In the Words of the Immortal Buster Poindexter...

We're feeling hot, hot, hot! And it isn't just the weather. Check out this article from SFGate.com. This is consistent with what we're seeing in Marin and the City. 2012 has been the year of low inventory, which is making it feel like the year of real recovery in the real estate market. Whether this upswing continues when inventory increases to meet demand remains to be seen. But for now, it smells suspiciously like 2006 around here. (Whether or not that's a good thing is a topic for another post.)

We're #4!

Mill Valley made Smithsonian Magazine's list of 20 Best Small Towns in America. This is the second time in recent years that our little burg has made such a list. No word yet on how the town plans to celebrate.

To Deduct or Not To Deduct

Exceptional timing on this announcement from the FTB on property tax deductions. Contact your tax preparer for more info.

Less Taxing

Ignoring, for a moment, the painful irony of a former school teacher choosing not to pay taxes that benefit public schools, check out an article from today's Marin IJ on how some Marin seniors can opt out of parcel taxes. In truth, the article is about a snafu by the tax collector, but the reason for this post is to bring awareness to our "boomer-ish" Marin readers (or readers with boomer-ish parents) who may not be aware of this program. We'd remind you that it's Marin's excellent schools that are partly the reason for our high property values, but we also know that when budgets get tight, this kind of relief can make a big difference.

Feels Like Drought

December was a weird month, real estate-wise. Sure, it's always a quiet time in the real estate market, but this year it was practically silent. Buyers kept asking us, "Where's all the inventory?" Everyone wondered if there were really as few homes for sale as it seemed. Then this appeared today, showing that, indeed, there really weren't many homes for sale. We've seen a perceptible uptick in January, but hardly what we'd call a deluge.