Tiburon: Market Trends and Sales

Market Trends Since 2006

Tiburon has proved to be quite the success to its developers, and doesn’t look like it will be losing steam any time soon. Since the first home sold in 2006, property values in Tiburon have appreciated from .25% to as much as 4.6% each year. Since 2006, NEW CONSTRUCTION values have increased 12.65%, an average of 2.08% per year.

The first “EXISTING HOME” to sell in Tiburon was in 2009; since then existing home values have increase .75%. If that number seems that’s because it is. Unfortunately, in 2011 Tiburon saw its first foreclosed property sell at only $111.54 per square foot. When that property was removed from the data, we saw a more ideal appreciation of EXISTING HOMES at 4.78% over the last 3 years (an average of 1.59% per year). Figure 1 shows the appreciation of property values per year since 2006.

Figure 1: Average Price Per Square Foot by Year

2011 Home Sales

The table below shows the property sales in Tiburon during 2011. Only three EXISTING HOMES sold in 2011 and unfortunately one was a Short Sale (sold less than actual value). However, even with the Short Sale the other two homes held their value at an average of $126.14 between the two.

Market Outlook

Demonstrated by the consistent appreciation of property values each year for the last 6 years it is safe to assume the Tiburon real estate market will hold strong. An issue that will remain constant until the new construction homes are completed is the desirability of new homes over existing ones. It is a phenomenon that is difficult for many to understand, but more often than not home buyers will be drawn to the appeal of a being the first owner of a property and the possibility of choosing finishes such as the flooring and counter tops. This appeal is often so strong, that these buyers will overlook an existing property with larger lots, fenced yards, sprinkler systems, and so on.

Not only are the new construction homes being built in Tiburon a menace to the existing home values in Tiburon, but so are the homes being built in the Villages at Tiburon. These homes are not as custom as those on the Tiburon side, but they feature many of the desired updates that existing homes may or may not offer (depending on year built) including Granite throughout, hand scraped wood floors, fireplaces, open floor plans, bonus rooms, extended patios and often times fences and sprinkler systems. There are many great lots available and being built on in the Villages as well.

Now all that being said, we have seen the builders on both sides of Tiburon pushing the market this year (much higher prices than last year), which may help existing homes to sell more easily. The key to successfully selling existing homes in any developing community is for the homeowners to be realistic on their values. It is important to remember that an existing home is almost never equal in value to a new construction home. In 2011, new construction homes in Tiburon sold for 11.29% more (price per square foot) on average than the existing homes.

If you are interested in finding out a current value for your property please give me a call at (318) 734-9001 to request a Comprehensive Market Analysis of your property, or visit www.JennyTheRealtor.com.