San Rafael–Marin County apartment rents continue their slide, with many vacant units now sitting on the market for more than 60 days. Southern Marin landlords seem to have the most challenges in renting in this “softening” market, with three times more rentals available than normal for the past two years and no one looking.
In a recent article in the Marin Independent Journal, veteran property manager Melissa Prandi, owner of Prandi Property Management in San Rafael, said that “no one is moving right now. We are not getting the calls.”
For example, I sold a small mixed use property in a prime Corte Madera location in August and the beautifully remodeled three bedroom apartment at the rear of the property is still sitting empty. It was first offered at $4,900 per month by the new owners, then reduced to $4,200 several weeks later and is now being offered at $3,950.
Soft Rental Market Not Affecting Apartment Sales
Despite the softening Marin rental market, apartment investors are still scooping up available Marin apartment properties for sale and often paying cash to fend off the multiple offers in the sales process.
I recently listed a 10 unit apartment property in Kentfield and offered just two open houses to potential buyers to preview the property. More than 85 people went through the property and multiple offers were received on the offering date. The winning offer was all cash with a 21 day close. The offering price was $3,500,000 and I will report the final sales price in my next newsletter.
PENDING SALES
| Address | Units | Price | Per Unit | GRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 145 Kent Avenue, Kentfield | 10 | $3,500,000 | $350,000 | 14.4 (Projected) |
| 1025 3rd Street, Novato | 5 | $1,475,000 | $295,000 | 18.8 (Actual) |
| 335 Enfrente Rd., Novato | 40 | $10,500,000 | $262,000 | 16.02 (Actual) |
| 27 Harbor, San Rafael | 11 | $4,300,000 | $390,000 | 12.48 (actual) |
SOLD
| Address | Units | Price | Per Unit | GRM |
| 19 Merrydale Rd., San Rafael | 18 | $4,260,000 | $236,000 | 13.4 (Actual) |
| 25 Frances St., San Rafael | 9 | $2,700,000 | $300,000 | 18.5 (Actual) |
| 77 Buckley, Sausalito | 21 | $11,700,000 | $557,000 | 21.29 (Actual) |
If you are looking to trade up in to a property with more units and potential cash flow please call my office to discuss. I have many apartment buyers looking right now and we are actively making offers.
I can be reached at 415-302-7730 or email me at katherine@khiggins.com .