By Mike Bodeen · 28 June 2021
The year was 1968. I was a freshman in high school in San Anselmo, California, 20 miles north of San Francisco. If you are of that era, you might remember that Marin County, California, was a very wealthy suburb of The City. You might also remember some tunes about towns that were nearby, like Mill Valley. Make your day happy. Watch this short song video. Wherever you grew up, it will take you back😉:
We were, however, a nation in turmoil. The Viet Nam war and social unrest were tearing us apart. My dad, a butcher, who owned a small neighborhood grocery store in neighboring San Rafael, decided to sell the only home I ever knew, because the “pot smoking hippies” were moving into the neighborhood causing property values to drop. Dad put the San Anselmo house on the market that year and sold it for $25,000 – $14.00 Per Square Foot! (PSF).
“The real observation comes by considering what a California relocating buyer might think of our pricing here?”
I still remember the Realtor, Dusty Pomquist, showing us homes in his big fancy car. Dad and mom found a home in a newer San Rafael neighborhood known as Marinwood. It made sense for dad, giving him just a 7-8 minute commute to his store, Dandy Market.
Land the plane, Mike. Ok, Ok.
My sister Barb was visiting this weekend from Petaluma, California. As we reminisced about growing up we recalled the San Anselmo “hippie” home. So, we checked it out on Zillow. Click here for the link.
Well, some things have changed about San Anselmo. It’s “in!” Bay Area chic. The gorgeously remodeled home just went under contract. It’s listed at $1,795,000. It could be under contract for more than that. At this price the PSF for this 1800 SqFt home is $980! This is not a misprint. From $14 PSF to $980 PSF. A 70 fold increase!!!
Fast forward and landing in Phoenix/Scottsdale, the average sales price PSF for May was $249. (See Chart Below)
https://cromfordreport.com/member-only/analysis/by-topic/spsf/spsf-monthly-all-types-monthly.html
How high can our market go? Well certainly it’s foolhardy to compare both of these locales. On the other hand one can see what lots of money/income can do to a market. Can that happen here? Anything is possible, good and bad. The real observation comes by considering what a California relocating buyer might think of our pricing here?
Market data referenced in this article comes from The Cromford Report.