Holly Friend, Realtor

09/05/2026

How a realtor feels when they get a resale report back that calls out two pieces of wood nailed together 🤔🤷‍♀️

08/17/2026

Feel good story right in San Anselmo/Fairfax 🤗

08/12/2026

Marin Magazine just included me in their roundup of the Best Local Social Media Presence in Marin County for 2026!

When I first started sharing content online, from market updates and local home tips to peeks behind the scenes, my goal was always simple: to be a honest, helpful, and welcoming resource for our community.

Seeing that resonate enough to be recognized alongside so many incredible local creators, neighborhood resources, and small businesses means the world to me.

A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who follows along, leaves comments, sends DMs, or trusts me with their real estate journey. This community makes showing up every day so fun and rewarding.

Give the full article a read (link in comments) to check out all the amazing local accounts highlighted

Thank you, Marin! ❤️

08/07/2026

Hey Petaluma friends, family, and clients: check this out! 🪓 🌲 🔥

If you are a resident of the City of Petaluma, you are invited to keep your property fire safe by bringing vegetation for chipping to our all-community drive-thru site at the Fairgrounds! [Español abajo]

To help you reduce the fire-fueling vegetation around your home, the Petaluma Fire Department and Public Works Department will have a chipper and crew available to the entire community at the Fairgrounds’ Gnoss Concourse on August 8 from 10am-2pm.

Here’s how it works: you cut and remove the dangerous fire fuels from around your home and haul it to our drive-thru site at the Petaluma Fairgrounds located at 150 Fairgrounds Drive in Petaluma. Our crews will work with you to chip your vegetation meeting our criteria below, before you exit the concourse onto Payran Street.

Before hauling your vegetation to the Fairgrounds, please note:
- No raked duff, pine needles, grass, or garbage bags.
- No brambles / vines
- No bamboo
- No palms
- Only vegetation is allowed - no other items will be accepted. Absolutely no trash.
- A maximum of 9” diameter rounds can be chipped.

The City is working with a Petaluma non-profit, Petaluma Bounty Farm, to be a recipient of those wood chips for community use- continuing the opportunity for reducing waste and re-using our vegetation in a safe and productive manner!
-------------------------------------------
Visite nuestra pagina Ciudad de Petaluma la cual está escrita enteramente en español. ¡Gracias!

07/26/2026

A lot of people think a Realtor’s job is opening doors and negotiating offers.

And yes, those things are part of it.

But the reality is that every client’s situation is completely different and that’s one of my favorite parts of this business.

Recently, I’ve helped clients:

🏡 Buy half of a duplex through a Tenancy in Common (TIC), helping them get into a $1.4 million neighborhood for $525,000.

🏗️ Work through the highest and best use of a partially completed home investment before deciding what the next move should be.

⏰ Save valuable time by previewing homes for busy clients and helping them focus only on properties that actually fit their needs.

📈 Prepare, market, and launch a home that received multiple offers and ultimately sold $600,000 over asking price.

No two real estate journeys look the same.

Sometimes it’s finding a creative path into homeownership. Sometimes it’s helping someone maximize the value of a property they’ve owned for decades. Sometimes it’s simply helping someone understand their options before making a major financial decision.

That’s the part of real estate I love most! Helping people make smart, strategic moves with one of their biggest assets.

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying, selling, inheriting a property, or just wondering what their options are, I’m always happy to be a resource.

There’s never any pressure. Sometimes the most helpful thing is simply starting with a conversation.

And if someone comes to mind while reading this, I’d be grateful for an introduction.

07/21/2026

Last night, the San Rafael City Council voted unanimously to advance a ballot measure raising the city’s property transfer tax from $2 per $1,000 to $10 per $1,000 (a 400% increase) despite weeks of detailed feedback from local constituents and housing professionals.

While everyone recognizes the ongoing financial pressures facing local governments, the structure of this proposal raises serious questions about economic foresight and fairness.

Here's why you should care:

🚨 San Rafael is already the only municipality in Marin County that chooses to levy a transfer tax. Five-folding it moves the city from a balanced regional standard (aligned with Petaluma and Santa Rosa) to an extreme baseline.

🚨 Traditionally, sellers cover this fee. At a 5x multiplier, market dynamics will force this cost to be split. On San Rafael’s median home price of ~$1.54M, the tax jumps from $3,079 to $15,397. That introduces an unexpected $7,500+ in out-of-pocket cash requirements for buyers—at a time when entry-level liquidity is already the biggest barrier to homeownership.

🚨 Unlike San Francisco or Oakland, which utilize tiered tax rates based on property value, this measure applies a flat rate across the board. The result? Someone purchasing a $900,000 starter home in San Rafael would pay double the tax rate of someone acquiring a $5,000,000 estate in San Francisco.

🚨 🚨 Why this matters beyond San Rafael🚨 🚨
Precedent travels fast. If an un-tiered, 400% tax hike passes here without friction, expect surrounding (I think Petaluma would probably try to do this right away) North Bay charter cities to take notice.

Funding public services is vital. However, placing a disproportionate financial burden on residents trying to build equity or secure their first home isn't fiscal policy—it's short-sighted and cruel.

Please share and please vote against this measure.

05/09/2026

Quick stop at May Madness in San Rafael. Things get going at noon 🚗

Great plans for today if you don’t have any yet!

Or even if you do 😉

05/07/2026

Cheapest places to fill your tank in Marin County… for now anyway 😉

Did I miss one? Help me out and drop it in the comments.

04/30/2026

My client thought his house was "just okay". But looking at the floor plan and the views, I knew we were sitting on a Marin unicorn. 🦄

The property had the kind of fundamentals that are notoriously hard to find in a single package in Marin:

💚 A 3/2 single-level layout with a two-car garage.
💚 A flat, totally usable lot.
💚 Walking distance to downtown Fairfax.
💚 A breathtaking view of Mt. Tam.
💚 No flood zone.

Despite an older roof and a shared driveway, the house was exceptional. We didn't settle for "good enough". We encouraged the owner to push through the final 25% of prep work, focusing on high-impact, tactical updates:

💎 Refinishing the floors to maximize natural light.
💎 Swapping hardware for a modern feel.
💎 Full-scale staging to define the lifestyle.

We priced accurately based on comps and deferred maintenance. We didn’t manufacture a bidding war; we priced for the reality of the property.

The market responded with absolute clarity:
14 offers.
$616,000 over list price.

Most people leave money on the table because they stop short on home prep. They see an old roof and decide not to bother with the floors thinking they’re just putting lipstick on a pig.

They couldn't be more wrong.

My job is to see the special that an owner can no longer see. When you commit to the strategy, the results speak for themselves.

Thinking about listing? There are 13 people still looking for a home in this neighborhood. Let's talk.

04/25/2026

I had a client ask if installing artificial turf would boost their home's resale value. My answer? You’re paying a premium to lose money.

In the Marin and Sonoma markets, low maintenance and drought tolerant is a massive selling point.

But I’ve learned first hand that "low maintenance" doesn't always equal "high value."

I recently ran a poll to see if my observations at open houses matched the general consensus.

The result? 100% of respondents voted for natural grass over artificial turf.

Not 70%. Not 90%. Total consensus.

Here is why the ROI on turf is struggling in our neck of the woods:

1. When buyers walk through a North Bay listing with artificial turf, they don't see a "finished" yard they see a future project. I hear it at every open house: the heat retention, the "plastic" look, and the lack of natural drainage. In a region that prizes organic aesthetics, turf feels like a disconnect.

2. Artificial turf is significantly more expensive to install than natural sod. When you spend $10k on an upgrade that a buyer might actually pay to remove, you’ve created a negative ROI.

3. If you have severe allergies, high-traffic pets, or you’re just done with the lawnmower, turf is a great lifestyle choice. But it should be a choice you make for yourself, not for the next owner.

If you want low-maintenance curb appeal that actually scales your home’s value, look toward native, drought-tolerant landscaping.

It fits the local ecosystem, saves water....

and doesn't get the side eye at open houses.

Are you surprised by that 100% poll result, or do you have an artificial lawn story of your own?