In this 10‑minute video, real‑estate lawyer‑turned‑agent Austin Klar gives a comprehensive guide to Larkspur, a town in Marin County. He opens by describing Larkspur’s appeal – luxury homes nestled among redwood forests, a nationally recognized historic downtown on Magnolia Avenue, and high‑end shopping and dining. He explains the town’s central location, about 15 mi north of San Francisco, and highlights commute options, especially the Larkspur Landing ferry that avoids bridge tolls and parking costs. Klar outlines lifestyle amenities: the historic downtown, Marin Country Mart, Bon Air Center, nearby Town Center and Village malls in Cuauhtémoc, and community events like the Fourth of July parade. He details outdoor recreation opportunities such as the 8‑mile Larkspur Loop, Madrone Canyon with waterfalls, and several parks and tennis courts. The education segment notes that Larkspur‑Corte Madera School District offers nationally distinguished public and private schools. Klar then presents housing‑market data (Jan 2022–May 2023: 69 single‑family homes sold at just under $3 M, compared to Marin’s $2.24 M average; homes sell in ~21 days vs. 24 days county‑wide). He balances the pros with cons: high home prices, narrow winding roads, and spotty cell service in some areas. Throughout, he invites viewers to contact him for personalized assistance and encourages subscription to his channel. The video serves both as a relocation overview and a marketing tool for his real‑estate services.
Chapters
If you wanna live in luxury homes tucked underneath beautiful redwood forests and minutes from some of the best shopping in all of Marin and a nationally recognized historic downtown, then the town of Larkspur is a great option for you. And in this video, I'm gonna break down all things Larkspur, including what it's like to live there and how much it costs. What's up everyone? This is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent and real estate developer in San Francisco and Marin County. I've lived in the Bay Area for over a decade, giving me firsthand in-depth knowledge of what it's like to both live and work there. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the market, definitely reach out to me. My contact information is in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I would be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video. All right, so this video is all about the town of Larkspur. It is one of my favorite towns in all of Marin, and honestly, it's probably the one that I spend the most time in. I have relatives that live there and it has some of the best high-end shopping in Marin and one of my favorite restaurants in Marin as well. And it's honestly beautiful there there's a ton to do. Larkspur is smack in the middle of Marin County, about 15 miles north of San Francisco. It's about 15 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge with no traffic, so it's a perfect place to live if you have to work in San Francisco or if you have to like commute to the South Bay but don't want to live in those places. If you do have to commute and don't want to drive to the city, there is a ferry terminal in Larkspur at what's called Larkspur Landing. Taking the ferry is definitely cheaper than driving. You know, if you drive, you have to pay the bridge toll, then you have to pay for parking in downtown San Francisco, which like, you know, $20, $30, sometimes $40 a day. So it's a popular option to take a ferry for people who live in Larkspur but don't want to do that drive. As far as lifestyle goes, I think Larkspur has the best blend of small town charm with like big city amenities, like the shopping and dining that you would want in a larger city. From a housing perspective, houses are mostly set in very woodsy settings among like beautiful redwood trees and beautiful landscaping. They're in really, really close proximity to parks and hiking trails with like beautiful waterfalls. Wooded hillsides that the town is actually like built into. Pretty much anywhere you live in Larkspur, you're going to be near awesome shopping and dining that, you know, it's not quite to the level of like Michelin-star dining in San Francisco, but it does have some incredible restaurants and great high-end shopping. My favorite area in Larkspur is the historic downtown along Magnolia Avenue. It's the main street in downtown Larkspur. In the early 1900s, Magnolia was the main roadway to the rest of Marin, so a lot of historic like shops old restaurants, and there's actually a theater that set up shop there. Today that downtown area is actually on the National Register of Historic Places, so it is a nationally recognized historic downtown. And there are also like a ton of homes aligning Magnolia and on the offshoot streets from Magnolia that are like really, really charming, beautiful, very peaceful looking homes. That downtown area is super pedestrian friendly as well, super easy to walk around in that area. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] lot of big sidewalks, wide streets, great restaurants, coffee shops. All of them have like outdoor seating because the weather in Larkspur is great. The downtown area is where the city does the Fourth of July parade every year. It's a parade that people come from like all over Marin and even the city to go up see. It is a really great community event, like a ton of local like youth organizations and sponsors with parade floats walking around through the downtown. It's pretty fun. About 5 minutes from historic downtown in multiple directions are also great shopping and dining destinations. So in Larkspur itself, you have the Marin Country Mart right across the street from where the ferry is at Larkspur Landing. There's a farmers market there every Saturday. There's live music there on Fridays. My favorite restaurant in Marin, Farm Shop, is at the Marin Country Mart. There's also great home goods stores there. Before you get to the Country Mart, there's another shopping mall called the Bon Air Center, which has more of like a strip mall type feel but has some good food options like a Gott's Roadside, which is a great burger spot there. And then if you go about 5 minutes in the other direction from downtown Larkspur, you have access to the two malls that are in Cuauhtémoc that are both right next to each other. Cuauhtémoc is the neighboring town or the twin sister town of Larkspur. There's the Town Center and the Village at Cuauhtémoc. So those are the two malls right next to each other. Um, RH has a gallery in Cuauhtémoc with a rooftop restaurant. Um, there are high-end department stores there, a ton of other shops and food options at those malls. So living in Larkspur, you have the ability to live like a very quiet, peaceful life, but you are just minutes away from a ton of things to do both indoors and outdoors. Beyond Outside of shopping and eating, Larkspur is a great place for outdoor activities. Anytime you go, you're bound to see people running, hiking, or biking like the hillsides near the community. Larkspur Loop, for example, is like an 8-mile loop with a bunch of stops to make along the way. Madrone Canyon is a great walking and hiking area. It's lined with these awesome century-old redwood trees. If you go deep enough into Madrone Canyon, you get to like hiking trails that have waterfalls., in them, so they're pretty cool. There are also multiple parks and tennis courts in the area if hiking isn't really your thing, like Piper Park, Centennial Park, Remillard Park. Um, there's a ton of great options. Schools in Larkspur are also among the best in Marin. They're part of the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District, which has nationally distinguished schools for, um, children of all levels. So great options for both public and private schools if you live in Larkspur. Um, obviously there are some cons about living in Larkspur as well, and they're similar to a lot of the cons of other towns of Marin. The first one is definitely the cost of homes there. It's one of the most expensive neighborhoods in all of Marin. Since January of 2022 to the time I'm filming this video in May of 2023, uh, 69 single-family homes have sold for an average of just under $3 million. Um, compare that to the average home in all of Marin, which sells for about $2.24 million over that same time frame. You can see how much more expensive Larkspur homes are compared to the rest of Marin. And because Larkspur is so in demand, even though those homes are a lot more expensive, they actually sell in less time, in about 3 weeks on the market, 20, 21 days compared to about 24 days for homes in all of Marin. Another downside of Larkspur is depending on where you live, you might have to deal with those narrow roads that are so common in Marin towns, particularly heading down Madrone away from downtown. The roads get a little dicey. They're a bit annoying to drive down. You like, you'll have to stop to let somebody pass you coming in the other direction, for example. There's also not really cell service back there, which like is annoying if you're— you don't live there and you're driving there. But obviously if you live there, you'll have Wi-Fi, it's not an issue. It's a very small part of Larkspur that has these issues, but most of the area isn't like that. But just something to be aware of if you're looking in those particular parts. But like I said, those negatives are characteristic of a lot of places in Marin, so not necessarily reasons why, you know, you would choose another town as opposed to Larkspur. You're going to experience those types of things in a lot of other towns or parts of other towns in Marin County as well. So there you have it, That's the scoop on Larkspur. It is one of my favorite places in Marin and definitely worth checking out if you're thinking about relocating or just visiting the area. If that's you and you have questions or want more information, definitely reach out to me. My contact information is in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I'd be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video.
