Home / Communities / Marin County / Point Reyes Station

Point Reyes Station, CA Real Estate: Homes, Water, Septic and Rentals

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Point Reyes Station is an unincorporated village in West Marin, at the south end of Tomales Bay, with ZIP code 94956. There’s no city government, so Marin County sets the zoning, coastal permits and short-term rental rules, and the North Marin Water District supplies water. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates about 517 residents and 407 homes in the Point Reyes Station census area, with a median owner-estimated home value of about $1.6 million (ACS 2020–2024).

The village sits at the edge of Point Reyes National Seashore, whose mailing address is 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, and its shops, school and county offices serve the surrounding ranch country. This guide covers what decides value and use on a Point Reyes Station property: the coastal zone, water from wells near Lagunitas Creek, septic systems under rules the county is rewriting, a capped number of vacation-rental licenses, and fire and flood checks. For the county picture, start with our Marin County real estate guide.

Point Reyes Station homes for sale

Point Reyes Station market report

Where Point Reyes Station is and how it’s governed

Point Reyes Station sits on State Route 1, called Shoreline Highway through town, beside Lagunitas Creek where it reaches the tidal flats at the head of Tomales Bay. To the south is Olema, the turnoff for the Seashore’s Bear Valley headquarters; to the northwest, across the bay’s southern tip, are Inverness Park and Inverness.

All of it is unincorporated Marin County. The county’s Community Development Agency handles planning and building permits, and the town has its own Point Reyes Station Community Plan, which the county cites when it reviews projects here. The village is inside California’s Coastal Zone: the county’s 2024 short-term rental amendment to its Local Coastal Program lists Point Reyes Station among the West Marin villages located there.

Point Reyes Station at a glance	Figure or fact	Source and period
Jurisdiction	Unincorporated Marin County; coastal zone	County of Marin; California Coastal Commission
ZIP code	94956 (about 1,080 residents and 918 housing units over 34.7 square miles)	ACS 2020–2024 via Census Reporter
Census area (CDP)	About 517 residents, 407 housing units (±146), 3.6 square miles	ACS 2020–2024 via Census Reporter
Median owner-estimated home value	$1,603,200 (±$277,693) in the CDP; $1,681,300 in the ZIP	ACS 2020–2024
Water	North Marin Water District, West Marin system	NMWD
Wastewater	Expect an onsite septic system; confirm per parcel	Marin County Environmental Health Services
Vacation-rental licenses	26 for the township	County STR procedures, Oct. 2026

Note the difference between the two areas. The 94956 ZIP code covers about ten times the land of the village itself, including ranch land and homes outside town, so a “Point Reyes Station” address doesn’t always mean a parcel in the village.

Homes and property types in Point Reyes Station

Expect older single-family houses and cottages on village lots, some apartments above or behind commercial buildings, and a limited number of larger lots at the edge of town. Outside the village, the 94956 area takes in ranch parcels, rural homes on acreage and land that borders the Seashore or working farms. The commercial core includes buildings old enough that the county treats their alteration as a coastal permit question, as the example below shows.

Downtown parcels along Shoreline Highway carry county zoning designed for a mix of shops and housing. A 2026 county project on State Route 1 in the core, for example, was zoned C-VCR-B2, Coastal Village Commercial/Residential, with a Countywide Plan designation of Coastal Neighborhood Commercial. Projects that modify structures in the C-VCR district need design review, and that project also needed a coastal development permit because it involved a new septic system and substantial alteration of a structure built before 1930. If you’re looking at a storefront with an apartment above, our guide to buying mixed-use buildings explains how financing and zoning work for that kind of property.

Two things set the housing market here apart from the rest of Marin. First, sales are few, so medians swing. Redfin’s page for ZIP 94956 showed a median sale price of about $1.6 million for the three months to August 2026, but on a handful of sales and with figures on the same page that don’t agree with each other, so we don’t treat it as a market price. Second, a lot of the value sits in things a listing photo doesn’t show: the water connection, the septic file, the rental license history and whether the parcel can be expanded under coastal rules.

Water: the North Marin Water District’s West Marin system

Point Reyes Station is the biggest user of the North Marin Water District’s West Marin system, which also serves Olema, Bear Valley, Inverness Park and Paradise Ranch Estates. The district’s factsheet says the Point Reyes Station zone accounts for about 65% of the system’s water use.

Two of the system’s supply wells, the Coast Guard Wells, are in town behind the former Coast Guard housing. The district says they “can be affected by salinity and flooding” because they sit near Lagunitas Creek’s tidal area. It also estimates the system’s capital improvement and replacement needs at more than $10 million, against about $1 million in operating revenue in fiscal 2023–24, which is worth knowing when you think about future rates.

Before you remove contingencies, ask the district to confirm that the parcel has an active service and what a new or larger connection would require. A property on a private well instead needs county well permits and a yield and quality test.

Septic systems and the county’s new rules

West Marin largely lacks sewer service, and the county says that’s why septic systems serve much of the area. Plan on an onsite system for a Point Reyes Station home unless records show otherwise. Marin County Environmental Health Services permits these systems, and coastal rules can add a permit: the project above needed a coastal development permit in part because it involved a new septic system.

The rules are changing. Marin is updating its Local Agency Management Program, the county’s septic regulations, a process under way since 2014. Until it’s adopted, the county operates under regulations last amended in 2011. As of October 16, 2026, the county said the public draft had been pushed back, an informational update was set for the Board of Supervisors on November 10, and adoption was still targeted for the end of 2026. Community meetings were held in Point Reyes Station on March 5, 2026, at West Marin-Inverness School, and on June 15 at the Dance Palace on B Street.

What applies today:

The county doesn’t require a septic inspection at sale, but sellers must disclose the system’s condition.
The county advises buyers to ask for the septic records and, if there are none, to have the system evaluated by a septic inspector.
Systems are currently sized at 150 gallons per day per bedroom, with a 30% reduction for water-saving fixtures; the county is reviewing that standard, which matters if you plan to add a bedroom.

Our Marin County septic guide walks through records requests and what an evaluation covers.

Short-term rentals in Point Reyes Station

Renting a home here for stays under 30 days takes a county short-term rental license, a county business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate. The county’s October 2026 procedures allow 26 licenses in the Point Reyes Station township, down from the initial 32 in the February 2025 procedures. New applicants join a waitlist and, when a license opens, have 30 days to apply.

A license ends at the sale. Under Marin County Code section 5.41.050(C), a license expires automatically on any change of ownership; the ordinance allows one transfer from a natural person to a spouse or children per property.
Sellers owe the tax office notice. The county Finance Department says an operator who sells must notify the Tax Collector in writing 30 days in advance, and the Tax Collector issues a tax clearance certificate once all tax has been reported and paid.
Hotel tax: stays in the West Marin tax zone carry a 14% transient occupancy tax, in effect since January 1, 2019.

The practical rule for buyers: don’t pay for rental income unless you can get your own license. License fees, terms, ADU limits and operating standards are the same across West Marin; our summary of Marin County short-term rental rules covers them.

Fire, flood and other hazard checks

West Marin’s fire history is close by. The Vision Fire, started by an illegal campfire on Mount Vision on October 3, 1995, burned 12,354 acres and destroyed 45 homes and structures, according to the National Park Service; the water district counts 42 homes lost inside its service area. Look up any address on the county’s fire lookup tool: if the parcel is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, state law requires an AB 38 defensible-space inspection at sale, and the tool links to the county’s request form. The State Fire Marshal’s maps for state responsibility areas took effect April 1, 2024, and maps for local areas were released in early 2025.

Flooding is the other check. The water district’s own wells near the tidal part of Lagunitas Creek can flood, which tells you the low ground near the creek and the bay deserves a look on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center before you buy. Read the Natural Hazard Disclosure for flood, fire and earthquake fault zones, and get an insurance quote early in escrow. Our guide to buying coastal property in Sonoma and Marin covers coastal permits and insurance in more depth.

Daily life: transit, schools and town services

Marin Transit Route 68 runs from the San Rafael Transit Center through Fairfax, the San Geronimo Valley and Lagunitas to Point Reyes Station and the Inverness Store. The downtown stop is at Shoreline Highway and Third Street. The April 2026 schedule shows eight westbound and nine eastbound trips on weekdays and ten westbound trips on weekends. For most errands and commutes, plan on driving.

The town is in the Shoreline Unified School District, whose West Marin-Inverness School is at 11550 Shoreline Highway in Point Reyes Station. The county’s West Marin Health and Human Services office is at 1 Sixth Street.

The largest housing project in West Marin is coming to town. In September 2026 the county announced about $27 million in tax-credit equity for 54 affordable rental homes at the former Coast Guard housing complex on 33 acres, to be renovated by Eden Housing and the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin. Construction is scheduled to start in January 2027 with move-in in 2028.

Point Reyes Station compared with nearby West Marin towns

Rental-license caps differ sharply from one township to the next, and they are often the clearest way to compare these markets for a second-home buyer.

Township	Short-term rental licenses allowed	Read more
Point Reyes Station	26	This page
Olema	3	Olema guide
Inverness	86	Inverness guide
Marshall	27	Marshall guide
Tomales	11	Tomales guide
Nicasio	8	Nicasio guide
Bolinas	54	Bolinas guide
Stinson Beach	192	Stinson Beach guide

Source: County of Marin STR License Administrative Procedures, October 2026, Table 1.

Selling a home in Point Reyes Station

Buyers here ask detailed questions, and the sale goes better when the answers are in the file before the listing goes live.

Pull the septic and water records. Request the county’s septic file and the water district’s service record. An evaluation by a septic inspector isn’t required at sale, but having one answers the first question most buyers ask.
Check the fire zone. If the parcel is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, order the AB 38 inspection early, since the documentation goes to the buyer.
Document permits. Coastal permits and design review mean unpermitted additions are a real issue here. Gather permits for additions, decks, second units and septic work.
Explain the rental license. If you hold a short-term rental license, tell buyers plainly that it ends at the sale, apart from the one family transfer the ordinance allows, and give the Tax Collector written notice at least 30 days before closing so the tax clearance certificate is ready.
Budget the transfer tax. Unincorporated Marin charges only the county documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of value (less assumed liens); there’s no city tax. In Marin the seller customarily pays it, but it’s negotiable and local custom varies.

Our Marin County selling requirements guide lists the inspections and disclosures that apply across the county.

Questions people ask

What is the ZIP code for Point Reyes Station?

94956. The ZIP code area is much larger than the village: about 34.7 square miles and 1,080 residents, against 3.6 square miles and about 517 residents in the Point Reyes Station census area (ACS 2020–2024).

Is Point Reyes Station a city?

No. It’s an unincorporated community in Marin County, so the county handles planning, building permits, coastal permits and rental licenses. It has its own community plan, which the county uses in project reviews.

Who provides water in Point Reyes Station?

The North Marin Water District’s West Marin system, which draws groundwater from wells near Lagunitas Creek and treats it at the Point Reyes Treatment Plant. The district warns that its Coast Guard Wells can be affected by salinity and flooding.

Does Point Reyes Station have sewer service?

Plan on a septic system. The county says septic systems serve much of West Marin because properties there lack sewer connections. Ask for the county’s septic records for the specific parcel.

Can I run a vacation rental in Point Reyes Station?

Only with a county short-term rental license, and the county’s October 2026 procedures cap the township at 26 licenses. New applicants join a waitlist, and a seller’s license expires when the property changes hands.

What is the hotel tax on Point Reyes Station vacation rentals?

The West Marin transient occupancy tax is 14% of the rent for stays under 30 days, in effect since January 1, 2019. An operator who sells must give the county Tax Collector 30 days’ written notice and get a tax clearance certificate.

Do I need a coastal permit to remodel in Point Reyes Station?

Often. The village is in the coastal zone, and county findings show that a new septic system or substantial alteration of a pre-1930 structure can trigger a coastal development permit. Projects in the downtown C-VCR district also need design review. Ask the county before you design anything.

How do I get to Point Reyes Station without a car?

Marin Transit Route 68 runs from the San Rafael Transit Center to Point Reyes Station and Inverness, with eight westbound and nine eastbound weekday trips on the April 2026 schedule.

If you’re weighing a purchase in Point Reyes Station, we can pull the water, septic and permit records for a specific property and compare it with recent West Marin sales; see our Marin County buyer services. Thinking of selling? Start with a home valuation built from West Marin sales rather than a ZIP median. Diamond may refer you to partners we work with, such as inspectors or lenders; you’re free to choose any provider.

Sources & notes

Figures carry their dates where they appear. Rental-license counts, septic rules and water-district plans change; confirm them for a specific parcel with the agency named. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; talk to a California real estate attorney or tax adviser about your situation.

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.