GREEN REALTOR NEWS | Vol. 42
Market Update | Just Sold | Electrification Roadmap | Photo Contest
Lauren Seacrest was the winner of our August photo contest! This was a tough one. It’s an old billboard in Fairfax for the Marin Town and Country Club which operated from 1944 - 1972 on the grounds of a country club built in 1925 by San Francisco’s Emporium Department Store to provide a recreational site for their 2,000 employees. The country club featured an outdoor bandstand and dance floor called The Redwood Bowl that broadcast live dance music throughout the western United States on Saturday nights. The old club is still there and can be seen from parts of Fairfax. As of August, 2023 it was on the market for $68 million. Opportunity knocks!
Scroll to the bottom to see if you can guess the location of our September special feature.
Market Update
The biggest news in September is that interest rates finally dropped! On September 18th the Federal Reserve dropped the interest rate to 4.83%, down from 5.33%. What does this mean for mortgage interest rates? This week I saw 5.625% for a 30 year fixed rate conforming loan, which is great. Not only that, but forecasters are predicting a federal rate drop to 3.4% by the end of 2025. We’ve seen a commensurate uptick in homes coming on the market and buyers actively looking and writing offers. September is typically a busy month in real estate, second only to the spring, and this month is shaping up nicely. Year over year, prices have softened a bit. Single family residences are down about 3.4% in San Francisco and 4.7% in Marin, while TICs and condos in San Francisco are down about 5.6%. With the increase in market activity we’ll see how the statistics are impacted next month.
Just Sold!
138 Belvedere Drive, Mill Valley
This great house saw tons of interest and sold quickly, which was no surprise. A move-in ready house listed for $1,295,000 is a rarity in Mill Valley, especially one in an easily accessible location with great outdoor space. My co-listing agent, Stefano DeZerega of Corcoran Icon Properties, and I had a great time at the open houses meeting neighbors, first time buyers, downsizers, people looking for investment properties and people just wanting a sweet little home that would be comfortable and low maintenance. We received multiple offers and it sold for $1,365,000 — $70,000 over the asking price. Our sellers are thrilled. The only downside? We’ll miss working with them!
Electrification Roadmap
Jurisdictions throughout the Bay Area are working on plans to cut carbon emissions and meet California’s ambitious plan to be net-zero by 2045. Marin County’s Sustainability Team recently launched the Electrification Roadmap to transition to an all-electric and energy efficient future with a target of reducing emissions by 2030 to 40% of 1990 levels. As you see in the graphic above, 31% of the county’s carbon emissions come from the built environment and 85% of that comes from burning a fossil gas. While the use of electricity to power our homes has gotten cleaner due to wind and solar energy, emissions from burning natural gas have been largely unchanged. Electrifying your home not only gets us closer to our statewide goals but improves your indoor air quality and can lower your energy bills. Want to get started? Click on the buttons below to link to the resource hubs for Electrify Marin and the San Francisco Environment Department.
And if you want to learn even more…
Sign up for the Marin Green Home Tour and see what your neighbors are doing to make their homes more comfortable, sustainable, energy efficient and green. The free, virtual tour is Thursday, October 24th from 6 - 8 PM. The 100th Birthday Project is the first home on the tour at 6:10 pm. Don’t miss it! Click on the Marin Green Home Tour logo to register and get the link.
Photo Contest
We’re taking a break this month from our usual artist-in-residence to feature my little hiking group at the start of our second annual self-guided Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Group member Michelle Buckles organized our walk to honor her mom, Lisa, who passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2023. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled between 2000 and 2021, including my grandfather, Lyle Cook, in 2002. Funds given to the Alzheimer’s Association drive research towards treatment, prevention, and ultimately, a cure. Click on the button below to learn more and contribute to Michelle’s campaign. Thank you!
If you know the location email me at lucinda@lucindaotto.com. The first person with a correct guess wins a $25 donation in your name to the Alzheimer’s Association.
I hope you enjoyed the Green Realtor News! If you know anyone buying or selling, or if you are curious to hear more about the market, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to help you or your friends make moves. As one of my happy clients loves to say:
Everyone Needs A Lucinda!
