In this video, real‑estate agent and developer Austin Klar provides a comprehensive guide to Corte Madera, a small Marin County town just north of San Francisco. He describes the town’s geographic setting—four square miles spanning waterfront to Mount Tam, a Mediterranean climate, and a blend of wildlife preserves with upscale shopping. He explains transportation options, noting the close proximity to Highway 101 and easy access to the Larkspur and Sausalito ferries, making commuting to San Francisco or the South Bay convenient. Housing characteristics are outlined, with most homes on flat, accessible lots and a smaller stock of hillside properties offering expansive views and larger parcels. Market data shows that, since January 2022, 122 single‑family homes have sold at an average price of about $2 million, which is lower than the Marin County average of $2.24 million, and they spend roughly 18 days on market versus 24 days county‑wide. He highlights local amenities: The Village and Town Center malls, a weekly farmers market, the RH gallery with a rooftop restaurant, nearby Marin Country Mart, and his favorite Farm Shop. Outdoor recreation includes kayaking, boating, fishing, hiking, biking, and a protected ecological marsh. Community events such as the Larkspur Fourth‑of‑July parade are also mentioned. Throughout, Klar emphasizes his decade‑long Bay Area experience, offers personal contact information, and encourages viewers to subscribe for more real‑estate content.
Chapters
If you wanna live the quiet Marin lifestyle, but close to great dining and great shopping and very close drive to San Francisco, then the town of Cortemadera might be a great option for you. And in this video, I'm gonna break down all things Cortemadera, 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 both live and work there. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about those markets, definitely reach out to me. My contact information's 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 Cortemadera. It is known as the twin town or twin city of the neighboring town of Larkspur. It's right next to Larkspur and shares a lot of the same amenities and characteristics of Larkspur. Cortemadera is a mix of like wildlife preserves and upscale shopping centers with awesome food and access to outdoor attractions that make it a really great neighborhood, whether for a night out or if you, you know, want to raise a family. It's about 12 miles north of San Francisco, just south of Larkspur, and extends from the San Francisco Bay on the east side of the 101 freeway to Mount Tam on the west. The area's not that large. It's about 4 square miles, but a good chunk of that is actually water, which gives Cortemadera like a very Mediterranean climate, and it makes the area great for spending time outside all year round. Because of how close Cortemadera is to the 101 freeway, it is one of the best places to live. If you have to commute to San Francisco or the South Bay for work, or if you want to live in Marin without giving up all of the amenities that San Francisco has to offer, like all the shopping and dining, theater, music. It's a great place to live because it's so easy to get to San Francisco from. Now, there's no ferry terminal in Corte Madera, but it is very close to the Larkspur Ferry and Sausalito Ferry. So, you know, if you don't want to drive to San Francisco, it is not difficult to, you know, get to one of those ferry stops. You could definitely save some money by taking the ferry over driving. You're probably not going to save a lot time, but definitely will save some money. Most of the homes in Cortemadera are on flat lots and easily accessible streets, but there is like a small chunk of homes that are built into hillsides. There's a lot less of those than in towns like Larkspur, for example, but there are some, and they are a little bit tougher to navigate. Those hillside homes though do have incredible views, so there are some pluses about living in one of those hillside homes. A lot of them are on larger lots in Corta Madera, which make it for great outdoor living and privacy while you're at home as well. Something that, you know, isn't as common, let's say, in San Francisco when homes are kind of more stacked on top of each other. As far as things to do, there's a ton in Corta Madera with great shopping and great dining. Two of the larger malls in Marin, The Village and the Town Center, they're both right across the street from each other in Corta Madera. They're big name like department stores, there are boutique stores, and a ton of restaurants. The Town Center also hosts a farmers market every Wednesday afternoon, which is pretty fun. The company RH opened a new gallery space in Corte Madera, which is also actually where the company's headquarters are. It's one of the few large companies that are based in Marin. That gallery has an awesome rooftop restaurant. You can get wine and just roam the store, sit outside, or you can actually eat there. It's pretty awesome, and the food is great. If you want more shopping and dining, you're just a couple minutes away on the freeway to the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, which is super high-end shopping. Shopping, incredible food, including my favorite spot in Marin, Farm Shop. Aside from shopping and dining, Corte Madera is also awesome for outdoor activities because it's partly waterfront. Kayaking, boating, like fishing, all those are pretty popular. There are also, you know, trails for hiking and biking if that's where your speed. There's also an ecological preserve and a marshland there that's like protected wildlife habitat for birds. So there's actually like a lot of different things to do outside, some unique things to other parts of Marin in Corte Madera. There's also an annual Fourth of July parade in the neighboring of Larkspur, which is super fun, and people travel from all over Marin and San Francisco to come see it. It's definitely worth a quick drive over to Larkspur to check it out. As far as housing costs go, Corte Madera is actually one of the more affordable towns in all of Marin County. 122 single-family homes have sold there since January of 2022 to the time when I'm filming this video in May of 2023, and they've sold for less than the average home in Marin County. They've sold for about $2 million. Compared to $2.24 million in all of Marin County. I say it's more affordable. I wouldn't necessarily call $2 million, you know, affordable, but certainly more affordable than the average home in Marin. Because of the amenities there and price points there, homes sell very, very quickly there in about 18 days on the market compared to about 24 days for all of Marin. So they sell a lot quicker and they're a little bit less expensive than the average Marin County home. There you have it. That's the scoop on Corte Madera. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the real estate 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.
