Marina’s housing market heats up

For the past two years the housing market in Marina has gone from lukewarm to piping hot.

“Marina is right in the middle of Monterey and Salinas,” said Marina Beach Real Estate agent Rebecca McCallon. “You’re right on the ocean, the cost of living is lower here than it is in Monterey.”

The affordability, tight knit community feel, and walkability in Marina are attracting buyers from Monterey, Santa Cruz and beyond the Peninsula.

“You can get things in Marina that you can’t get anywhere else,” said Sotheby’s International Realty agent Piper Loomis. “Two car garages, nice yards, kids and dogs and that kind of thing.”

Agents said the average price of a home in Marina for the first three months of 2016 sold for $488,000.

“In Monterey it’s almost double that, over $800,000 so there’s a huge savings,” said Loomis.

Realtors told KION that demand is so high that they are able to sell homes before they’ve even been spiffed up for sale. For buyers, that means not many houses to choose from. Realtors say there have been times when there are less than 20 available homes on the market.

“You know we’re constantly, constantly looking for people that want to sale their homes because we have a lot of buyers,” said McCallon.

As the demand continues to rise in Marina, so are the cost of homes. They’ve gone up anywhere from 10 to 20 percent from 2015. The popular price point is about $470,000.

“That’s getting harder to find,” said McCallon.

With big new developments going up in Marina adding more housing and flair, realtors said it has the potential to keep those housing prices heading up.

“If that’s where you can afford and if you want to buy, I think that would be a good investment,” said Loomis.