The median price of a house in Marin County has climbed to $1.9 million, its highest level in more than a year, according to the assessor’s office.
The figure for May is an increase of about 3.7% over the prior year. Meanwhile, in the Bay Area overall, the median house price was $1.4 million in May, a decline of 3.8% from the prior year, the California Association of Realtors reported.
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Sales of existing homes in the nine-county Bay Area in May fell 8.2% from the same period last year, according to the association. In Marin, the number of sales rose 7% over the same period, from 207 to 222.
The $1.9 million figure for Marin County was its highest since March 2024, when it was $1.96 million. The median price is the point at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less.
The median price for Marin has not exceeded $2 million since the market peak in April and May 2022.
In particular areas of Marin, the median prices for May, according to the assessor’s office, included $7.55 million in Belvedere; $3.55 million in Tiburon; $3.4 million in Ross; and $3.3 million in Mill Valley.
Others included $2.7 million in Larkspur; $2.56 million in Sausalito; $2.17 in San Anselmo; $2.1 million in unincorporated areas of the county; $1.75 million in Corte Madera; $1.45 million in San Rafael; $1.44 million in Fairfax; and $1.19 million in Novato.
For condominiums and townhomes, the county reported a median price of $745,000 on 47 sales in May. A year earlier, the median was $850,000 on 77 sales.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, according to the California Association of Realtors, median house prices for May included $2.2 million in San Mateo County; $2.17 million in Santa Clara County; $1.8 million in San Francisco; $1.37 million in Alameda County; $924,950 in Contra Costa County; $920,000 in Napa County; $860,000 in Sonoma County; and $590,000 in Solano County.
Inventory has continued to climb. As of May, the Bay Area had nearly three months of unsold inventory, a 53% jump from the same time last year. With more choices on the market, sellers are seeing reduced competition for homes.
“With a bit less demand and a bit more supply, there’s not quite as much upward pressure on prices as we’ve seen up to this point,” said Jordan Levine, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.
Some agents say a number of prospective buyers paused their searches in April, when President Trump announced a bevy of tariffs on foreign goods. The actions sent stocks swinging, creating uncertainty for buyers who had hoped to cash out their portfolios to help finance down payments.
“The spring market is usually pretty reliable,” said Allie Pembleton, a Keller Williams agent in Berkeley. “But this year, we didn’t get the momentum that we usually do.”
“The demand and aggressiveness of buyers is way down,” said Rusty Paap, a San Jose agent with Intero Real Estate Services. “Even though the number of views online has been consistent with the beginning of the year, buyers’ willingness to pull the trigger and write offers has changed significantly.”
“They feel like, even if they don’t get one house, it’s OK, because another is coming,” Paap said.
Elevated interest rates are another factor. On June 18, the Federal Reserve announced it would leave rates unchanged, as officials wait to see how Trump’s policies impact the economy and inflation. Mortgage rates tend to track fluctuations in the Federal Reserve rate.
Nonetheless, mortgage rates have dipped slightly. As of June 26, the average rate was 6.77%, according to Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage company. That was down from 6.81% the prior week and 6.86% a year earlier.
Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.
Marin real estate data
The median prices for houses in the county over the past year.
May 2025: $1.9 million
April 2025: $1.82 million
March 2025: $1.78 million
Feb. 2025: $1.7 million
Jan. 2025: $1.47 million
Dec. 2024: $1.47 million
Nov. 2024: $1.63 million
Oct. 2024: $1.7 million
Sept. 2024: $1.76 million
Aug. 2024: $1.5 million
July 2024: $1.6 million
June 2024: $1.76 million
May 2024: $1.84 million
Source: Marin County assessor’s office