On Friday morning we woke up to more economic turmoil with our president threatening 50% tariffs on goods from the EU if they didn’t come to the negotiating table quickly, and 25% tariffs on Apple products if they didn’t start making their products in the USA. This was on top of the House passing of the Big Beautiful Bill that could both help and hurt the real estate market. It’s helpful because homeowners will be able to write off up to $40,000 in property taxes instead of only $10,000. This will be particularly beneficial to homeowners in Marin County because $10,000 in property tax bills covers about a $750,000 house. The median price in Marin is nearly double that number.
The BBB is hurtful because, aside from Medicaid & SNAP cuts, the bill will add up to $4 trillion to our national debt, which has made the interest rates on government treasuries go up and further fueling another rise in our mortgage interest rates. The rate on the 30 year treasury is now over 5%, and as a rule of thumb the mortgage rates are usually 2% higher which puts us back to 7%. That will put a damper on an already lackluster spring selling season.
If you’ve got the right property at the right price, it’s still going to move fairly quickly. I recently closed escrow on 953 Patricia Way in Terra Linda for the asking price of $1,429,000. We painted the interior, refinished the wood floors, staged and did about $4,000 in pool repairs. The results speak for themselves as we received an all cash asking price offer with a 10 day closing. Right place, right price, right buyer: right on!
My other listings are getting attention, including 190 Tamal Vista Dr in West San Rafael getting an accepted offer this week while we were still in ‘coming soon’ status on the MLS. Savy buyers and agents know that the coming soon status can be a prime opportunity to get in early and get an offer accepted. Properties are moving, and if you are a buyer now is a great time to pull the trigger because there are plenty of homes to choose from and the competition is not so fierce. These are rare times indeed for the Marin real estate market.
Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend and if you served this great country thank you for your service!