Luxury home prices in Marin County moved higher once again last month as the region’s high-end market continued to improve, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the Bay Area’s leading provider of luxury real estate services. 

The median sale price for a million-dollar-plus home in Marin County reached $1,595,000, up 1 percent from a year ago and a whopping 16 percent from November, when it was $1,375,000.

While prices moved higher, luxury sales did taper off as the year came to a close. Some 37 homes sold for more than $1 million, down from 43 in December 2010 and 55 the previous month. But the number of multi-million-dollar sales edged higher to 11, up from just seven a year ago and 10 in November.

Other market indicators also showed positive trends. Homes sold at a faster pace last month, averaging 106 days for those that closed in December, down sharply from 140 days last year and 111 days in November. And sellers received 95 percent of their list price on average, up from 93.7 percent last year.

The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold for more than $1 million last month in Marin County.

“There continues to be solid demand for homes priced above $1 million in the Marin County market and throughout the Bay Area, for that matter,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “We’ve seen really good activity in the upper end of the market for the better part of the past year. That’s a healthy sign for the overall market because history has shown that sustainable recoveries in the housing market typically begin with the luxury segment.”

Turley said the challenge for the market continues to be a shortage of homes for sale, not lack of buyers. “I think it’s important for sellers to get the message that the market is getting better in many areas and there are buyers willing to pay competitive prices for homes,” he said. “If you’ve been thinking about putting your home on the market, you shouldn’t wait any longer. It’s time to jump in.”

Some key findings from this month’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage luxury report:

• The most expensive sale in Marin County last month was a four-bedroom, three-bath 1,793-square-foot home in Stinson Beach that sold for $5.7 million;
• Tiburon boasted the most million-dollar sales with seven, followed by Mill Valley with six, San Anselmo with five, and Corte Madera with four;
• Homes sold in average of 106 days, down from 111 days the previous month and 140 days a year ago;
• Sellers on average received 95 percent of their asking price compared to 96.1 percent the previous month and 93.7 percent a year ago.

The Marin County Luxury Home Report is a monthly report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a specialist in high-end real estate sales. Through its internationally renowned Coldwell Banker Previews® program, the company is recognized around the world for its expertise in the luxury housing market. 

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage serves Marin County with six offices: 83 Beach Road in Belvedere; 350 Bon Air Ct., Suite 100, in Greenbrae; 500 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Greenbrae; 36 Tiburon Blvd. in Mill Valley; 1737 Grant Avenue, Novato; and 1 Harbor Drive, Suite 110, in Sausalito. For more information, please call 925-275-3085.

Peter Nicolopoulos

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a leading provider of real estate services in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced today that two of its prominent Oakland sales professionals have been installed as directors for the Oakland Association of REALTORS® (OAR). 

At its 108^th annual inaugural ceremony held last Friday at the Lake Merritt Hotel, Peter Nicolopoulos and Andrea Gordon, both agents with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Oakland-Piedmont office, were sworn in as organization directors for the 2012-2013 term.  The installing officer was Don Faught, incoming president of the California Association of REALTORS.

“Peter and Andrea are outstanding real estate professionals and excellent choices for directors of the Oakland Association of Realtors,” said Kathy Murphy, manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Oakland-Piedmont office.  “In addition, both are long-time residents of the Oakland/Berkeley area and have extensive knowledge of the local real estate market.  They will be an asset to the organization’s leadership.”

 Nicolopoulos is an Oakland native, longtime Montclair resident, and graduate of Oakland’s California College of the Arts.  He has represented buyers and sellers of East Bay residential properties since 1987.

Andrea Gordon

Gordon has consistently ranked in the top 1 percent of Coldwell Banker agents internationally, is a Berkeley native, Claremont Knolls resident, and graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara.  She holds a master’s degree in theatre direction from San Francisco State University and is an award-winning theater director and producer.  She entered the real estate profession in 1998.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Oakland-Piedmont office is located at 6137 La Salle Avenue in Oakland and can be reached at 510.339.4700.  Nicolopoulos may be reached directly at 510.220.7015 and via e-mail at pnicolopoulos@comcast.net.  Gordon may be reached directly at 510.421.6818 and via e-mail at Andrea@AndreaGordon.com.

“We are excited to welcome John back to our San Francisco operations,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.  “His strong leadership skills and amazing connections in the San Francisco brokerage community make him uniquely qualified to lead and grow our Coldwell Banker TRI office.  Agents and their clients will benefit immensely from his expertise.” 

Prior to working in real estate, McInerney practiced real estate law fulltime from 1975 through 1997, and was formerly a partner at Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe LLP, one of the country’s preeminent firms.  He has been of counsel to Reuben & Junius LLP since 1998.  In addition to his experience as a real estate lawyer, he has testified as an expert witness in several practice areas including broker standard of care. 

McInerney also served the citizens of San Francisco as a member and president of the Board of Appeals for more than six years where he participated in the adjudication of approximately 3,300 matters.  He has been a fee dispute arbitrator for the Bar Association of San Francisco for more than 25 years and has served on the San Francisco Superior Court Arbitration Panel and the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

A fifth-generation San Franciscan, McInerney is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco School of Law.  He has developed many buildings in San Francisco over the past 30 years, including more than 200 new units. 

Outside of real estate, McInerney is an active member of the Order of Malta and its local leadership team. He currently lives in San Francisco and Healdsburg with his wife, Sally Ann, and has four adult children.

Coldwell Banker TRI office is located at 1699 Van Ness Avenue and can be reached at 415.474.1750.  McInerney may be reached directly at John.McInerney@cbnorcal.com.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Gold Rush Open Home Event

Sunday, January 22, 2012
12-2 p.m.

Stop by a Coldwell Banker open home and enjoy football inspired refreshments. Search For Your Next Dream Home without missing a minue of the pre-game excitement!

We look forward to seeing you this Sunday! Touchdown red and gold!

A San Francisco Realtor with 14 years of experience, Rossi has worked with the some of the largest companies in The City, including Prudential California Realty and Hill & Co. Real Estate.  For the past seven years, she has been with Paragon Real Estate where she has ranked among the top 10 agents in the company.  Rossi now joins Coldwell Banker TRI on Van Ness Ave, where she will further expand her business in the Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Pacific Heights, Marina, Cow Hollow, North and South Beach, and Noe Valley neighborhoods.

“I’m excited to work with Coldwell Banker TRI,” said Rossi.  “It’s a billion-dollar office with an outstanding reputation and an exceptional team of real estate professionals.  I’m also looking forward to working further north in town and to be closer to the neighborhoods on which my business is focused.”

Rossi is a member of the San Francisco Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors.  She is a San Francisco native whose father, Donato Rossi, opened and ran Gino and Carlo’s, a North Beach institution, for 50 years.  It is currently run by her brother, Marco Rossi, and cousin, Frank Rossi.  She has also been involved in the local community through the California AIDS LifeCycle, San Francisco SPCA, St. Annes Home, Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Alumni Association.

Coldwell Banker TRI’s office is located at 1699 Van Ness Avenue and can be reached at 415.474.1750.  Rossi may be reached directly at 415.377.7650 and via email at Heidi.Rossi@cbnorcal.com.

Check out the latest edition of Press Pass, Coldwell Banker Northern California’s way of promoting our latest press releases, media hits and more!

Freeman started his career with Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park office in Chicago, one of the largest and highest producing Coldwell Banker offices in the country.  After a successful career in sales, he was promoted to assistant managing broker and helped coach and mentor the office’s 250 sales associates.  He later became manager of Coldwell Banker‘s Gold Coast office – the office with the highest average sales price of all local companies.  He led the office until his recent return to Sonoma County.

Prior to his work in real estate, Freeman was a CPA with Deloitte & Touche and worked with several large retail companies, including Gap, Inc. and The Nature Company, in fields of finance, strategic planning and organization building.  He also co-founded a boutique investment banking firm, which primarily worked with tech companies in the early stages of development.

“We are excited and proud to welcome Tim to our Santa Rosa office,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.  “With such a strong background in real estate, finance, technology, coaching, and team leadership, he is a valuable addition to our management team.  We are looking forward to him taking Sonoma County’s number one office to even greater heights. ”

A San Francisco native, Freeman currently lives in Glen Ellen and, beyond real estate, hosts a segment about personal finance on the radio show Mornings in Sonoma with Ken Brown that airs on Sun FM 91.3 every other Tuesday morning.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Santa Rosa office is located at 600 Bicentennial Way and can be reached at 707.527.8567.  Freeman may be reached directly at Tim.Freeman@camoves.com.