Prudential Shuts Down Offices In Expensive Marin County

Do you think that the real estate slowdown is only impacting low end and far out housing? Think again.

Prudential is on the process of shutting down most of their offices in tony Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. The ultra high end market of Marin has seen a decrease in sales of 34 percent in the past year and real estate offices that do not have a strong presence in the county are leaving or consolidating their offices.

What interests me is that the subprime loan market is a driving factor in Marin County real estate. I visited there for many years in the eighties and was always amazed at the amount of wealth that was around. To think that the market could be that impacted by subprime borrowing is worrisome to say the least.

Prudential is one of several real estate companies that has closed or consolidated in Marin. In May, Avalar Real Estate closed its Novato office and consolidated operations in Larkspur. Likewise, Coldwell Banker closed its Novato office, concentrating its operations in San Rafael, where about 60 agents are based.

Levi Swift, president of the Realtors association, said the slowdown in sales is due to the credit crunch and failure of the subprime market. via the Marin Independent Journal.

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