The data are in: Novato home sales and prices in 2010

Novato, CA real estate/housing market update

Single-family home sales in Novato were down about 6 percent in 2010, when compared to 2009 sales. As for home prices, it all depends on how you slice the data. The average home price stayed fairly flat; the median went up about 5 percent, and the average price per square foot fell about 2 percent.

Here is a breakdown of the 2010 data for Novato single-family home sales:

• Total sales: 404
• Average price: $632,682
• Median price: $605,000
• Average size: 2,182 sq ft
• Price per sq ft: $290
• Days on market: 95

Let's compare this data to 2009:

• Total sales: 428
• Average price: $635,484
• Median price: $575,000
• Average size: 2,145 sq ft
• Price per sq ft: $296
• Days on market: 103

Also worth noting: The number of foreclosures was way down in 2010. In 2009, there were 114 bank-owned home sales (single-family homes). In 2010, there were 69 -- an almost 40 percent drop. During both years, though, foreclosures touched most price points, even million-dollar properties.

The number of short sales stayed almost the same.

Overall in 2010, Novato sales stayed strong in the entry-level price point of up to $500,000. However, the most active price bracket in Novato was $500,000-$700,000 (147 sales in this category). What sharply dropped were sales in the million-dollar-plus range. In 2009, there were 14 sales between $1.2M and $1.5M. Last year, that number dropped to 8 sales. In 2009, there were 7 sales of $1.5 million-plus homes. Last year, there was only one.

Real estate is hyper-local, so if you want to know what the market is like in a particular neighborhood, we can tell you. www.BestHomesMarin.com or 415.725.1911.

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