August 21, 2009 -- It's amazing how quickly these homes go up! Olive Court is a new cul-de-sac community in east Novato, in lovely Marin County. Green construction. Visit our brand new website, http://olivecourthomes.com Listings courtesy Kevin McGinnis and Mike Cohen, Frank Howard Allen Realtors(415) 725-1911 08/21/2009

Novato public schools are back in session, and Duke, our beloved Laborator / Pointer mix is very happy that he gets to go to Dogbone Meadows Dog Park to see his best friend, Hunter, again.  Since Dogbone Dog Park is in the opposite direction of my house in Partridge Knolls, San Marin Area, to my work, Frank Howard Allen Realtors, Duke only gets to go there after I drop my younger son off at the local school which is just a block away from the park.  This means Duke has not been there for quite sometime :-(   The park is very popular, lots of dogs and their humen go there to hang out with their buddies.  The place can get overwhelming for Duke and I late afternoons after work.  I love going there in the mornings where things are calm, and there are only a few familiar dogs and very respo... 08/20/2009

August 17, 2009 -- At Olive Court, three homes have been completed, and now foundations are poured and framing is going up for the last six homes! Olive Court is a new cul-de-sac community in east Novato, in lovely Marin County. Visit our brand new website, wwww.OliveCourtHomes.com Listings courtesy Kevin McGinnis and Mike Cohen, Frank Howard Allen Realtors(415) 725-1911 or kmcginnis@fhallen.com 08/17/2009

Last month, for the first time since I began writing Novato monthly updates back in 2006, I stated that it appears that the Novato, CA. market (for single family homes) seems to be improving in two meaningful ways. Certainly, sales have risen from last year and we have several months of increasing sales (as the inventory of short sales and foreclosures is quickly snapped up by motivated buyers). But, perhaps even more importantly from the perspective of home owners, it also appears that prices at the entry level (e.g., properties priced below $500,000) have bottomed out. As evidenced by the chart below,the 90-day rolling average of Novato home prices has been rising since May 2009. Obviously, higher asking prices do not, ipso facto, result in higher sales prices (some local real estate... 08/17/2009

As of August 13, 2009 an impressive 47% of available listings in Novato are in escrow. For the month of July 2009 an encouraging 57 homes sold in Novato for an average final selling price of $572,231. The average original asking price of these homes was $621,450. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $187,000 to a high of $1,512,500. Of the 57 homes that sold, 5 sold at their original asking price and 15 sold over their original asking price.  All others sold for less. It took these homes an average of 107 days to sell. To search our MLS and see everything that is currently available for sale, click here. For more information about this area visit my website or feel free to contact me directly. 08/14/2009

Best Buy on Luxury Novato Home for Sale. This Novato Home is one of the finest Homes for Sale in Novato, located at 2424 Vineyard Road, Novato; it sets in the Prestigious Wild Horse Valley area of unincorporated area of Novato. This Novato Home features a large corner lot with a park like setting and a luxury interior that feels like a bed and breakfast. This Novato Home is meant to be enjoyed in all seasons: In Summer at your Novato Home you could take one of the two bridges across your own stretch of creek surrounded by natural foliage and tastefully fenced off for safety, over to the pool. The larger private pool area will allow you alone time to think in the warm summer sun or you could host a barbeque on the large patio over looking the creek. This house and property is well laid o... 08/07/2009

The Homes at Olive Court Open Friday, August 7 from 1-4 p.m.  Also open Saturday and Sunday 1-4 p.m.  3, 19 and 27 Olive Ct. in Novato Rare new construction in "no-growth" Marin County. Elegant NEW Craftsman-style homes with lots of architectural flair. Olive Court is a cul-da-sac community featuring 9 luxury homes in East Novato, less than a mile from downtown. Three homes have been completed and the developer is full-steam ahead on the remaining six. I was out there today and they were pouring foundations. Olive Court features state-of-the-art GREEN building technology to help reduce the impact on the environment and improve the quality of life for the buyers and the surrounding community. Each home has many designer custom touches and "intelligently" designed floor plans to meet the ... 08/07/2009

If you are looking to buy newer construction in Marin County, Pointe Marin is an excellent place to consider. It's located in southern Novato in the Ignacio area on the west side if Highway 101. Pointe Marin is made up of about 250 single-family homes, all built within the last seven years (since 2003).  Pointe Marin's newer construction makes it a rare subdivision in Marin County, where there's a zero-growth policy.  Pointe Marin also has condos for people age 55 and over, along Entrada Drive. The Pointe Marin neighborhood used to look a lot different, and it had a different name, too. Formerly called Rafael Village, these 100 acres along Ignacio Blvd. were the site of surplus military family housing for Hamilton Air Force Base (which was primarily located across the freeway at what is... 07/28/2009

Bel Marin Keys (Novato, California) Real Estate and Homes for Sale Novato’s Bel Marin Keys provides a carefree and luxurious waterfont lifestyle in Southern Novato, just 30 minutes from San Francisco.   Few places are as magical as Bel Marin Keys. This unique community of approximately 700 homes consists of a series of channels and lagoons flanked by homes and surrounded by open spaces. Not only can you enjoy the lagoon, but if that proves too confining, you also have nautical access to the San Francisco Bay (Giants game anyone?). Homes in Bel Marin Keys range in size from about 1,750 sq. ft. to about 2,250 sq. ft. and are priced generally from about $600,000 to $1.5 million, depending on size, upgrades, and location. Click HERE for details relating to one of my listings. There are play... 07/26/2009

Pointe Marin, Novato, California (Homes & Real Estate) Pointe Marin is a newer housing development in desirable Southern Novato, Marin County (which is about 20 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and the varied offerings of San Francisco, California). It is favored by families and retireess alike and is undoubtedly one of Novato’s most sought-after neighborhoods. This Novato neighborhood is quiet and relaxed, with wide streets and lots of cul-de-sacs. Many of Pointe Marin’s homes back up to open space and all are within close proximity to shopping, transportation, HWY 10, hiking trails, water, sports field, parks, and schools. Pointe Marin is also close to prestigeous Marin Country Club, Stonetree Golf Course, the Indian Valley Campus of Marin Community College, and several other spo... 07/24/2009

Hamilton Field, Novato CA Real Estate and Homes  Hamilton Field in Novato (Marin County), California, is a model community filled with a vitality and energy all its own. Since its inception as a planned community about ten years ago, Hamilton Field has seen vast improvements and is now a magnet community for folks of all different ages and backgrounds. Hamilton Field is a jewel. The former military base, which was used by the Army and Air Force from the 1930’s to the 1970’s, is now a delightful community of over 1,000 homes. It is, to my mind, one of the very best communities in Marin as it has everything you need within easy walking distance (including shopping, dining, and all kinds of outdoor activities from swimming to skateboarding and biking to birdwatching). The 408-acre Hamilton... 07/23/2009

The Novato single family home market seems to be forming a bottom. Prices appear to be leveling out and the percentages of entry level homes in escrow are very high. I know that many foreclosure sales and short sales are getting multiple offers. I have several clients who have faced as many 9 to 20 offers in competition for a single family home. This activity bodes well for sales in the higher price bands. Moreover, in June 2009, Novato had 38 sales (up from 32 in June 2008). Indeed, this reflects an upward trend over the past few months—May 2009 had 44 sales. Of course, many of these are bargain priced homes such as REO’s or short sales. But, nonetheless, the inventory is rapidly being absorbed as there is extraordinary pent up demand. Perhaps more significantly, the average sales pri... 07/18/2009

Foreclosures continue to be the big story in 2009.  According to Realty Trac, 1.5 million homes either received a foreclosure filing or were seized by banks.  And keep in mind, there was a 3-month moratorium on foreclosures for three months!  As usual in Marin County, Novato continues to lead the way with the most foreclosed homes. While this is devastating to a family, the other side of the coin is that people who have been priced out of the market for years, now have a chance to own a home. But foreclosure is the big story and try as they might, no one seems to have a workable solution to the problem.  Loan modifications are spotty at best, and the unemployment freight train keeps rolling along.  One in six members of the workforce in the U.S. is either unemployed or underemployed.  T... 07/17/2009

We were called in to Stage a home that had previously been on the market for six months and not one offer.  When we got to the home we thought no wonder it didn't get any offers, the outside really needed some help.  The inside was vacant but really nice and it had some really nice features...but if you can't get the buyers in the door the home is not going to sell.  So we gave a list of landscapers from our resource binder to the new Realtor and homeowner and just like that the outside of the home looked appealing. We Staged on Saturday and they had the first open house on Sunday.  Two offers came in that day and one of them was the new owner of the home.  Here are some before and afters of the outside of the home.  More inside photo's to follow. Before After Before After       Besides... 07/14/2009

As of July 8, 2009 an impressive 47% of available listings in Novato are in escrow. For the month of June 2009 51 homes sold in Novato for an average final selling price of $574,357. The average original asking price of these homes was $629,116. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $145,000 to a high of $2,274,000. Of the 51 homes sold 3 sold at the original asking price and 9 sold over.  (22 were distress sales.) It took these homes an average of 142 days to sell. To see everything that is currently available for sale, click here. To learn more about this area, including all the fun things to do around here,  visit my website or contact me directly. 07/09/2009

This is the second Condo that we Staged.  This Condo had less square footage then the first Condo that we Staged.  What was nice about this Condo was the living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen combo were very large and open.  Here are the before and after photo's. Living Room Before After Dining Room Before After Living Room/Dining Room Full View Before After Coffee/Breakfast Area Before After Kitchen Before After Master Bedroom Before After Master Bath Before After Stage with Divine Style is a full service Home Staging, Interior Re-Design and Professional Organizing Company.  We offer free bid/proposals, occupied and vacant Home Staging.  We can do as little or as much as you like.  Call us at 877.267.4649 for a free in home estimate.  You never get a second chance to make a great first ... 07/07/2009

Novato Foreclosure List - Condos and Single Family Homes For Sale "Your complete source for Novato foreclosure listings."   July 7, 2009 Check out our new All-Novato website, with the most complete look at Novato neighborhoods: www.BestHomesNovato.com Please click below link to view ALL bank-owned (REO) properties currently on the MLS. These are "active" status and listed as available for purchase. This includes everything available, from condos to single family homes to luxury properties. NOVATO SINGLE FAMILY HOME FORECLOSURES  (Total: 7)         What's new today: 1 price reduction (1674 Center Rd. $279,900) NOVATO CONDO/TOWNHOME FORECLOSURES  (Total: 6)          What's new today:   1 price reduction (1540 Center Rd. #385 $119,900) TO SEE any of these foreclosure properties, or for mor... 07/07/2009

I have never be 'IN' the Novato July 4th parade before.  A few times I was there, I was a bystander, watching for my then young sons marching down Old Town Grant Avenue as part of Novato Summer Music Institute Marching Band.  It was fun watching them, but I had never be IN one before. Yesterday, I got the taste of actually being in the Parade while riding the truck with the Penguin Empire Robotics Team (San Marin High School Robotics Club).  I have to say that it was a lot of fun riding with the students, pretending that I was helping (they knew exactul what to do). and waving to the bystanders (now that I am in it, might as well enjoy the parade!) The parade drew record entries and recrod crowds presumably the difficutl economy kept a lot of people home during the summer; but being in ... 07/05/2009

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