Health & Fitness
Real Estate Market Snapshot: Bel Marin Keys
It's a buyer's market right now in this waterfront community.
What’s the real estate market like in your neighborhood? This is my third post in a new series where I look at recent sales figures in a particular Novato neighborhood. Prior posts included and . This week it’s Bel Marin Keys.
Bel Marin Keys Overview
Bel Marin Keys is a waterfront community located in southern Novato, on the east side of Highway 101. The planned development is in an unincorporated area of Marin County. There are about 700 homes in Bel Marin Keys, most oriented toward water, facing either Novato Creek or one of the man-made lagoons. Some homes even have their own sandy beach! The first Bel Marin Keys homes were built in the early 1960s and the most recent phase was completed in the 1980s.
Two locks keep the community free from tidal fluctuations, and they also provide access to Novato Creek, Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay. Water sports on the lagoons include fishing, canoeing, kayaking, waterskiiing and sailing (though no jet skiing). Bel Marin Keys residents share a strong sense of community, and there is a Yacht Club, as well as many community-wide events every year.
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Market Information as of June 4, 2011 -- Single-Family Homes
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Total # of units on the market: 15
# in escrow: 3, or 20%. When there are less than 25% of homes in escrow, this indicates it's a buyer's market.
Price range: $465,000-$989,000
Recent Sales
(In the past 90 days, there were only three sales. So, I went back six months to get a better sample size.)
Past six months, all single-family homes:
Address Bd/Ba Sq Ft Sale Price 141 Montego Kys 4/2 1,539 $461,000 1125 BMK Blvd. 3/2 1,932 $530,000 184 Caribe Isle 3/2 1,556 $552,100 76 Caribe Isle 3/2 1,764 $610,000 52 Bahama Reef 3/2 1,728 $640,000 53 Bahama Reef 4/2.5 2,342 $690,000 1031 BMK Blvd. 4/3.5 2,727 $705,000
Market Performance January 4, 2011-June 4, 2011
As you can see, distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) are up this year and they’re weighing on prices. Of the seven sales since the beginning of the year, five were distressed sales (four foreclosures and one short sale.) Only two were regular sales and this indicates that most homeowners were choosing to stay put if they could.
In the first six months of last year, there were no foreclosure sales in Bel Marin Keys. There were three short sales.
In an attempt to end on a brighter note, there is some more promising news. Of the 15 homes on the market right now, there is just one bank-owned foreclosure. There are five short sales and the rest - the majority - are "regular," non-distressed sales.
(Information is from BAREIS MLS and is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.)
