Inverness, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Inverness is an unincorporated village on the western side of Tomales Bay in West Marin, Marin County, California, where the Inverness Public Utility District supplies water and runs the volunteer fire department. Redfin put the median sale price at $1.7 million for the three months ending August 2026, on only three sales. There’s no city government, so Marin County handles permits, coastal approvals and short-term rental licenses.
- County
- Marin County
- Government
- Unincorporated; in the coastal zone
- ZIP code
- 94937
- Water and fire
- Inverness Public Utility District
- Median sale price
- $1.7 million (3 months to Aug 2026, Redfin)
- Short-term rental cap
- 93 licenses, stepping down to 86 (County of Marin)
Inverness homes for sale
The listings below are the Inverness homes on the MLS right now. With only three sales behind Redfin’s latest figure, we also watch Olema, Point Reyes Station and, across the bay, Marshall; our property search covers all of West Marin.
What do homes in Inverness sell for?
$1.7 million
Three months to August 2026, Redfin (up 16.6% year over year)
About $1,120
Redfin, August 2026 (down 7.3% year over year)
83
Redfin, August 2026
Inverness prices run close to the Marin County median, which C.A.R. reported at $1,678,750 for single-family homes in September 2026. But with three sales behind Redfin’s figure, one waterfront house or one small cottage can swing the median by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The price per square foot fell 7.3% while the median rose 16.6%, which suggests the mix of homes that sold changed more than values did.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1.7 million (up 16.6% year over year) | Redfin, June to August 2026 (source) |
| Median price per square foot | About $1,120 (down 7.3%) | August 2026, Redfin |
| Homes sold | 3 | Three months to August 2026, Redfin |
| Days on market | 83 | Redfin’s August 2026 report |
| Housing stock, ZIP 94937 | 1,002 residential properties; average single-family home 1,693 sq ft and 65 years old | ATTOM, data updated April 2025 |
| Marin County median, for comparison | $1,678,750, 1.7% above September 2025 | September 2026, C.A.R. |
Redfin computes these numbers itself from MLS and public-record data. When we price an Inverness home, the comparables that matter are the water connection, the septic permit class, the fire-rebuild history and how the lot sits on the ridge or the shore.
How is Inverness governed and served?
Inverness has no town council; the County of Marin’s Community Development Agency issues building and coastal permits and runs the rental program. Two local services are run by an elected district instead: the Inverness Public Utility District (IPUD) provides domestic water and fire protection through the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department. Marin LAFCo lists the district at 2.4 square miles and about 1,300 residents.
The only transfer tax on an Inverness sale is the county’s $1.10 per $1,000 of value. For the county-wide picture, see our Marin County real estate guide.
Water from the Inverness Public Utility District
Inverness has its own water supply rather than a connection to Marin Water’s reservoirs. The IPUD system takes water from ten stream diversions and three supplemental wells in a 580-acre watershed, and stores about 465,000 gallons in five tanks (IPUD). That’s a small system fed by local streams, so the questions to ask are about this parcel’s service, not the county’s water supply.
- Confirm the connection: ask the seller for recent IPUD bills and confirm with the district that the parcel has an active service, not just a nearby main.
- Wells: where a home relies on a private well, Marin County requires a permit to operate it as a domestic water supply, and its yield and quality standards are in County Code Chapter 7.28 (Marin Environmental Health Services). The county’s well rules don’t call for a test at sale, so order one.
Septic systems near Tomales Bay
The Inverness Public Utility District provides water and fire service only, as Marin LAFCo lists it, so ask how each home’s wastewater is handled before you make an offer. Septic systems are permitted by Marin County Environmental Health Services, which sorts them into four classes, from Class I (meets current code) to Class IV (undocumented or failing); alternative systems need an annual operating permit with professional monitoring (Marin EHS).
No septic inspection is mandatory at an Inverness sale; Marin County only recommends one. On a bay-shore or creekside lot in Inverness, make a septic inspection and the county permit file a condition of your offer.
Repairs in the coastal zone or a Stream Conservation Area can need extra permits, and the county is rewriting its septic rules (its Local Agency Management Program), with adoption targeted for the end of 2026 (Marin EHS).
Wildfire: the Vision Fire and what to check now
On October 3, 1995, an illegal campfire on Mount Vision, near Inverness, was driven by winds of up to 45 mph into a fire that burned 12,354 acres, destroyed 45 homes and structures, including homes in Inverness Park, and forced 422 residents out of the hills above Inverness, Olema and Point Reyes Station (FIRESafe MARIN). No one died. FIRESafe MARIN credits defensible space with saving homes in Inverness, and says the fire led it and local agencies into twenty years of fuel reduction and fire-safety education.
- Map the zone: look up the parcel on the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer; the state responsibility area maps took effect April 1, 2024.
- AB 38 at sale: in a High or Very High zone, the seller gives you a defensible-space inspection report from the past six months, or you both agree in writing that you’ll get one within a year of closing.
- Defensible space: state law requires a 100-foot defensible-space zone around a home, and the Vision Fire showed why (Marin County Fire).
- Insurance: ask for quotes the day your offer is accepted. On a wooded lot, the price and availability of a policy can decide whether the purchase works.
Short-term rentals in Inverness: the license cap
Renting an Inverness home for stays under 30 days takes a county license, and licenses are scarce. Under Marin County Code Chapter 5.41, any stay under 30 days needs an STR license, a business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate. Inverness was capped at 93 licenses, stepping down to 86 as licenses lapse (the county’s October 2026 procedures list 86), and new applicants join a first-come waitlist (County of Marin).
- The license doesn’t transfer: it ends automatically when the property changes hands, with one exception for a transfer to a spouse or children. A seller’s rental history doesn’t come with the house.
- ADUs: accessory units created or legalized after January 1, 2020 under the statewide exemption, and other ADUs created after February 24, 2021, can’t be licensed as short-term rentals.
- Septic proof: applicants submit an STR septic inspection form completed within the past year by an approved provider.
- Tax: West Marin stays carry a 14% transient occupancy tax, against 10% elsewhere in the unincorporated county (Marin Department of Finance). Voters added the extra 4% in November 2018; half funds fire and emergency services, with the IPUD fire department among the named recipients, and half funds community housing (Ordinance 3692).
Remodeling in the coastal zone
Inverness is one of the ten communities in Marin’s unincorporated coastal zone named in the county’s 2024 short-term rental amendment to its Local Coastal Program. The updated program took effect on July 13, 2021, and building projects are reviewed under its Land Use Plan and Coastal Zoning Code through the Coastal Development Permit process (County of Marin). The county withdrew the update’s environmental hazards chapter before the Coastal Commission acted on it, so that chapter isn’t part of the certified program. Ask the Planning Division whether your addition needs a permit, and budget the time before you design it.
Getting around and daily life
Marin Transit Route 68 runs from the San Rafael Transit Center to the Inverness Store by way of Fairfax, the San Geronimo Valley, Olema and Point Reyes Station, with eight westbound weekday trips on the April 2026 schedule (Marin Transit). For most errands, a car is the practical choice.
Point Reyes National Seashore, about 71,000 acres, established in 1972, drew 2,371,800 recreation visits in 2024 (National Park Service). Next to it, on the Inverness side of the bay, Tomales Bay State Park’s Heart’s Desire area at 1100 Pierce Point Road has Heart’s Desire Beach and trails to Indian, Pebble and Shell beaches; it’s open 8 a.m. to sunset, day use is $8 a vehicle, and State Parks warns that its lots can fill by mid-morning on weekends (California State Parks). Our guide to Marin hiking trails covers more of the parkland.
Inverness compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government and services | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Inverness | Coastal zone; its own utility district for water and fire | STR cap 93, falling to 86; Redfin median $1.7 million (three months to August 2026) |
| Marshall | Unincorporated, coastal zone, east shore of Tomales Bay | Its 53-parcel wastewater zone pumps to a shared 6-acre leach field; 28 rental licenses |
| Olema | Unincorporated, coastal zone; on Route 68 | STR cap of just 3 licenses |
| Bolinas | Unincorporated, coastal zone; Bolinas Community PUD | No new water connections since 1971 |
| Stinson Beach | Unincorporated, coastal zone; Stinson Beach County Water District | The water district runs its own onsite wastewater code |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Inverness buyers
Most of the work on an Inverness purchase happens before the offer. We confirm the IPUD connection or the well permit, pull the county septic file and its class, look up the fire zone and any post-1995 rebuild permits, and check the county’s rental waitlist if income matters to you. We also read each comparable sale for what it was, from the lot and the septic system to the condition of the house, rather than relying on a median built from three sales.
Owners thinking of selling can read our seller’s guide. Rental buyers should read how we work with investors given the license cap; waterfront buyers, our luxury real estate guide. See also our list of licensed agents serving Marin County and how we work with buyers.
Selling a home in Inverness
Inverness has no city hall, so the records a buyer asks about sit with Marin County or with the Inverness Public Utility District (IPUD), which supplies water and runs the volunteer fire department. We found no county or IPUD rule requiring a resale inspection or records report before closing; confirm that with both offices. The real work is pulling records early.
Records to pull before you list
- Septic file. Expect the onsite system to be the first question. The county’s online archive of septic records shows the permit history and the system’s class, from Class I (meets current rules) to Class IV (undocumented or failing). Environmental Health publishes a residential inspection form meant for real estate sales, and a completed one in your disclosure package answers the question before an offer arrives.
- Water account. Keep a year of IPUD bills, and call the district about closing out your service; its posted water regulations include one titled “Change in Service” (Regulation 102). If the house runs on a private well, gather the well and pump records you have.
- Permits for rebuilt or enlarged homes. Collect county building permits with final sign-offs, plus any Coastal Development Permit, since Inverness is in the coastal zone. The county notes that septic work there can need extra permits, which buyers planning changes will ask about.
- Fire zone. Run the address through Marin County Fire’s online lookup. In a High or Very High zone you give the buyer defensible-space documentation, or you both agree in writing that the buyer gets it within a year after closing; our AB 38 guide explains the inspection.
- Water heater. State law requires your written certification that the water heater is braced, anchored or strapped.
If the home has been a vacation rental
Under the county ordinance, a short-term rental license expires automatically on any change of ownership, apart from one transfer to a spouse or children. The county’s October 2026 procedures allow 86 licenses in the Inverness township, filled from a waitlist in order. Present your booking history as evidence of demand, not as income a buyer inherits. Operators must also give the Marin County Tax Collector written notice 30 days before the sale and obtain a tax clearance certificate.
Transfer tax
No city tax applies here. The county charges $0.55 per $500 of value, about $1,870 on a $1.7 million sale. Sellers customarily pay it in Diamond’s North Bay markets, though it’s negotiable; see our California transfer tax guide.
Our Marin County selling requirements page sets West Marin beside the incorporated towns, and a home valuation is the right first step on price.
Sources for this section: Inverness Public Utility District: Regulations of the IPUD water system; Marin County Environmental Health Services: Septic systems; Marin County Fire: What is an AB-38 inspection?; California Coastal Commission: Marin County short-term rental LCP amendment exhibits, ordinance text (April 2024); Marin County CDA: Short-term rental administrative procedures (October 2026); Marin County Department of Finance: Transient occupancy tax, sell, transfer or terminate operations; California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 19211 (water heater bracing); Marin County Assessor-Recorder: Fees (documentary transfer tax).
Inverness real estate FAQs
Is Inverness a city?
No. Inverness is unincorporated, so Marin County sets its zoning, building, coastal and rental rules. The Inverness Public Utility District, an elected special district, handles water and fire protection.
How many people live in Inverness?
About 1,300 within the Inverness Public Utility District’s 2.4 square miles, according to Marin LAFCo. ATTOM counts 1,002 residential properties in ZIP 94937.
How far is Inverness from San Francisco?
California State Parks puts Tomales Bay State Park, whose Heart’s Desire entrance has an Inverness address, about 40 miles north of San Francisco. By bus, Route 68 links the Inverness Store to the San Rafael Transit Center.
Who supplies water to Inverness homes?
The Inverness Public Utility District, which collects water from ten stream diversions and three wells in a 580-acre watershed and stores about 465,000 gallons in five tanks. It’s a local system, separate from Marin Water’s reservoirs, so confirm each parcel’s connection with the district.
Who fights fires in Inverness?
The Inverness Volunteer Fire Department, run by the Inverness Public Utility District, which also receives a share of the West Marin hotel tax under Ordinance 3692.
What happened in the 1995 Vision Fire?
An illegal campfire on Mount Vision spread on October 3, 1995, burning 12,354 acres and destroying 45 homes and structures, including homes in Inverness Park, according to FIRESafe MARIN. If you’re buying a home rebuilt afterward, ask for its permits and final inspections.
Can I buy an Inverness home and rent it to visitors?
Only if you can get a county short-term rental license, and Inverness’s cap of 93 licenses is stepping down to 86. The seller’s license ends when the home sells, so you would join the county’s waitlist. Plan the purchase as if rental income won’t be available.
What is the hotel tax on Inverness vacation rentals?
The West Marin transient occupancy tax of 14% applies to stays under 30 days. Half of the 4% West Marin share funds local fire and emergency services, and half funds community housing.
Is there sewer service in Inverness?
Not from the Inverness Public Utility District, whose services Marin LAFCo lists as water and fire. Septic systems are permitted by Marin County Environmental Health Services; an inspection at sale is recommended, not required.
Which school district serves Inverness?
The Shoreline Unified School District, based in Tomales. Its West Marin-Inverness School appears in the Marin County Office of Education directory as Inverness School (K–1) and West Marin Elementary (K–8), both with Point Reyes Station mailing addresses. The district can tell you which campus serves a given address.
Do I need a coastal permit to add on to a house?
Often. Inverness is in the coastal zone, where building projects go through Coastal Development Permit review under Marin’s Local Coastal Program, in effect since July 2021. The county’s Planning Division decides whether a given project needs a permit.
Can an ADU in Inverness be a vacation rental?
Generally not. ADUs created or legalized after January 1, 2020 under the statewide exemption, and other ADUs created after February 24, 2021, can’t hold a county short-term rental license.
Is there a transfer tax on an Inverness home?
Just the county’s: $1.10 for every $1,000 of the price, so $1,870 on a $1.7 million sale. With no city government, there’s no second layer.
What is the median home price in Inverness?
Redfin’s median was $1.7 million for the three months ending August 2026, up 16.6% from a year before, but that rests on three sales. Its price per square foot, about $1,120, fell 7.3% over the same year, so look at recent comparables rather than the headline number.
Sources & notes
- Market data: Redfin’s Inverness page (three months to August 2026), ATTOM property data for ZIP 94937 and the C.A.R. September 2026 county medians
- Marin LAFCo: Inverness Public Utility District and IPUD: district boundary and water system facilities (accessed October 2026)
- FIRESafe MARIN: Twenty years ago today, Marin’s Vision Fire (2015)
- Rental licensing and taxes: the county STR program, STR administrative procedures (February 2025), transient occupancy tax, recorder fees and transfer tax
- Marin Environmental Health Services: septic systems, septic regulations update, wells
- County of Marin: Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan, Coastal Commission: STR amendment staff report (2024) and exhibits with the county ordinance text
- County of Marin: Ordinance 3692, West Marin transient occupancy tax (2018)
- State Fire Marshal: Fire Hazard Severity Zones, Marin County Fire: defensible space
- Marin Transit: Route 68, National Park Service: Point Reyes park statistics and California State Parks: Tomales Bay State Park
Figures carry their dates where they appear, and we refresh market numbers every quarter. This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice; confirm the rules for a specific property with the agency named. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
Plan your next move
Share your preferred location, budget, property requirements and timing. We can help organize a focused search, arrange showings or discuss preparing a property for sale.
Local resource: Marin County planning and township resources. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.
