excellent schools for under $1million don't have to go all the way to San Anselmo or Fairfax to find it! We have found that most city buyers are unwilling to add the additional 15 to minutes each way on their commute and would prefer homes south of Sir Francis Drake, closer to 101.
Corte Madera's Bay side is an excellent possibility for finding a home in the lower price ranges, especially if you are willing to put in a little sweat equity. If you're really up for a challenge there's a four bedroom fixer on a huge lot coming on market (in the Tiburon school district, which is the south side of Paradise east of Prince Royal) in the low $600s.
You can also find workable properties in many parts of Mill Valley. The Tennesse Valley area gets a bad rap for weather, but once you understand how the micro climates work, you can find nice homes in protected areas and good neighborhoods for well under $1m.
Greenbrae (which is in the excellent Kentfield school district) also has some ranches under $1m. It's true that at that price, most will need some updates and may have some deferred maintenance, but being willing to cope with short term "pain" for long term gain has always been a good idea in Marin.
Larkspur is a bit more of a challenge. Everyone loves this little downtown, since if feels so much like Mayberry, and has great access right up the mountainside, but most home for $1m here will be pretty small or needing work. There are exceptions. There's a 2400 sq ft home (some deferred maintenance) in Creekside being sold by a bank for $980K, and we have a fully remodeled 3 bed/2bath coming on next week for right around $1m just off Wiltshire Blvd, across from Marin Primary School.
So don't give up on Southern and central Marin, young families!
Best,
Pat Ravasio
Frnak Howard Allen
415-845-1927
www.onlyinmarin.com
re: Southern and Central Marin
Posted by georgecrowe on
Pat, thanks for the comments. We weren't suggesting you can’t get a home in Mill Valley or Corte Madera for less than a million dollars, or that buyers who really want to be there should “give up”. There are certainly areas where homes are priced in that range, especially if you’re okay with a fixer, something in a potentially foggier area like Tam Valley, a smaller house, or one with no yard or on a busy street, or in a flood zone. And buyers who’s main priority is commute time may be happier with something like that in one of those areas. They just have to realize that they’ll have to compromise on some of the items on that top ten list.
Our point was that San Anselmo, and to some degree Fairfax, ends up being a sweet spot for buyers these days who want a combination of things in a certain price range--a charming, updated home close to a cool downtown, with a flat yard, great schools, proximity to nature, and consistently warm summers--and who are willing to commute a little farther to get the right home.
Tam Valley does offer a great commute and there are some good values there, but many people coming from SF are moving to get away from the cooler, foggy summer. Greenbrae can be a great choice, but you’re not going to get a nice updated home of any size in the flats for under a million. Everyone loves Larkspur, including us, but you don’t get the kind of home we’re talking about there for under a million bucks.
Good point about Corte Madera—it can actually be a great area for the combo of sunny weather and commute time if you can find the right house in the right neighborhood. We had a wonderful 3/2 listing in Chapman Park with a great yard last year that sold for $875K, but places like that are few and far between.
George Crowe
Alain Pinel Realtors
415.496.2937
www.sfnorth.com