Real Estate Market Snapshot: Presidents Neighborhood

Welcome to my second post in a new series where I look at recent sales figures in a particular Novato neighborhood. Last Sunday was . This week it’s the Presidents neighborhood (and a bit beyond since there were too few sales in the past 90 days in the Presidents area alone.)

Presidents Neighborhood Overview

So-named because many of the streets bear the surnames of former U.S. presidents (Arthur, Washington, Truman, Buchanan, Van Buren, etc.) this neighborhood is located in the "mid-west" area of Novato.  It's an established area with sidewalks, mature trees and rolling hills. The area is home to Novato High and Rancho Elementary schools as well as Arroyo Avichi Park.

The neighborhood has easy access to downtown, Highway 101 and the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center.

Market Information

(From BARIES MLS. All information below is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.)

 Information as of May 28, 2011 – Presidents Neighborhood + similar homes on adjacent streets (including areas like Monte Maria, southern Cambridge, Arlington, etc.)

Active listings: 9

Price range: $339,000-$999,000

Recent Sales (past 90 days, all single-family homes) ... Sorry for the wonky tables, hope for a solution soon :)

Address                                        Bd/Ba               Sq Ft                Sales Price

1367 Monte Maria Ave.      3/2                    1,278               $320,000

651 Midway Blvd.                  3/2                    1,654               $345,000

1523 Buchanan St.                3/2                    1,686                $420,000

701 Arthur St.                         3/2                   1,301                $475,000

1210 Ridgeview Hgts.          3/2                    1,352               $485,000

735 Arlington Cir.                 5/3.5                 2,724              $575,000

42 Terry Cir.                           4/2                    1,704              $629,000

Market Performance (February 28, 2011-May 28, 2011)

Sales Data                              Past 90 days             Same period in 2010                    Change

# of sales                                        7                                      7                                                      none

Avg. sale price                     $464,143                     $480,714                                       down 3.5%

Median sale price               $475,000                    $449,000                                       up 6%

Avg. size                                  1,688                              1,580

Avg. price/sq ft                   $281                                $284                                               down 1%

# bank or short sales            3                                       1                                                   up 200%

Avg. days on market           116                                   29                                                up 300%   

Highlights:

• Sales volume stayed the same compared to the same period last year
• The price per square foot stayed flat year-over-year
• Average time on market tripled, in part due to higher number of short sales which take much longer to close