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Mark Danforth Lomas * Marin Luxury Homes and Properties

(415) 435-1718 cell/direct

MDLomas@gmail.com

Testimonials For Mark Danforth Lomas

Marin Luxury Real Estate

        

Some excerpts, reprinted here with permission from Ian Charle's article Behavioral Tendencies

"Fear and anxiety in Marin real estate have persisted longer than is normal since the financial crisis erupted in 2008, suggesting there is something more to our uneasiness about home prices today.  Misguided behavioral tendencies can sometimes cloud intuition and get in the way of market efficiency, since it is human to want to avoid loss of wealth as it is to breathe.

Fear and anxiety aside, the Marin real estate market will likely trade sideways without any big movements until three dynamics take hold; 1.the San Francisco job market  greatly improves, 2. home financing from banks begins to flow and 3. the markets on Wall Street give confidence to all who watch them.  Since these items are interrelated, it's safe to say that we are not there yet. But the question is, are we closer to the conclusion of hard times than we are to their beginning?

Some Marin agents today are pointing to the 11 percent increase in median sales prices in May 2010 versus May 2009 as the first signs of better things to come.  Other agents are excited  about the number of properties sold in Marin during May 2010, up 29 percent from those sold in May of 2009.  Although these trends are encouraging for those hoping to sell, the should be considered alongside the fact that the first quarter of 2010 pales in comparison to the first quarter of 2007, with median sales prices and volumn down 21 percent, and 19 percent respectively.  That means there are still a lot of homeowners out there who are upside down in their properties.

During the boom years, homes sold that were largely driven by competitive multiple offers and the "irrational exuberance" of never ending appreciation.  The current economic and tight lending enviroment has reset the rules of the game, and now homes are valued to a great extent (not entirely) by the metric of, "price per square foot."

        

Anylan Report Update September 5, 2010

The big question in everyone's mind these days is, " How healthy will the fall real estate market be here in Marin County?" Lots of opinions on both sides of this issue - with statistics to back them up.  Remember Mark Twain's quote, " there are 3 kinds of lies; lies, damn lies, and statistics?"  One real estate firm here in Marin should get a kick out of that quote, in that their marketing appears to be based on what Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Show calls "truthiness", pretty much falls into this category.

In 13 of Marin County cities and towns covered (the 13 largest markets in Marin) the statistics show the percentage of homes under contract (Pending) is up in 9 markets, down in 3, and essentially unchanged in 1.   During the month of August there were 1129 homes on the market, and 381 condos compared to 1228 homes/325 condos on the market at this time last year. There were 287 homes in August that went under contract (and 78 for condos), that shows that this was the best August in 3 years.

The year to date "Sold" price average in Marin for homes is $1,044,953 compared to $980,113 at this time last year.  The average selling time (DOM/ days on Market) this year to date is 87 days versus 98 days at this ti;me last year.  The year to date "Sold" price average for Condos this year is $394,377 vs. $369,296 at this time last year.

The upper end of the market appears to be "lagging"  due to continuing challenges in obtaining "Jumbo" financing making it a fabulous time for high end buyers with cash to pick up properties at excellent prices.

Fred Anylan is a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker in Greenbrae, and a regular contributor to this web site.

        

Announcing the launch of   Marin Luxury Real Estate 
The definitive Marin Luxury Real Estate web site! 

        

The Anlyan Report

Marin County real estate figures for the last two weeks showed that the housing inventory for both single family residences/houses, and condos declining slightly for the period, but basically stable. Homes sold remain ahead of last year at this time, but partially on the strength of the first part of the year when buyers were racing to beat the Federal Tax Credit deadline. In recent weeks we’ve seen the gains of the earlier part of they year erode steadily as units sales failed to keep up with the pace of the same period last year. In the two weeks that ended on August 17, 2010 house sales slipped from being up 30.4% for the year to only 26.9%. Condo sales remained relatively strong with a 7.1% gain.

San Diego based Data Quick reported in an August 19^th article that in "July sales in higher end neighborhoods represented a greater portion of overall transactions than a year ago. Last month 39.8% of the sales were $500,000 or more, roughly even 40.1% in June, but up from 36.7% last year."

In addition, a table in this article showed Marin County’s July housing sales down only 15.5% from a year ago with median price up 10%, holding up better than most other areas in the region.

Fred Anylan is a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker in Greenbrae, California
The photo below is not of Fred, and used for comedic purposes only...



Marin Real Estate Tours on Bicycle

Marin Online Sunday Open Houses

        

The September 6, 2010 Issue  Time Magazine article by Barbara Kiviat, at your newsstand or iPad, asks, "Is buying a house all it's cracked up to be?"   Kiviat covers the history of home ownership from 1900 through today.  Prior to the  credit bubble burst a record 69.2% of families owned their home. It's an interesting article that also acknowledges many of the advantages of home ownership.

Kiviat also attacks some real estate home ownership sacred cows like the mortgage interest deduction. She claims that the  deduction cost the government $80 billion dollars in 2009.  Kiviat ignores the problems that created the bubble burst such as the sub prime mortgages created by the Banks that were offered to almost anyone, and the Derivative Traders on Wall Street who's all consuming greed collapsed the economy in the fall of 2008.  If those events had not occurred, this article would never have been written. 

Also, if Congress had never repealed the Glass Steagall Act in 1999, these problems never could have happened.  A week kneed legislature capitulated to the continual lobbying efforts of the banking interest, led by Phil Gramm,  that brought on the de-regulation that created this mess.
The Glass Steagall Act

        

Neighborhood Watch Programs Build Community.

     Available at the Tiburon Police Station is a 13 page pamphlet titled "How to Start (and maintain) a Healthy Neighborhood Watch Program."  In the August 4, 2010 issue of the Ark Newspaper Teri Roney reported: " A neighborhood Watch can be any size, from neighbors on a small cul de sac to a watch that covers a few blocks or, as in the case of Belvedere, a whole City.  Belvedere is an island connected by Beach Road on the south side, and San Rafael Avenue on the north. Belvedere Police Chief Steve Fracolli said, " that all of Belvedere is one big neighborhood watch."
     Sergeant Mike Mourgos of the Tiburon Police explained that a Neighborhood Watch program involves much more than watching for criminals or criminal activity. It's about anything that affects the peace and comfort of the community. Mourgos says that, " the best thing about a Neighborhood Watch program is that you get to know your neighbors, and you start communicating."
   The Neighborhood Watch motto is, "We look out for each other."  That might mean checking on elderly residents, noticing that someone needs to trim vegatation away from their windows so it doesn't screen burglars at work, or making sure that residential addresses are clearly visible from the street.  If you need help from the Fire Department or the Police, and they can't see your address, you might not get the help you want in time.  If neighbors work together to take care of those small details they'll be ready when something serious nature comes along.
    Sergeant Mougos says that the process can be time consuming, and even suggests starting a neighborhood Facebook page.

Blackie the Horse by Paige Peterson 
Blackie resided in Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon off of Tiburon Boulevard just before Trestle Glen,
where a statue of Blackie exists today.
Blackie the Horse is also a wonderful book by Christopher Cerf and Paige Peterson
For more information on their book click on the link below
Blackie, The Horse That Stood Still by Christopher Cerf and Paige Peterson  

Some Safety Tips when Social Networking on the Internet

      Think twice when using Social Networking sites. Never post information about trip details that could be viewed by possible nefarious types with bad intentions. Basic safety precautions should be considered whenever sharing information.  All kinds of people could be peering at your information online. Take control of your information. Be careful.
      Parents need to take extra care regarding their childrent, and their activities.   All sorts of bad people including pedophiles, human traffickers, kidnappers, and stalkers are surfing the internet.  To see how private your information may or may not be type your name in  www.spokeo.com . Cyberstalking is the new prank call.  www.Safecheckin.com is an online personal safety site where you plug in appointment information, and expected return time.  If you don't check back with the site, and indicated your safe return, it follows up with emergency contacts and, if necessary, law enforcement.
     Retired police officer Jewell Crosby cringes when she hears Reators mention the idea of signaling their exact location via social networking, particularly when they're at a vacant property, or a piece of remote land. Location based social networking sites such as Foursquare broadcasts your location.  And it's not just technology that offers fresh dangers, in our changed economy financially desperate, and other disgruntled individuals abound.  If you notice anything amiss within your surroundings call the police.   And, warns Moore, "Always err on the side of safety."  ( Some parts of this post were taken from the article Play it Safe in the August issue of Real Estate, the official magazine of the California Association of Realtors   www.car.org

        

        

   Good grades translates in higher home prices. Understandably many parents are willing to pay a premium to live in better school districts, which is one of the reasons that makes Marin County such a desirable location.  Whether you're a family with school aged children, or empty nesters, a real consideration when purchasing any home is it's potential "Resale Value" down the line.  Your school district, oftentimes, can make the difference. Especially, in a weak real estate "Buyers" market.



    The San Francisco Chronicle reported in March of 2010 that Bay Area residents know the school districts most in demand "Communities like PIedmont, Tiburon/Belvedere, Orinda, Palo Alto, and Ross/Kentfield, attract their fair share of buyers most covetous of their schools. And, they're glad to pay up.  What exactly is the school district premium?  Some real estate agents believe it's 10 to 25 percent of a home's value.

    On August 17, 2010 the Marin Independent Journal reported that based on California's Star Exam Results (Annual Standardized Testing and Reporting) that Marin students outpaced the State. Educators report gains overall in English and Math.
Click here for:   Star Exam Results Marin Students Outpace State Marin Independent Journal Article

        

If you have the time, you might want to visit Sausalito and view the spectacular
390 foot Yacht belonging to Russian Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Named A,
after Andreys and his wife Aleksandra's first initials.

The view of A from Bridgeway in Sausalito.  The $300 million dollar plus yacht
sports a 2500 square foot master suite, three swimming pools, and doors that
are only accessible by a fingerprint security system.  It's 62 feet wide at its beam;
has an owner's suite and six cabins, a crew of 37, a staff of 5, and can hit 24 knots.
To fill the gas costs approximately 1.4 million dollars.

The all white 2,583 square foot master suite is wrapped in bomb proof 44
millimeter glass.  For the complete story that appeared in Thursday's
Marin Independent Journal click on the link below.

Marin Independent Journal Yacht A Article and Video by the Wall Street Journal

        

 Marin Luxury Home Sales Jump to Highest Level in Two Years, by Michelle Payne

July 2010

     Million dollar home sales in Marin County last month surged to their highest level in two years as the region's luxury housing market continued to improve, according to Coldwell Banker's Residential Brokerage, the Bay Area's leading provider of luxury real estate services.

        

        

Check out Marty Balin's, lead singer with Grace Slick for the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, former Marin County California residence. Check out the Kitchen Collage that runs throughout the kitchen and the Pyramid Bedroom. Presented by Marin Realtor Mark Lomas, and American Design Historian Steve Cabella.  For more information about this property contact Mark at MDLomas.com or visit Mark's award winning blog at:  The Real Estate Scene in Marin


For more information about Marty Balin and the new release of "Blue Highway" go to Marty's site at: Marty Balins Web Site

        

      Why Twitter?  What is the appeal of virtual stalking unless you're a celebrity or politician desperate for attention?  Other than Hunter S. Thompson, I'm not sure who'd I want to follow?  My problem is  Hunter S. Thompson is dead. 
     As professional realtors we're inundated with invitations from social networking sites like Facebook,  LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ning,  Twitter, Merchant's Circle, and that's just the tip of the iceburg. When is enough, enough?
     To participate on any of these sites takes time. But, is it time well spent?  These sites have been around for a couple of years.  Have these sites lived up to their promises or, as Wired Magazine reported in their June issue this year in an article called  "Chaos Theory"  Nicholas Carr argues that the riot of information from the Internet shatters our focus and rewires our brain. Carr suggests that,"the Internet is an interruption system. It seizes our attention only to scramble it, that media multitaskers are suckers for irrelevancy, and that we're training our brains to pay attention to the crap." Carr's book The Shallow; What the Internet is doing to our brains will be available later this year.
     For more information about myself, and the real estate services I provide visit me at Facebook  (email: MDLomas@gmail.com) or you can follow me on Twitter at  Twitter  (MarkLomas).  Ironic hunh?             
                                                              

        

From Recession to Recovery: Analyzing America's Return to Growth by the Milken Institute

The Milken Institure believes that's what's fueling the recovery is economic growth in developing countries, a trend that supports U.S. exports,  business investments in equipment and software, previously deferred consumer purchases of durable goods, record long term interest rates, and a benign inflationary enviroment that will allow the Fed to keep short term interest rates at zero until late 2010 or even into 2011.

Real state and local government purchases are projected to decline 0.8 percent in 2010. By 2011, a modest gain of 0.7 percent is expected. Real state and local purchases are projected to rise over 1.0 percent on average from 2012 to 2015.

Federal spending cuts, tax increases and a cyclical improvement in tax receipts will bring the deficit down from $1.3 trillon in 2010 to $553 billion in 2013. The deficit begins to grow again in 2014, and by 2015, it's back to $681 billion. By 2015, the budget deficit represents 3.5% of nominal GDP.

New home construction won't aid economic growth in 2010, but residential fixed investment should jump 26.0% in 2011, and 25.7% in 2012. We've been bouncing off the bottom.

        

According to the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. is currently in position to sell 4.68 million homes this year. That would put the U.S. within the top 5% of homes sold in U.S. history. The market is indicating that we may have hit the bottom. Time will tell ......

        

125 Belvedere Avenue in Belvedere, California Offered at $24,000,000
 4 Bedrooms 5.5 Bathrooms 4920 square feet, lot: 18,000 square feet
 Source Zillow.com

Controversy Over Point-of-Sale Sewage UpgradeRequirements with Marin Realtors

        

We seem to be getting thef lazy summer real estate market without the lazy summer weather. Last Wednesday, according to one account, the weather in San Francisco was the coldest for that day since records have been kept, beginning in the late 1800's. And, reportedly, we are having the coolest summer weather in over 40 years. Nonetheless, people are still going on vacation, and many have placed their real estate searches or plans on temporary "hold" while they are away. For Marin Real Estate this is fairly normal behavior. The Marin market usually comes back to life in September when everyone returns to work, or school, and stays fairly active until the holidays.

The first four months of 2010 was incredibly hot, with buyers racing to beat the April 30 deadline for federal tax credits, and total units sold were far ahead of 2009. As of July, year to date housing sales were substantially ahead of the same date in 2009, with Condo sales up 10.2% (270 vs. 245), and Single Family Homes up 34.2% (1024 vs. 763).

Recently the President of La Jolla based Data Quick, John Walsh stated, "The next few months should be very interesting. We’re about to see how well the housing market can fly on it’s own. The tax credits no doubt stole some demand from the rest of the year, and soon we’ll have a better sense of just how much."

Right now the Bay Area is getting a boast from super low mortgage rates and a slightly friendlier lending environment. But, barring new governent stimulus, the housing market may be relying on improvements in the economy... time will tell.

One Cliff Road in Belvedere, California    Offered at: $28,850,000
Source Marin County Multiple Listing Service

Fred Anlyan is a real estate Broker with Coldwell Banker in Greenbrae

        

Marin Home Prices Holding Steady Article July 15, 2010

        

     On June 27, 2010 Princeton Professor of Economics, Nobel Prize Winner, and  New York Times columnist Paul Krugman penned an article titled "The Third Depression" in which he speculated that we are currently entering an extended economic trough. For the whole article go to: The Third Depression
     On July 10, Nelson Schwartz, another New York Times Columnist wrote a column for the paper title "Wall Street Hiring in Anticipation of an Economic Recovery."  For that story go to: Wall Street Anticipates Economic Recovery
     Last week Wall Street had a pretty good week.  The Dow Jones Industrial had its best week since July of 2009, climbing about 5%. Still a long way from it's former peak, but slowly heading in the right direction though still volatile and changing directions regularly. Mortgage rates are still at historical lows, but buyers need to be well-qualified with good income, assets, and credit scores.
     What's happening in Marin County Real Estate?  The average sold price year to date for single family homes (houses) is at $1,054,594 versus $972,521 for this time last year. The average days of the market for homes is 93 days versus 108 days for this time last year. 935 houses has sold as of July 6, 2010. 34% more than the 697 homes sold as of the same date in 2009.

Fred Anlyan is a Real Estate Broker with Coldwell Banker in Greenbrae   

Some More thoughts on the current Real Estate Market:
      Paul Krugman, who's referenced above, recently stated on ABC's This Week's television show that "more stimulus, not less" by the Federal Government could actually expedite our Country's economic recovery. As long as Republicans in the House and Senate pander to  groups like the Tea Party, and continue to be the party of NO, any kind of economic recovery will be a long time coming.  Not only will real estate markets throughout the United States continue to suffer, any chance of creating jobs in this economy will continue to be threatened. Republicans believe that the weaker the economy is this November, the greater chance for them to get back seats in the House and the Senate they'd lost.  What's good for our Country right now is not what's good for the Republican Party, and hence the choke hold on any kind of real recovery for our economy in the near future.
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174 Avenida Miraflores in Tiburon is an elegant 4 bedroom 3 and one half bath home with stunning views. This property is offered at: $2,900,000. This incredible property  offers a beautiful kitchen, two family rooms, and a gorgeous swimming pool with spa. For more information, or to set up a private showing, contact Mark Danforth Lomas at: MDLomas@gmail.com or 415-385-7404 cell

        

On June 17, 2010 the Marin Independent Journal Reported that Marin Housing Sales and Prices were up from last year.
For the whole article go to:  Marin Independent Journal Article Marin Housing Sales and Prices Up

        

Redfin, the upstart discount real estate brokerage, recently listed the White House for sale on their web site. It's not for sale, even though many of our Politicians appear to be. Redfin listed the White House for $10,000,000. Publicity stunt or innocent mistake? Redfin claimed their sites software erroneously pulled some information about a property the President rented while in college off of Craigslist, and their site mistakenly listed the White House for sale.

Discount real estate brokerage Redfin appeared on the real estate scene a few years back, and was featured on 60 Minutes. At that time the real estate bubble had not burst, and real estate sales were en fuego. Move forward a couple of years, and many discount brokerages are struggling to stay afloat.  Redfin's presence in the Bay Area, and in particular in Marin County, is minimal as sellers of homes have begun leaning towards more notable full service real estate companies.  When the market shifts to more of a buyer's market, historically in Marin and the Bay Area, the discount real estate brokerages begin to disapear.

Real Estate commissions for the sale of homes are negotiable. In Marin County the word on the street is that Pacific Union, which is a recent marriage of the Morgan Lane and the previous incarnation of Pacific Union, will only be listing homes for 6%. Homes in Marin typically have been listed for anywhere from 5 to 6 percent. Occassionally you'll find a reduced commission on a very expensive property ,or one listed by a discount brokerage. Some say, "you get what you pay for." Let's see what happens...

        

Marin Luxury Real Estate Sales from 1.1.2010 to 6.10.2010

  Address                       Town or City                Sold



             Lagunitas Road in Ross, California

           

        

The following Data reflects the combined Single Family Detached Homes and Condominium/ Townhome "Activity" for that Town or City as of May 31, 2010. (Data provided by Bay Areal Real Estate Information Services) All Price Ranges are included.

ACTIVE (Property Listings currently For Sale)
IN CONTRACT (Properties Under Contract/in Escrow)
SOLD (Properties that have SOLD from 1.1.2010 to 1.31.2010