In my opinion, one of the things that makes living here so great is all of the fun things to do.  I missed it last month (hey, I’ve been busy) but here is a smattering for this month, December 2009.  (Don’t forget to add more events in the comments section at the bottom of this post!)

All Month Long – Cirque du Soleil… Ovo

December 4 – Lighting of City Hall with Santa on the Sonoma Plaza

December 4 – Sebastiani Vineyards Late Night Fridays Wine and Music

December 5 – Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Grove on the Windsor Town Green, even playing “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on the big screen

December 5 & 6 – Holiday Concerts by Candlelight at Saint Raphael’s Church in San Rafael

December 5 – Petaluma Yacht Club’s Holiday Lighted Boat Parade

December 8 – I kid you not, Billy Bob Thornton and The Box Masters at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma

December 8 thru 10 – San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker at the War Memorial Opera House

December 10 – Twisted Shorts Holiday Film Festival at the Raphael Theater in San Rafael

December 10 – Johnny Mathis sings Christmas Carols at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

December 11 – Sebastiani Vineyards Late Night Fridays Wine and Music

December 12 – Holiday Open Studios and Art Bazaar in downtown San Rafael

December 12 – Sausalito’s 21^st Annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade

December 13 – Sexy Sunday at Peri’s Silver Dollar in Fairfax, featuring rockin’ local and traveling female artists

December 13 – An Acoustic Christmas with Eddie Money at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma

December 14 – Kingston Trio performs at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

December 18 – Lifehouse Annual Holiday Party to benefit those with developmental disabilities at the San Rafael Recreation Center

December 18 – Sebastiani Vineyards Late Night Fridays Wine and Music

December 18 – 18^th Annual Crab Feed at the Tides Wharf Restaurant in Bodega Bay

December 26 & 27 – Brian Setzer (you remember him from the Stray Cats, dontcha?) and his Orchestra make Christmas Carols Rock at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

December 31 – Tommy Castro Band performs New Year’s Eve at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma

December 31 – Celebrate New Year’s Eve where the Wild Things are at Safari West

December 31 – Marvin Hamlisch performs New Year’s Eve at the Napa Valley Opera House

And, of course, there are many, many more places to ring in the New Year in San Francisco.

I just arrived back from a doctor’s appointment at Stanford and as soon as I got over the bridge I saw, near Vista Point, what looked to be a huge group of Hell’s Angels with only 1 or 2 CHP and I thought, “Boy are they out numbered.”  

But then I saw a Sheriff up a little ways, and then on the next overpass there were a bunch of fire trucks with all their lights going but all the fire fighters were standing outside the trucks.  That was true of every bus pad and every overpass until I reached San Rafael.  

I called the CHP and they said that a large group of soldiers just arrived from Iraq and were being escorted from San Francisco to Petaluma.  Just about brought a tear to my eye.  I’m getting so sentimental in my old age.

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN
A Veteran – whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve – is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to “The United States of America”, for an amount of “up to and including my life.”

Author Unknown

As you see in the charts below the average sales price in Marvelous Marin County is about where it was in 2004 – 2005.

While the volume of homes selling has been mostly pathetic this year, we have seen a slight uptick in the past month.  Encouraging, but we’re not out of the woods yet.

I think this will continue through next year, with more distres sales coming on the market.  What is fueling the slight uptick in volume is realistic sellers who have learned that REOs are the competition and they must price accordingly.

To learn more about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

If you have questions, just ask!

 

 

As you will see in the charts below the average sales price in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma continues to be driven by the distress sales.

Volume is picking up a little bit, but nothing to be overly optimistic about.

To learn more about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

If you have questions, just ask!

The table below shows the sales activity for Marin County and Southern Sonoma County for the month of October 2009, sorted alphabetically by the name of the City.

For more information about a specific City, click on the corresponding link.

City	# of homes sold	Average Days on Market	Average ORIGINAL Asking Price	Average FINAL Selling Price	# Sold AT Original Asking Price	# Sold OVER Original Asking Price	% of Available Listings in Escrow
Corte Madera	8	114	$756,613	$702,413	1	-	37
Fairfax	7	80	$760,429	$708,857	1	2	38
Greenbrae	7	88	$779,286	$749,714	-	3	20
Kentfield	4	56	$3,478,500	$3,258,500	-	2	31
Larkspur	4	131	$1,299,750	$1,089,144	-	-	29
Mill Valley	24	122	$1,216,288	$1,080,144	-	3	25
Novato	72	94	$596,785	$560,843	6	15	49
Ross	2	33	$2,745,000	$2,794,200	-	1	30
San Anselmo	9	139	$873,333	$762,872	1	1	30
San Rafael	57	97	$768,712	$728,242	8	10	34
Sausalito	7	70	$1,197,429	$1,190,750	1	1	21
Tiburon	8	88	$2,703,556	$2,408,125	1	1	14
Marin County	221	104	NA	$884,040	NA	NA	30
Petaluma	60	114	$481,687	$439,140	2	18	42
Sonoma	33	134	$523,709	$465,276	1	10	40

Please note that all Original Asking Prices are without any price reductions.

This information is current as of November 6, 2009 and the sources are BAREIS and CleanOffer.   

As of November 6, 2009 30% of available listings in Marin County are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 only 221 homes sold in Marin County, for an average final selling price of $884,000.

Of the 221 homes that sold 53 were distress sales.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $120,000 to a high of $9,200,000.

It took these homes an average of 104 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2009 a mere 14% of available listings in Tiburon are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 only 8 homes sold in Tiburon, for an average final selling price of $2,408,125.

The average original asking price of these homes was $2,703,556.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $490,000 to a high of $6,500,000.

Of the 8 homes that sold, 1 sold at the original asking price and 1 sold for more than the original asking price.

It took these homes an average of 88 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2009 only 21% of available listings in Sausalito are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 only 7 homes (1 of which was a distress sale) sold in Sausalito, for an average final selling price of $1,190,750.

The average original asking price of these homes was $1,197,429.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $346,500 to a high of $2,925,000.

Of the 7 homes that sold, 1 sold at the original asking price and 1 sold over the original asking price.

It took these homes an average of 70 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2009 34% of available listings in San Rafael are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 57 homes (8 of which were distress sales) sold in San Rafael, for an average final selling price of $728,242.

The average original asking price of these homes was $768,712.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $140,000 to a high of $3,100,000.

Of the 57 homes that sold 8 sold at their original asking price and 10 sold for more than their original asking price.

It took these homes an average of 97 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2009 30% of available listings in San Anselmo are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 only 9 homes (1 of which was a distress sale) sold in San Anselmo, for an average final selling price of $762,872. 

The average original asking price of these homes was $873,333.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $341,848 to a high of $1,025,000.

Of the 9 homes that sold 1 sold at the original asking price and 1 sold over the original asking price.

It took these homes an average of 139 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.