The Marin real estate market is very closely linked to the Bay Area real estate market in general, meaning that the region is undergoing a relatively slow and steady recovery. According to an article released by the Prudential California Realty Research Division, “The San Francisco Bay Area real estate market continued to show signs of a slow recovery during the third quarter of 2009 behind a dwindling supply of foreclosed properties on the market and increased competition between cash-rich investors looking for deals and traditional first-time homebuyers trying to leverage low interest rates and a soon-to-expire federal income tax credit to complete a home purchase before home prices can edge higher. In the nine-county Bay Area, 14,662 existing single-family detached homes changed hands during the third quarter, up slightly from 14,551 homes sold in the second quarter and 6 percent higher than the 13,895 homes sold during the third quarter of 2008.”

Marin home sales increased somewhat during the last period, even though home prices fell during September. According to an article in the San Luis Obispo Tribune published on November 12, 2009, “Home sales in San Luis Obispo County were up slightly in September, but the median price of homes dropped that month, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a Southern California-based real estate tracking firm. Sales of all homes – including new and resale single-family homes and condominiums – increased 4.3 percent in September over the same month in 2008. A total of 245 homes sold in the county in September, compared to 235 in September 2008. The median price…stood at $379,750 in September, an 11.7 percent drop from…September 2008.”

On the other hand, according to a November 12, 2009 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, real estate in Marin has become more affordable. The piece, written by Robert Digitale, found that “Sixty percent of Sonoma County households could afford an entry-level home in the third quarter, according to a report Thursday by the California Association of Realtors. A year ago, 56 percent of households could afford a starter home. But as prices have dropped in Sonoma County, more residents can afford to purchase a home.”