Marin’s Biggest Sale of 2023 is Belvedere Dock Home at $23M

A dock home in Belvedere crossed the finish line in December to rank as the most expensive sale in Marin County in 2023 with a price of nearly $23.4 million.

The waterfront property spread over multiple levels has a main home, a two-level guest house, a bayfront boathouse with a studio and a street-level three-car garage with another studio, according to notes from a previous listing.

The early December deal for 210 Beach Road was one-third more than the runner-up Marin deal, an oceanfront home in Stinson Beach that sold for $17.5 million in October.

Lack of inventory “plagued” the high end of the market in Marin and there were only 10 sales for more than $10 million in 2023, versus 17 in 2022, according to Stephanie Lamarre, who represented the Beach Road sellers. The agent with Sotheby’s International Realty could not share any details of the deal due to a non-disclosure agreement, but said via email that in general move-in ready homes on the waterfront with usable land sold quickly and prices in the ultra luxury segment were up year over year.

“Buyers realized that prices were not in fact going to fall through the floor, and those who wanted to buy sat down and negotiated,” she said. “Also, some unique properties became available in Belvedere, and rarity always commands a premium.”

Tracy McLaughlin of The Agency represented the buyers of 210 Beach, but also could not speak about the deal due to an NDA. The buyers were 210 Beach LLC, according to public records, which appears to be connected to Volcano Capital, a medical technology investment firm in San Francisco.

The LLC is managed by Adam Greene, according to paperwork on the $16.3 million JP Morgan interest-only loan on the property. Greene is a New York-based lawyer at Polsinelli who has represented Volcano in the past, according to his biography on the law firm’s website. The New York office for the medical device investment firm is listed as the address for the LLC. The firm also has an office in the Presidio, which would make for an easy commute from Belvedere.

The seller was Doug Dillard, managing partner of VC firm Slewgrass Capital, and his wife Michelle, according to public records. They bought it for nearly $11 million in 2012.

Compass agent Steve Mavromihilis has sold the home twice in the past, once on market and once off, he said. Though he hasn’t toured the home in years, he had some ideas about why it came out on top in Marin this year: it is a compound with multiple homes, has a private dock and access to excellent public and private schools. Also, it is within walking distance from shops and restaurants in Belvedere and Tiburon.

“You are basically living the very best European lifestyle, with your very own boat dock, 20 minutes from San Francisco,” he said.

Though the home was the most expensive in Marin last year, it was far from the most expensive in the Bay Area, with the top homes selling at $40 million and up on the Peninsula and the biggest San Francisco deal closing at $35 million.

Lamarre said that after a slow spring, she noticed ultra luxury Marin home sales picking up in the latter half of last year. For 2024, she’s seeing “eager” buyers but not much new product on the market for them. She said she is hopeful that expected interest rate decreases will “unlock some additional inventory” this year.

“The increase in demand is encouraging, and I’ve encouraged my sellers to put their homes on the market to meet it,” she said.