Joe Burns

Average home prices for all of Marin County were down slightly in October 2009, from the previous month. October average was $883,000 on 225 units and an average price/sf of $417, for all of Marin County, both single family residences and condominiums. The average price was down 5.5% from the $934,000 of October 2008; price/sf down 7% year-over-year.

Sausalito, Mill Valley, Corte Madera and Larkspur pricing was up considerably in October from the prior quarter in single family residence sales. Ross Valley was up just slightly in average sales price, yet down in price/sf, while San Rafael was up in both categories and Novato was relatively flat. Volume across the board was up in October over any month this summer. The overall condo market for Marin County was down slightly from September in average pricing, $376,000 from $386,000.

For a specific breakdown of all Marin County communities, contact me at the information below.

The Tiburon Loop a Dup is my favorite weekend ride that doesn't involve a mountain. You know those mornings when you really don't feel like riding, maybe it is too cold, you're a little hung over, or your favorite socks are in the laundry. On those mornings, Loop a Dup is perfect. At 1 hour, 45 mins, from Sausalito, this road ride has just a wee bit of climb, few lights, incredible Bay Area views, and a great coffee joint on route.

From Sausalito, hop on the Mill Valley Sausalito bike path and take up to E. Blithedale, turn left on E. Blithedale and then your next right at the light which is Camino Alto. A quick and steady couple mile climb to the top, then down the hill, which turns into Corte Madera Ave, to the light. This would be a screaming downhill, but usually a car or two keeps you at 30mph. You're now in downtown Corte Madera. Turn Right at the first light you reach which is Redwood Dr and as it bends to the right it turns into Tamalpais Dr. This road will take you all the way back to Hwy 101, cross over the highway to the dead end, turn right, which we all call Paradise Rd.( It is really San Clemente, and turns into Paradise down the road further).

Continue on Paradise Rd past Paradise Market, past the park, past the school and you will start to see San Quentin Prison across the water. Don't pick up any hitchhikers that are dripping wet. As you climb up a small roller you soon leave Corte Madera and enter Tiburon. The price of dirt underneath you just doubled. Still on Paradise Dr, you will continue on a quiet and rough two lane that picks up some great East Bay and Richmond Bridge views. After a couple miles you will come to a Yield intersection of Paradise and Trestle Glen, keep on Paradise, but nod at Trestle Glen as you will meet again.

A few more miles of roll and rough road you will eventually pass the Romberg Center which is an education compound for San Francisco State. Next up will be some views of Angel Island, then as you drop into Tiburon great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. As you enter the roundabout you will have a couple decisions: proceed forward, proceed to the left on Main St or proceed to Caffe Acri right at the corner and have a coffee drink while watching the Ferries and incredible view.

As this is a quick ride, I suggest proceeding straight on Tiburon Blvd through a couple stop signs until you can see the #10 bike trail to your left. If you don't pick up the trail there, you can at San Rafael Ave, which is also the exit from the Main St decision you had back at the roundabout. From the bike trail you will see the Tennis Club, great Richardson Bay views back to Sausalito and the entire youth soccer contingent of Mill Valley and Tiburon. Past the largest soccer field the trail splits, take the less-used right which will take you down to the intersection of Tiburon Blvd and Trestle Glen. Cross over and head up a short climb on Trestle Glen to the intersection of Paradise, turn left and follow your popcorn trail home, back through Corte Madera, over the Camino Alto pass into Mill Valley, left at E. Blithedale and right onto the bike trail.

Total ride time 1:45, 30miles, 17-18 ave speed. Great Road Ride.

In the first of many-to-come great bike ride posts in Marin County, the Headlands -Tennessee Valley mountain bike ride is one of my favorites. This ride is a quickie, perfect for early morning or late evening calorie-burn ride.

(described as a pre-dawn , weekday ride)

From Downtown Sausalito: Head south on Bridgeway like you're heading to SF, as you pass Princess Street you either see the lights of San Francisco or the fog bank that confirms the climate preference of Marin Co. Often in the 6 o'clock hour of the morning you will see a larger freighter heading out to the Pacific. In the quiet of the morning you can hear the boat's engines wind and with all else being still it is almost like you are alone with this massive liner. Continue your pedal up Second St, don't gear down much, just stand and work through it, there is plenty of soft climb ahead to recoup. As South St turns into Alexander there is another little uphill burst. At this point there hasn't been enough ride time determine your energy level for the morning, but depending on time you may want to turn right at Bunker Rd and go through the tunnel. (This detour only save a couple hundred feet of climb and 12-17 min of ride-time.) If you have the full 1 hour then bypass Bunker Rd and continue up Alexander, under Hwy 101, and right at the Highway entrance to the Headlands Rd officially known as Conzelman Rd. The first part of the paved-road climb is the steepest, not a little ringer, but still a bit of punch for 500 yrd, then it levels out to a steady mid ringer for 1.2 miles to McCullough Rd.

Now at this point if it is still too dark and you don't have proper lighting, you can choose to head down McCullough on the paved road, the better route is to veer right on McCullough, then cross over to the northwest corner of this intersection to a dirt parking lot and gate. Enter the gate there and pick up the Coastal Trail. This is a real fun soft downhill single track of 1.6 miles. I keep my mouth motoring with shouts of my arrival as to not startle a feeding mountain lion. Most summer mornings this trail is still fogged in, by September the fog rolls back a little earlier, but it is also darker at 6am. There are a lot of cottontail bunnies on the trail, but they scurry out of the way quickly. Deer are less mobile and can be hit if they are in an area that doesn't have a quick exit.

At the bottom of the trail is an auto gate, continue on the trail to the road, cross over and left on Bunker Rd (look both ways) and pick up the parking lot trail 20 yrds up. From this semi-paved lot you will see a trailhead in the trees that is marked with a small sign, take this path over the small bridge and up to the fire road, turn left on the fire road and follow up to the Miwok Trail, be careful not to turn right on Bobcat Trail and stay left until you reach Miwok, then turn right. Now you have a great 1.5 mile climb, so may get away with a middle ring climb, but I can't very long and shift down to little ring saving one or two rings in the back. The climb has a couple steep points but for the most part is a consistent grade to the Wolf Ridge Trail. Continue past Wolf Ridge which is a pedestrian-only trail and head up one more steep climb before dropping down a couple hundred yards to a left turn onto Old Springs Trail. Once again, a fun and easy 2 mile downhill with no drops and only a couple kidney-shaking stairs at the very end. The trail ends at the Miwok stables and we respect their request to dismount your bike and walk through their parking area. Say hello to "Casino" and "Maxwell" in the last two corals, then remount and head down Tennessee Valley Rd at a big ring pace. After passing Marin Rd on left, cross over the street to catch the creekside trail past the park lodge and under Shoreline Highway(duck your head), and continue to the Mill Valley Sausalito Bike Path along Richardson Bay. You can now streak up the trail to Mike's Bike, onto Brideway and back to your starting point.

Great ride, extremely scenic in all seasons and all times of the day.

Marin Schools and Real Estate Options

If you are considering a real estate purchase in Marin County the chances are pretty good that the quality of schools in our county is driving your decision. Though Marin offers many great unique lifestyle options, public schools is what causes purse strings to open. This eco-conscious, high-income per capita, houseboatin' county prides itself on parent interaction in schools and the test scores derived from their efforts.

Test scores are not the end all to the success of our schools. I, as an example, was able to take test quite effectively in my scholastic career, however 20 some years later and I struggle through a simple blog post. For those that do subscribe to the testing results of the State's Academic Performance Index or the No Child Left Behind Act Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

The API scores is public information interesting if not valuable. The problem I found is that it is difficult to find a compilation of the API scores for a given area. As a service to my clients and friends, I went through the system and compiled the last 5 yrs test scores for every public school in Marin County. With this report you can see that Hall Middle School in Larkspur is a 6-8 grade school of 495 tested enrollment and scored 919 on the 09 Growth, compared to 924 in 2008 Base. In 2005, Hall earned a 901. I also included the Similar School Rank which is a 1-10 ranking of schools with similar demographic characteristics. The remarkable thing about this report is how many schools in Marin fall above the 900 pt mark. Some standout and some need more work, but the report confirms that you can't beat Marin for public school options.

Due to the challenges of adding an Excel spreadsheet to a blog, my report is not available here. I would be happy to email the spreadsheet to anyone interested. Send me a request to JoeBurnsMail@gmail.com .

A $2,000,000 beautiful Larkspur, Ca home could be yours for just $150. The 3^rd Annual Marin Dream House Raffle will be held February 20, 2010, but before then there are three Early Bird Drawings giving away nearly $110,000 cash. The winner of the Grand Prize in February could accept the beautiful home described below, or settle for the $1.6 million cash prize. Hmmm... choices, choices, choices.

Imagine living in this brand new Marin County dream home overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The brand new, 3,000 square foot home, has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, is surrounded by open space, shoreline and parkland - all on 1/4 acre. Located in Larkspur, CA, it is within 15 minutes of San Francisco. Nearby are the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, Mt. Tamalpais, and the Larkspur Ferry.

For more information on purchasing raffle tickets for go to the Marin Dream House Raffle website at www.marinraffle.com . Purchase before October 2, 2009 to qualify for the first Early Bird Drawing on October 14.

Marin Dream House Raffle is a project by Community Action Marin, the County's largest and oldest social services non-profit. The money raised by the Marin Raffle supports the people of Marin. www.camarin.org