February Marin Luxury Home Newsletter

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February 2022 Newsletter

Dear Clients, Friends, and Neighbors,

Happy Valentine’s Day! February is the month of the Winter Olympics, Presidents’ birthdays, hearts, and love. It is now also the month of growing geopolitical tensions, a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, gyrating financial markets, and inflation reaching a 40-year high. All of this is happening while the world is experiencing one of the most accelerated periods of wealth creation in history with the San Francisco Bay Area being the epicenter of this phenomenon.

Here at home, we continue to be plagued by historically low inventory which has led to stratospheric sale prices and fierce buyer competition. The chart below shows new listings in January 2022 vs January 2021.

This trend continues in February with a total of only 19 new residential listings on the market in Marin County at $2M and above. In Marin County, our spring market usually kicks off after ski week, and it is my hope that there will be some inventory relief coming soon.

While interest rates continue to be at historic lows, it is now anticipated that the Fed will increase rates in March by .5% vs the standard .25% in order to ease surging prices and cool the economy as reported in the WSJ this past Friday (2/11/22). This will be the first time the Fed has raised rates by this amount since 2000.

Some interesting information from Forbes Global Properties:

Luxury Buyers are younger than ever before due to the rise in Tech and Cryptocurrency wealth. Gen X (ages 41-56) comprises 26% of the combined net worth of all billionaires worldwide. Buyers under the age of 56 (Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) now account for at least 66% of buyers in most primary home markets and at least 50% in luxury second home markets. 70% of Lake Tahoe luxury home buyers are Gen X.

Second homes have become second primary homes. Work from home optionality and lifestyle as a priority over location have become major drivers in the purchase of second homes. Luxury buyers are now using their homes for different purposes and for longer periods. As such, second homes are now being re-designed to accommodate both housing and work.

The top five must-have amenities for luxury home buyers today are:

More Space Indoor and Outdoor - 68%
Home Office - 54%
Privacy and Security - 32%
Turnkey, Move-In Ready - 19%
Pools and Private Fitness* - 18%
Greenery - Gardens and Terraces* - 18% *Tied in fifth place

I put the desire for “turnkey, move-in ready” homes, pools, and gyms at a much higher percentage in Marin County.

Our team is hard at work prepping six new listings with more coming. We launched our first Kentfield listing of the year last week and quietly sold a special Ross off-market listing simultaneously. We have had great success finding homes for three buyers this year in part by seeking off-market opportunities by proactively leveraging our collective relationships with other top luxury agents.

If you are thinking of selling your home, renovated and staged homes sell faster and for a higher price with a meaningful ROI. Our team can offer you a hassle-free way to prepare your house for the market using Compass Concierge. Over a third of our clients utilize Compass Concierge which pays for home improvement services including staging, flooring, renovations, painting, and more. Clients that qualify for Compass Concierge can borrow up to $150,000 for improvements with no upfront costs, no interest, and no fees.

We are all now back in the office. We love seeing you and welcome your visits and calls. Please never hesitate to reach out if we can be helpful.

Sending Valentine’s love to all!