Marin County Fair Celebrates is 75th Anniversary: "What A Ride!"

The Marin County Fair is celebrating its 75th anniversary. With its "What A Ride!" celebratory theme, the fair kicks off on June 30th and runs through July 4th at the Main County Fairgrounds in San Rafael. This 5 day community event features exhibits, family fun activities, rides, games, live performances and fireworks.

The inaugural Marin County Fair and Harvest Festival was held in 1925 in Novato. Since then, the event has earned a much-deserved reputation for 'celebrating art, agriculture and the community.' Thanks to the event's commitment to conserving water, solar-powered stage and carousel and its impressive record of composting and recycling 94% of its waste, the fair is proud of its claim as the "Greenest County Fair on Earth."

Bands the likes of Kool & the Gang, Sheila E., the Plain White T's, the Wallflowers and Foreigner perform live each night. In addition to live music, the Marin County Fair encourages Marin and residents from around the Bay Area to participate in the competitive exhibits that give the fair its distinct hometown vibe. The 2015 event featured over 800 categories, 13,500 exhibits and some 7,000 entrants in exhibits that covered everything from performing arts to baking, fine wine to fine art. 

Many families come to the Main County Fair to experience the creativity of the talented, artistic, technologically savvy and green-thumbed exhibitors. Programs range from international short films to fine arts to chickens, tamales and quilts, just to name a few. The fair is known for offering traditional and innovative competitive student exhibit categories. 

The juried Fine Arts, Crafts and Photography Show is considered by many to be the best among the 78 fairs in California. The International Short Film & Video Festival is the only one-of-its-kind in North America at a county fair.

Fireworks displays light up the sky every night at 9:30pm over the lagoon. This 'extravaganza of music, rockets, Roman candles, meteoric showers and spectacular bursting cascades' is a favorite among families from near and far.

Image courtesy of Marin County Fair website.

The Marin County Fair is often defined by buzz words of change: “cutting edge,” “out of the box,” “trend setting.”

“It’s certainly all of these things in the fair industry, an inspiring and model county fair,” said Gabriella C. Calicchio, Director of Marin County Cultural Services. “The Marin County Fair combines classic fair exhibits with innovative new ideas. Add to that one-of-a-kind events, cuisines both local and global, a welcoming staff, cultural diversity and a rich history and legacy. This is the reputation and brand that the Marin County Fair has built over the last 75 years.”

In keeping with its innovative reputation, the Marin County Fair has an interactive smartphone app that gives attendees a map of the fairgrounds, allows them to quickly find food and drink vendor locations and check the schedule for events happening through each day. The 2016 Marin County Fair App in the Apple App or Google Play stores.

The Marin County Fair is open daily 11am to 11 pm from June 30th through July 4th. The Marin County Fairgrounds are located at 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael. More information and tickets are available on the fair website. 

Marin Market Update-March 2016

They're finally here. 

A new crop of homes has hit our inventory-starved County, and Marin Buyers could not be happier. This is the moment we've been waiting for. 

Savvy shoppers, who have been watching the market, and are pre-approved and ready to act will reap the benefits of this new Spring harvest. Buyers, if a home pops up in your price range that hits most of your parameters, this agent says go for it!  If a home feels right, don’t wait. Write an offer. Too often when a flood of inventory hits the market, buyers get overwhelmed and hesitate, hoping that a more perfect home will come on the market in the coming weeks. But those who hesitate often miss out on a great home, and then find themselves with fewer choices down the road than they had hoped.

Pricing remains critical in this highly charged market.  Sellers pricing too high may miss out on a buyer that has dismissed their home as being overpriced. Better to start with a more realistic offer price and let the market determine for how much it should sell.

In Marin, real estate agents, for the most part, try to price as accurately as possible. Sales of comparable homes in one of Marin's many micro-markets that are similar in size, layout and make-up help determine an offer price akin to what the going sales prices are in that area. While there's generally a range that feels comfortable for both buyer and seller, remember that ultimately the market price is the price a buyer is willing to pay.

One of the most common questions we get asked is, “Are we in a bubble? And, if so, when will that bubble burst?” Let’s first burst all this bubble talk. Real estate is a cyclical business. Historically, prices go up and down. Inventory goes up and down. There will always be shifts and swings; that's just the nature of the business.  So there will be a downturn again at some point, but since mechanisms have been put in place to guard us from the bubble burst of the past, we expect any market shifts up or down to have little impact over the long term. That’s because for the majority of us, real estate is a more long-term decision: where you want to live to suit your lifestyle, or where you'd like to raise your kids, or where you see yourself building a future, etc. If you are looking to make a move for any of those reasons — or want to make a different kind of investment, real estate continues to be one of the very best places to put your money. I can help you with both.  

Here’s what happened in Marin Real Estate in the month of February:

Single Family Houses Sold in February 2016 vs February 2015

While fewer properties were sold this February, overall prices did increase in Marin. January and February started off slowly, but look for some solid numbers in March with inventory on the rise. Housing prices are still predicted to rise moderately this year at about 6%, which is a healthy increase, though not as dramatic as in the last few years that saw 10-15% or more appreciation.

The median home price for Marin in February was $1,141,400, up 14% from last year at this same time. For a typical buyer today, purchasing a home at this median price, with a down payment of 20% ($228,280), and a 30-year fixed rate of 3.375%, the monthly mortgage (not including taxes and insurance) would be approximately $4,036.87.

Working with a qualified mortgage professional will help you determine your magic number and what you can afford in the Marin market. Some new loan programs are available, so with good credit you may be able to finance more and pay less down. Rates are still amazingly low, so doing research will help you find the loan package that works best for you.

he majority of properties sold this February in Marin (single family homes and condominiums combined) were under $1 million dollars. In the combined $1.5 million to $5 million price ranges, there was significant increase of days on market, meaning it took longer to sell these homes than it did one year ago. And in the $2-5 million dollar range, while the numbers are small, we did see a slight increase in the number of properties sold.

Of the 60 sold properties under $1M, most of them were in Novato (28) and San Rafael (19). Novato’s under $1M properties were mostly single-family homes, while San Rafael had a majority of condominiums in that range. There were 30 total condominiums sold in Marin this past February with a median sales price of $464,000, versus 49 sold last February 2015 with a median sale price of $505,000.

All in all, we're seeing more normality in the market. Prices are rising, but not at the clip they rose in the past few years. Sales are slower, but we attribute that to low inventory levels and expect to see a significant upward change in the coming months. There are some good values out there right now and more will be coming on the market as we move into Spring. Well-prepared buyers will win by knowing the market, what’s available and having a good sense of recent comparable sales. The key is always to work with a reliable agent as your trusted partner.

OPENING SOON: OUR SECOND OFFICE IN MARIN

We're putting the finishing touches on Vanguard Properties’ new office on Magnolia Avenue in Ross Valley. Look for an invitation in the next few weeks to our Grand Opening event. More details to follow.

Looking to buy or sell a home in Marin County? The Costa Group knows the Marin market well. We'd love to learn more about your real estate needs and share how we can help you make them a reality.