Thorne Home Blog | Marin County, CA

We are seeing a vital Spring market with lots of new inventory and an increasing median sales price. On average, homes are selling for over the asking price, a 102.1% sales price/list price ratio in May, indicating buyer competition in the market.  At Thorne Home Team, we have experienced some multiple offer situations in the past couple of months, but also some price reductions as well. Interest rates continue to limit purchasing power for buyers and creates a "pickier" environment with higher monthly mortgage payments. And the usual message applies for sellers - make sure to do the up-front market prep and staging for your home and you'll have your best shot at receiving multiple offers. Vacant and staged homes will get the most foot traffic. Reach out with questions! We are happy to help! Search properties here: thornehometeam.com naomi@thornehometeam.com katherine@thornehometeam.com

  In Q1 in Marin County, the number of sales is up 22% compared to 2024. 314 properties were sold and the average days on market was 50. Average sale price ranged from $1.278 million in Fairfax all the way up to $6.817 million in Belvedere. In the highest and lowest price points in Belvedere and Fairfax, properties stayed on the market longest at an average of 71 and 66 days. Lowest average days on market were 9 days in Kentfield and 10 days in Larkspur.  If you're searching for a home in Marin or if you want to know what your home is worth, reach out directly. We would love to help! 415.559.5280 naomi@thornehometeam.com katherine@thornehometeam.com thornehometeam.com

124 Surrey Ln, San Rafael CA The very first question we get when we meet with a homeowner who wants to sell their home - what do I need to fix or remodel for resale? As real estate agents, we like to meet with sellers at their home to walk through the property and discuss specifically which repairs to prioritize. But it also helps to have a more general idea of what's going to give you the most bang for your buck. You might be surprised which items are at the top of the list! A recent report by the National Association of Realtors® shows which projects offered the highest returns. The Remodeling Impact Report estimates the following cost recovery at resale: 1. New Steel Front Door: 100% 2. Closet Renovation: 83% 3. New Fiberglass Front Door: 80% 4. New Vinyl Windows: 74% 5. New Wood Windows: 71% 6. Basement Conversion to Living Space: 71% 7. Attic Converstion to Living Space: 67% 8. Full Kitchen Renovation: 60% 9. Minor Kitchen Updates: 60% 10. Bathroom Addition: 56% 11. New Primar...

  More listings are popping up as Spring approaches! The number of properties for sale has increased 47% and homes on average are selling slightly above the asking price. We have personally seen a huge uptick in the number of buyers taking their search off pause and getting into the market. Desirable properties are receiving multiple offers and buyers are willing to offer over the asking price to secure the home.   Search properties here: thornehometeam.com

Should you buy a fixer? ....Sure! We are big advocates of saying yes to a challenge, especially because our friends and family were skeptical when we said we were going to buy, fix, and sell houses for a couple of years back in 2013.  Naomi and I lived in Los Angeles and we both had typical 9-6 jobs working in finance and television. Sick of the daily grind and the corporations controlling our pay checks, we decided we wanted to work for ourselves. I accidentally came upon a podcast about "real estate freedom" that detailed the process of wholesaling and flipping houses. This was the time following the housing market crash and home prices were rock bottom.  We were still in our 20's and knew very little about the housing market, except that we had purchased a beautiful little condo as a short sale and already had a good amount of appreciation in the property. So what if we took that appreciation and used the gains to flip houses in South Florida, where homes could be purc...

2 Taft Ct, Novato Suddenly you're faced with the daunting task of selling an inherited property. The choices are overwhelming and you're in complete analysis paralysis. Do you update the whole house, do you update certain features, or do you save all the money and just sell it as is? These are the most common questions we get when sellers find themselves in this situation. Of course, every home is a little different and we recommend meeting with an experienced Realtor® to get specific advice tailored to your property. But as a general rule of thumb, properties sell faster and for more money when buyers can imagine themselves living there.  Imagine you're a buyer and you walk into a home with a stained carpet, bright colors on the walls, and a grimy kitchen and bathrooms. You probably wouldn't walk away thinking...I'd love to live in that house and offer my entire life savings to have it! So as the seller, without breaking the bank, focus on the areas that would tran...

 February Market Snapshot Lots of new inventory on the market! The average sale price/list price ratio is 101.4%, indicating that homes are selling above the asking price, most likely as a result of renewed buyer competition in the market. We see a slight increase in the median list price, which may be seller adjustment to a reenergized market from the Fall and Winter months.   Search active properties here: thornehometeam.com

*Zillow.com screenshot We have a lot of clients who love to use Zillow for all their real estate searching. And we get it...we love Zillow too! But you have to know it has some setbacks. For instance, we happen to know the above Zestimate is about $300,000 below the current market value for this home in Marin County, CA. There are a number of potential reasons for this inaccuracy.  First, Zillow has no conception of the condition or the updates made to the home. This property is more updated than the other homes in this neighborhood and has high quality finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms. Zillow also doesn't know the square footage in the tax records for this house is inaccurate -  there was an addition made to the home increasing the number of bedrooms and therefore overall desirability of the property.  Second, the actual data flowing into Zillow's Zestimates is not always accurate. Our clients will sometimes send us active properties from Zillow and ask why they are...

This is proof you can sell your first home and buy your dream home at the same time, even in a tough market like Marin County in the Bay Area. Here's a 2024 case study: Family of 4 (two young children) Living in a 2100 sq ft townhome, hoping to sell for around $950,000 Desire a single family home in a kid-friendly neighborhood, max budget of $1,300,000 Using the proceeds from the sale for the down payment on their new home This is their story from their POV... Our First Home - Prepped and Staged! Our New Forever Home! Search  thornehometeam.com Last year, our family of four decided to take the leap and move from our first home to our forever home. We lived in a townhome in southern Novato and honestly, we did love it! The complex was located in a gorgeous natural setting amidst mature trees and hiking trails. The unit itself was actually large with three bedrooms and two living rooms, but we have two young kids and we were feeling the need to enjoy some more yard space and...