This week I received a request for a property valuation through a random website. There weren’t a lot of comparable properties, but my best estimate for the 1500 sq ft home was under $1.5 million. Properties in that area were around $2 million if they were completely done and between 2,000 -3,000 sq ft. This one checked neither of those boxes.
The property owner emailed me after receiving the valuation something to the effect of, ‘My property is worth $3 million. Don’t waste my time.’ I still feel the sting from the virtual slap in my face.
I didn’t respond to the email because really, what good would it do unless I owned a mining company and was prepared to dig on his property. I’m mean, the only way it could be worth his estimation is if there were a gold vein running beneath it!
I’m closing 259 C Street in San Rafael today. It’s been a long road. The owners contacted me last year around this time because the roof was leaking. I recommended McLeran Roofing, who put on a new roof. We waited, not so patiently, for the tenants to leave so we could sell the home. Our plan was to hit the market in the spring, however the tenants couldn’t find a place to go and didn’t leave until the beginning of September. We missed the spring market and got the property online as interest rates were steadily rising towards their peak. Coming on the market at the end of September wasn’t ideal, but we did the best we could with fresh paint inside and out, new carpet and refinished flooring, plus staging and numerous little things. Everyone is happy now, so all is well that ends well. This property had been a rental since my seller purchased the property in 1974.
Last week I closed escrow on 279 Devon Drive in Terra Linda. We had agreed to get a permit for the deck, which I’m still working on. Drawings were submitted and rejected, now they’ve been resubmitted and are in the re-review process. Meanwhile the contractor began retrofitting this week. It all comes down to time and money: keeping the municipal government running and our local economy humming. The expense of the retrofit is literally costing more than the initial expense to build the deck. I had a client who once called the permitting hoops we go through to sell homes in San Rafael a tax for leaving. It’s hard to argue with that. After living in the house for 46 years, the next stop for my clients is WA state. I’ll be sorry to lose them as neighbors, they were assets to San Rafael and Marin County.
Interest rates have come WAY DOWN, dropping to a four month low! The average rate of a 30 year fixed mortgage as of 12/5/23 was 6.67%. This news is extremely welcome in the real estate market. Winter is typically the slowest time of the year, and had rates stayed around 8% we might not have seen much activity until the spring. This changes everything, and if the rates drop under 6% this spring things are going to be tremendous for sellers!