Austin Klar, a former lawyer turned real estate agent, walks through Belvedere, an exclusive Marin County waterfront community split into two islands. Homes average $6 million, about three times the Marin average. The town offers private docks and water access but steep roads, limited nightlife, and a resident base of billionaires and NBA players.
Wanna know what it's like to live among Marin County's elite? I'm talking billionaires, CEOs, Golden State Warriors basketball players, and some of the most expensive homes in all of Northern California with views to match. You'll find that in the town of Belvedere, and in this video, I'm breaking down all things Belvedere, 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 in-depth firsthand knowledge of what it's like to 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'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. All right, so this video is all about the town of Belvedere, which is one of the most private, exclusive, and luxurious areas in all of Marin, and homes there hands down have the best views in all of Marin County. Belvedere is about 4 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge on the Tiburon Peninsula. It's about 25-ish minutes from San Francisco. San Francisco, so not too bad from like a commute standpoint. There's no ferry terminal in Belvedere, but there is one very close by in Tiburon, so super easy to get to SF if you don't want to drive. Belvedere consists of two islands that are separated by the Belvedere Lagoon. I say islands because they're not true islands. There are little kind of bridgeways to get to each of them, but for the most part they're surrounded on all four sides by water. Belvedere Island is the larger of the two, and then Corinthian Island on the other side of the lagoon shares a border with Tiburon. As far as lifestyle goes, you know, from a home standpoint, it's very different depending on whether you live on one of the islands or on the lagoon. The lagoon was developed in the 1950s and 1960s. It's completely flat there. Each home has direct access to a man-made lagoon with private boat docks. If you go there on a nice day, it's pretty common to see like people paddleboarding, kayaking, or swimming in the lagoon. People have direct access from their yards to the water, which is a pretty cool thing if water is, you know, your speed. As you go up onto the islands, the roads get a lot steeper and more narrow. So navigating your way to your home can be a bit precarious. But as you go up into the hills, your views become better and better. So it's worth it for some people and not for others. Homes on the island have insane views of San Francisco, the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, depending on what side of the island you're on. But no matter what side you're on, you're going to have incredible views of at least something. Maybe it's mountainsides, maybe it's the San Francisco skyline, maybe it's the Golden Gate Bridge. You're getting great views no matter what. The homes themselves are also incredible from an architectural standpoint, and there's like a wide range of styles you'll see in Belvedere, from like mid-century Eichler homes, especially, you know, down on the lagoon, to like fairy tale storybook style homes like the Heidelberg homes, for example, which were built by a guy named Heidelberg back in the 1930s. And then you'll also see like very modern and contemporary homes as well. From a lifestyle perspective, you know, Belvedere being that close to the water with like houses directly on the water, as you can imagine, it's pretty big on boating. Belvedere is home to the San Francisco Yacht Club, which is just outside the lagoon before you get onto either of the, you know, islands, Corinthian Island or Belvedere Island. There's some nice walking trails in Belvedere, and you can like bike or jog along the shorefront as you head out of Belvedere toward Tiburon. But for the most part, I would say the outdoor activities you'll take advantage of, unless it's boating, are going to be in Tiburon right next door. The downtown of Tiburon has some like great dining, uh, boutique shopping. Um, it's really, really cute, um, but not like a ton of like big name shopping there or like big time dining destinations. There are a couple of great restaurants like Bungalow Kitchen and Sam's Cafe that both have great views, but there's not like a lot of options in that downtown area. So unless you plan to go to Tiburon, if you live in Belvedere and want to do something like a night out for the evening, you're probably going to be traveling to another city or a little bit of a distance to to do whatever it is you plan to do. The fact that there's not really a ton of nightlife in Belvedere itself, combined with like the steep narrow roads depending on where you live in Belvedere, and of course the cost, which I'll get to, those are the only real downsides of living in Belvedere. Otherwise, it is an incredible place to live. Like, the weather there is amazing, the views are amazing, the homes are amazing, the lifestyle is amazing. So there's really not a ton of downsides, and a lot of those downsides are downsides that you're going to have in other places of Marin as well. School system in Belvedere is great too. It's part of the same district as Tiburon, the Reed Union School District. A ton of great public and private schools for children of all ages. So, you know, definitely safe from school standpoint living in those areas. The school system combined with the exclusivity and sort of lifestyle there are the reason why Belvedere homes cost so much money. 42 single-family homes have sold in Belvedere since January of 2022 to when I'm filming this video in May of 2023, and they've sold for an average of about $6 million. Compare that to the average home in the rest of Marin, which sold for about $2.24 million. You can see how much more expensive it is to live in Belvedere. And the privacy and exclusivity of these homes is why you see so you know, billionaire or very high-level executives at companies and like basketball players own homes there. It is very, very exclusive, very private, very luxurious. And because they are more expensive, it's not surprising homes in Belvedere took a lot longer to sell. Days on market is closer to 50 days compared to about half the time, 24 days, for the average home in all of Marin. There you have it. That's the scoop on Belvedere. It is definitely worth a visit if you're visiting Marin County and if you can afford it and are thinking about relocating to Marin. Definitely worth considering. Um, if you are 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'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.
