Lydia Puller, Marin County CA Realtor and CDPE, Short Sale Specialist

I was reading a report from my broker Steve Dickason that was quite interesting. According to the National Association of Realtors, real estate is predicted to remain stable this summer. Gains in the West and South were offset by declines in the Northeast. The Midwest remains steady.

Very affordable interest rates and stabilizing home prices are encouraging buyers to act. According to Freddie Mac, a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.89% in May from 5.1% in April and of course with rates so low how could you not tell the fence sittes that now is the time to take advantage of these great loans and decreased property prices.

Total housing inventory fell 3.4% by June, which represents an 8.3 month supply. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the NAR, reports that home sales for the second half of 2010 will remain on an upward curve. He attributes this to continued sales and price performance. Yun also reports that "we are witnessing the ongoing effects of the home buyer tax credit."

Marin County Market Update...Is This the Best Move-up Market Ever?

It may be! Supply/Demand factors and interest rates are combining to open a window of opportunity for those selling in the lower price ranges and buying up.

The chart below shows the number of listings available for sale and the number that went into contract (pending) during the month of June. Dividing the number of sales by the number of listings gives you the percentage of homes pending. This number is a good indicator of whether the supply/demand climate is favoring buyers or favoring sellers in price negotiations.

For example, if you sold a home in the $0-$500,000 range, you would be selling in a "Slight Seller's Market" according to an industry rule-of-thumb. If you then bought in the $500,000 - $1,000,000 range, you'd be buying in a "Balanced Market" or if you stretched into the $1,000,000-$2,000,000 range, you'd be in a "Strong Buyer's Market."

If you sold a home in the $500,000 - $1,000,000 range you'd be selling in a "Balanced" market. If you then bought up you'd be buying in a "Strong to Extreme Buyer's Market" depending on how much you trade up.

Now, combine the supply/demand advantage with today's low interest rates and you have the "Perfect Storm" for a Buy-up.

Want to see what our in-house lender, Private Mortgage Advisors, rate's are today? See the chart below:

Can you believe a 5 year fixed rate loan of $3,000,000 for 4.375% with no points? I can't recall ever seeing jumbo rates this low. Or, how about a conforming 30 year fixed loan between $417,000 and $729,750 for only 4.75% with no points?

If you'd like to discuss the possibility of a move-up purchase, I'm obviously excited about the opportunities and would love to discuss them with you. Email or call me any time at (415) 599-5028.

Every year for the past 17 years downtown San Rafael celebrates Italian Street Painting Festival with chalk artists better known as street painters (also called madonnari) along 5th Avenue and A Street in front of the historic Mission San Rafael Arcangel.

The Festival is both a fundraiser and a community celebration...celebrating art, music and culture. This year's theme celebrated Beautiful Earth and our relationship to the elements of nature and 4 artists will work in a collaborative effort to create a piece representing the four elements of nature: earth, air, fire and water

As you walk along the streets of San Rafael you'll see various chalk artists creating incredible pieces of artwork. Along the way you'll see street performers, hear music from one of the two stages with local bands and a food court at Piaza dei Fiori boasting some of Marin County's finest Italian restaurants.

The Italian Street Painting Festival is hosted by the Youth in Arts which was founded in 1970 by local arts advocates. Their mission is to provide students with experiences and instruction in the visual and performing arts, and to enrich the community with cultural events. Youth in Arts provides in-school and after-school arts instruction and performances and serves over 20,000 K-12 students each year.

The Italian Street Painting Festival takes place in June and if you are a budding artist you should reserve your spot for 2011 by clicking on the Youth Arts Italian Street Festival order form, if you'd like to volunteer or want more information or donate funds to Youth in Arts you should contact them by calling 415.457.4878.

Ever wonder where to bring your dog, especially if you have a dog that doesn't like the confines of a closed dog park? Then you must head on over to the Terra Linda/Sleep Hollow Open Space Preserve in San Rafael, CA. This is a fantastic spot and a great alternative to the other "off leash" dog parks in the Marin County and surrounding area (Escalon Trail, Rodeo Beach, Crissy Fields and Fort Funston).

You'll drive up 101 North and take the Freitas Parkway exit going West, head all the way down Del Ganado Road which runs parallel to the Terra Linda shopping center. Follow the road for about 6-8 minutes until you dead end into the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Open Space Preserve's entrance. Lots of bikers, hikers and dog owners so you'll be in good company. As you first enter the park you'll be on a black top that winds up the hill for about a 5 minute walk, then the road turns sharply to the right and transitions into a wide and level dirt road. Once on the top of the hill you have a 360 degree view of the Bay, Richmond Bridge, downtown San Rafael, Sleepy Hollow, Terra Linda and if you're lucky up to Novato.

What I love about this San Rafael "off leash" trail is that you really feel like your on top of the world. From top to bottom it will take you a slow 15 minutes walk. The beauty and open space is simply wonderful, its quiet, you see dozens of hawks circling around, a few stone sculptures (like the one below) and soon you'll find your self at a fork in the road. Whether you go to the right or the left it doesn't really matter because its pretty much a horse shoe that loops you back onto the path headed down the hill. There are lots of off shoot trails to investigate but you'd be wise to go with a map if you are not familiar with the area and make sure to bring a water bottle...it can get hot on this trail!

Marin County offers so many fantastic areas for you and your dogs to investigate that you'll love making the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Open Space Preserve one of your Top 10 "off leash" areas to visit.

Whenever I need a change of scenery but don't have a lot of time I head on over to Crissy Fields just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes there are wonderful "off leash" dog trails/park/beaches in Marin County(like Escalon Trail in Mill Valley, Rodeo Beach at the Marin Headlands, Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide in San Rafael and Fort Funston in San Francisco) but sometimes it's nice to have a change and when I'm looking for a change I high tail it over to Crissy Fields "off leash" beachin the i. It's all of 6-7 miles from Mill Valley, CA, it runs about .08 of a mile and the dogs just love it. You'll love it too because it's a quick ride, there is plenty of parking, there are bathrooms and there's a coffee lunch spot.

This particular "off leash" dog park/beach in the SF Bay Area is located right near the Golden Gate Bridge. What I like to do is get off at the first exit just after you go through the toll booths and loop under the Golden Gate Bridge and weave my way down to the first set of parking spots closest to the Golden Gate Bridge. It's about a 10 minute walk to the "off leash" beach area at Crissy Fieldsbut along on the right hand side you'll see an open space that is perfect for your dog's warm up before diving into the ocean. Make sure to pack a sweater, it's San Francisco after all, bring the chucker and don't forget the bags.

I love what I do and I'm passionate about anything and everything real estate related but lately I've found that I spend way too much time entrenched in the business and I have absolutely no time for me. I can't tell you how many hours I find myself sitting in front of the computer searching for homes for buyers, pulling comps for sellers, answering client calls, making calls to clients, touring neighborhoods, attending meetings, moving files, packing files, finding files...all the while my 2 dogs wait patiently until I look up and recognize that certain look in their eyes that always says the same thing "So, are we gonna go? Are we going yet? Can we go? Is it time? I really want to go! Are we going now?"

It used to be that I'd roll my eyes because every time I moved they'd jump for the door at the ready. It used to be that I'd have to spell the words: go, going, wanna go and I want to go out. Those words were Verbotten in my house cause each time I'd say it there was a mad dash for the door.

Since real estate is a never ending business there's always something that has to be done and there's always an excuse for doing work and ignoring play so I thought why not kill a few birds with one stone. Get out and continue to find great "off leash" parks and trails in Marin County because many of my clients have dogs and don't know where to go and get out and get some exercise not only for me but for my pups. They are always ready for an adventure and the Bay Area, from Marin County to San Francisco County offer sweet little gems to explore and investigate.

Today I decided to go to Fort Funston in San Francisco. It's only 16 miles from Mill Valley, CA and takes all of 20 minutes to get there. Fort Funston is south of Golden Gate Park along the Great Highway and sits directly across from Harding Golf Course and the Olympic Club. As you drive along the Great Highway just as you pass the Olympic Club you'll see a parking lot to your right on the ocean's side. Cruise into the lot, hit the porta potty if need be and then decide whether you and your dog want to watch the hang gliders, take a cruise down to the beach or follow the hard top path going north. It doesn't matter which way you go because its all "off leash"!

Since its San Francisco and you'll be at the beach expect it to be cold so bring not one sweater but a jacket too. At the main parking lot there is one water fountain with dogs bowls. Bring lunch and stay a while. There have been times when I've trekked it down to the beach, climbed back up the steep sand dune hill and walked to the end of the hard top path until it dead ends. Fort Funston is worth the trip no matter where you are. If you don't have a dog you'll be a dog lover by the time you leave!

For other off leash areas check out Escalon Trail in Mill Valley CA, Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands, Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide in San Rafael and Crissy Fields Beach in San Francisco.