Sausalito, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Sausalito is an incorporated city of about 7,000 people on Richardson Bay in southern Marin County, California, linked to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Ferry. Its homes range from hillside houses to condominiums and floating homes, and Redfin put its median sale price at $1,574,250 in September 2026. Two city rules shape most purchases: short-term rentals are banned in homes, and every resale needs a city building-records report and a sewer lateral certificate.
- County
- Marin County
- Government
- Incorporated city (City of Sausalito)
- ZIP code
- 94965
- Median sale price
- $1,574,250 (Sep 2026, Redfin)
- Population
- 7,019 (Census estimate, July 2025)
- Water
- Marin Water
- Sewer
- Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District
- Fire service
- Southern Marin Fire Protection District
Sausalito homes for sale
Current MLS listings in Sausalito appear below, including condominiums and, when they come up, floating homes. Some floating homes with Sausalito addresses, such as those at Waldo Point Harbor, are outside the city limits, so we check the jurisdiction on each one. Our property search covers the rest of southern Marin.
What do homes in Sausalito sell for?
$1,574,250
September 2026, Redfin
$1,120
September 2026, Redfin
32
September 2026, Redfin
Redfin’s September 2026 figures moved in two directions at once. The median sale price fell 17.1% from a year earlier while the median price per square foot rose 21.2%, which suggests smaller homes made up more of the sales, not simply that values fell. Sales rose to 36, homes sold for 101.9% of list on average, and Redfin rates the market “Very Competitive.” In a city this small, read any single month as a range.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price, City of Sausalito | $1,574,250 (down 17.1% year over year) | September 2026, Redfin (MLS and public records) |
| Median price per square foot | $1,120 (up 21.2%) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Homes sold | 36 (up 42.2%) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 101.9%; 31.4% sold above list | September 2026, Redfin |
| Redfin Compete Score | 86 of 100, “Very Competitive” | Three months to September 2026, Redfin |
| Marin County median, single-family | $1,678,750 | September 2026, C.A.R. |
Sausalito has no city transfer tax. Only Marin County’s $1.10 per $1,000 applies, about $1,730 at the September median. The Marin County real estate guide compares Sausalito with the county’s other towns.
Sausalito neighborhoods and housing
Sausalito’s housing ranges from floating homes in the marinas to condominiums and detached houses on the hillsides above the bay. Redfin’s neighborhood data divides the city into areas including Old Town-Hurricane Gulch, Downtown Sausalito, The Hill, Spring Street Valley, Monte Mar Vista-Toyon Terraces and New Town. These are data labels rather than legal boundaries, so the parcel map decides what an address is. About 60% of homes are owner-occupied, the median owner-occupied home was valued at $1,894,600 over 2020–2024, and households average 1.79 people (Census ACS).
Three property types need different checks: floating homes and hillside houses, covered in the next two sections, and condos, where the homeowners association’s dues, reserves and rules matter as much as the unit itself.
Floating homes and houseboats: what you’re actually buying
A floating home is a house built on a float and kept in a marina berth, and buying one works differently from buying a house on land. The first thing to establish is which government regulates the berth, because not every floating home with a Sausalito address is inside the city limits.
The city’s harbor list and unincorporated Waldo Point
- On the city’s harbor list: Sausalito’s list of harbors includes Sausalito Shipyard and Marina, with more than 100 berths for sailboats, powerboats, houseboats and other vessels, and Galilee Harbor, a live-aboard, artist and maritime-worker cooperative. The city lists Clipper Yacht Harbor, with 700 slips, as its largest harbor (City of Sausalito). The list doesn’t say which harbors are inside the city limits, so confirm the jurisdiction for each berth.
- Outside the city: Waldo Point Harbor is in an unincorporated area that still uses Sausalito addresses and the 94965 ZIP code. Marin County zones it as a Floating Home Marina District combined with a Bayfront Conservation district, and its Development Code sets height, length and floor-area standards for floating homes; a home that exceeds them needs a Floating Home Exception (County of Marin). In 2026 the county reviewed one such request to replace a home at Issaquah Dock with a 1,748-square-foot, two-story floating home.
The state layer: BCDC
Both city and county marinas sit in the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the state agency that regulates the Bay and the first 100 feet of shoreline inland from it. BCDC says a permit is needed for most projects there, including building, remodeling or repairing a structure, substantially changing the use of a structure, mooring a vessel for an extended period, and dredging (BCDC). For a buyer, that means a planned rebuild, a bigger float or a converted boat can need state approval as well as city or county approval, so ask the seller for every permit the home and its berth have received.
Due diligence for a floating home
- The berth: find out what comes with the home: a berth lease, a license or a cooperative membership. Read the marina’s rules, the current berth fee and how it can rise, and what the marina must approve before a sale.
- The float: hire an inspector who knows floating structures to look at the hull or float, the utility connections and the gangway, in addition to a standard home inspection.
- Permits: ask which agency approved the home’s size and any remodel, the city or the county, and for any Floating Home Exception or other permits on file.
- Financing and insurance: ask lenders and insurers early whether they’ll finance or cover a floating home in that marina, because not all of them do.
Hillside homes and landslides
Parts of Sausalito sit below steep hillslopes, and those slopes can move. Shortly before 3 a.m. on February 14, 2019, a debris flow started on the hillside above the Hurricane Gulch part of town, ran over Sausalito Boulevard and struck a house, which toppled downslope into another home, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which mapped the slide with laser scanning afterward (USGS Data Series 1112).
On a hillside Sausalito home, add these to the usual inspections:
- Geotechnical review: ask the seller for any soils or geotechnical reports, and consider hiring a geotechnical engineer to look at the slope, drainage and retaining walls before you remove contingencies.
- Permits: compare decks, retaining walls and additions with the permit history and the Residential Building Record Report.
- Drainage and access: note how storm water leaves the lot and whether the street above or below has a history of slides or road work.
- Insurance: ask your insurance agent how the policy treats earth movement and landslide damage before you rely on it.
Two documents every Sausalito resale needs
Sausalito’s rules add two steps to every home sale, and both take time, so the seller should order them when the home is listed, not after a buyer is in contract.
- Residential Building Record Report. Before a residential building is sold or exchanged, the owner or agent must get this report from the city and deliver it to the buyer before the sale closes (Municipal Code § 8.32.010). It states the property’s authorized use, occupancy and zoning from city records. The city doesn’t inspect the building for it, and it asks for at least two weeks to prepare the report (City of Sausalito).
- Sewer lateral compliance certificate. The Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District requires a compliance certificate for the private sewer lateral, the pipe from the house to the public main, when title transfers. Remodels or construction over $50,000 and changes of use trigger it as well.
Compare the Residential Building Record Report with the listing. If the report shows a single-family home and the listing shows a rentable downstairs unit, or it lists fewer bedrooms than the marketing does, find out what was permitted before you remove contingencies.
Can you rent a Sausalito home short term?
No. Sausalito Municipal Code Chapter 5.16, adopted as Ordinance 07-2025 on October 7, 2025, says no one may rent any residential dwelling, or any part of one, for 30 consecutive days or less, for money or anything else of value. Commercially operated hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfast inns and time-shares are outside the ban (Sausalito Municipal Code).
- Advertising is banned too: owners, tenants and their agents may not advertise a prohibited rental, and each day a listing stays up counts as a separate offense.
- Fines: up to $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second within a year and $5,000 for each further violation within a year of the first.
- Platforms: since Ordinance 02-2026 (March 3, 2026), booking sites must report listing addresses to the city on request and collect the hotel tax they process.
Paying the city’s 14% transient occupancy tax doesn’t make a banned rental legal. Voters raised that tax from 12% to 14% on November 6, 2018 (Municipal Code Chapter 3.12). If you’re comparing Sausalito with a town that allows rentals, run the numbers on 30-day-plus furnished leases instead.
Wildfire, water and the other checks
Fire hazard zones
The Southern Marin Fire Protection District serves Sausalito along with Mill Valley, Tiburon and unincorporated southern Marin. In April 2025 it brought an ordinance adopting CAL FIRE’s updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, released February 24, 2025, to a first reading, with the adoption hearing set for May 26, 2025 (Southern Marin Fire). Look up the parcel’s zone on the State Fire Marshal’s viewer. In a High or Very High zone, the seller must provide a defensible-space inspection report from the six months before the sale, or the buyer agrees in writing to get one within a year of closing (California’s AB 38 rule).
Sausalito is also inside the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, whose Measure C parcel tax, set in 2020 at up to 10 cents per building square foot (or $75 per multifamily unit) and adjusted for inflation each year, pays for fuel reduction, evacuation planning and defensible-space evaluations.
Water, sewer and taxes
- Water: Marin Water serves Sausalito. About 75% of its supply is rain caught on 22,000 acres of watershed and stored in seven reservoirs, five of them on Mount Tamalpais, supplemented by Russian River water bought from Sonoma Water.
- Sewer: the Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District, which also sets the lateral certificate rule above.
- School parcel tax: the Marin County Office of Education lists no parcel tax for the Sausalito Marin City School District in its 2026–27 summary (MCOE).
Getting around from Sausalito
- Ferry: Golden Gate Ferry runs a route between Sausalito and the San Francisco Ferry Terminal, one of its four routes in the April 2026 schedule (Golden Gate Ferry). Check the current timetable for departures and crossing times.
- Coastal bus: Marin Transit Route 61 starts at Bay Street and Bridgeway and runs through Marin City, Tam Junction and over Panoramic Highway to Stinson Beach and Bolinas, about six times each way on weekdays (Marin Transit).
- Train: Sausalito has no SMART station; the nearest is Larkspur, at 600 Larkspur Landing Circle, linked to the Larkspur ferry terminal by shuttle (SMART).
Sausalito compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Sausalito | Incorporated city | Short-term rentals banned in homes; Residential Building Record Report at resale; 14% hotel tax; median $1,574,250 (Sep 2026, Redfin) |
| Mill Valley | Incorporated city | Short-term rentals allowed with annual city registration; 10% hotel tax; median $1,898,743 (Aug 2026, Redfin) |
| Tiburon | Incorporated town | Outside the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, so no Measure C parcel tax; its own Golden Gate Ferry route |
| Belvedere | Incorporated city | Also outside the Measure C wildfire parcel tax area |
| Muir Beach | Unincorporated, Coastal Zone | Shares ZIP 94965; water from its own community services district and, per the district’s 2007 guidebook, private septic systems |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Sausalito buyers
Sausalito purchases turn on paperwork and site conditions. Before you commit, we read the Residential Building Record Report against the listing, ask for the sewer lateral certificate, look up the fire zone, and on a hillside home ask for any geotechnical or drainage reports and the permit history for retaining walls and decks. On a floating home we confirm the marina’s jurisdiction, the berth agreement and the inspection reports before you’re bound.
- Licensed agents who serve Sausalito: our disclosed list, with each DRE license linked.
- Luxury and view homes across Marin and wine country.
- Investment property: long-term rentals only here, given the short-term rental ban.
- Selling a Sausalito home? Start with a home valuation.
See also our buyer services.
Selling a home in Sausalito
A Sausalito sale has a fixed order of operations, because the city will not release its building-records report until an approved sewer video is on file. Treat the two as one project and allow a month or more before you expect to open escrow.
Step by step
- Confirm jurisdiction. Some homes with Sausalito addresses, including floating homes at Waldo Point Harbor, are in unincorporated Marin; the city rules below apply only inside city limits. Floating homes have their own checklist in our floating homes guide.
- Order the sewer video. An approved video is required on all residential resales and stays valid for three years. Since August 22, 2025 the Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District owns the city’s sewer system, and new submittals go to the district. A complete package includes the video, a written report and a site diagram showing the lateral’s depths and dimensions. Review takes at least two weeks; incomplete submittals are not reviewed, and each resubmittal after a rejection carries a fee. A home with a sewer ejector pump also needs a contractor on site to run it for the coordinator.
- Apply for the Residential Building Record Report from Community Development under Municipal Code 8.32.010. It is a records search of authorized use, occupancy and zoning, with no physical inspection; allow at least two weeks. It must reach the buyer before closing.
- Check the fire zone. In a High or Very High zone, Southern Marin Fire performs an exterior-only AB 38 inspection and needs access to the whole property. Changes made less than 48 hours ahead can incur a $203 re-inspection fee.
Transfer tax
Sausalito adds no city transfer tax to Marin County’s $0.55 per $500 of value. Sellers customarily pay in Diamond’s North Bay markets, though it is negotiable; see our transfer tax guide.
What buyers ask to see
Buyers compare the building-record report with the listing, so a downstairs unit or extra bedroom that the report doesn’t show will draw questions. On hillside homes, expect requests for soils reports and permits for decks and retaining walls; condo buyers ask for the association’s budget and reserves. Our Marin County selling requirements page compares neighboring towns, and a home valuation sets the starting price.
Sources for this section: City of Sausalito: Resale requirements; City of Sausalito: Sewer lateral inspection; Southern Marin Fire Protection District: Request an inspection; Marin County Fire: What is an AB-38 inspection?; Marin County Assessor-Recorder: Fees (documentary transfer tax).
Sausalito real estate FAQs
What do homes in Sausalito sell for?
Redfin’s median sale price for Sausalito was $1,574,250 in September 2026, 17.1% lower than a year earlier, while the median price per square foot rose 21.2% to about $1,120. Read the two together: the mix of homes that sold shifted. The Marin County single-family median was $1,678,750 the same month (C.A.R.).
Can I rent my Sausalito home on Airbnb or VRBO?
No. Since Ordinance 07-2025 (October 7, 2025), city code bars renting any residential dwelling, or part of one, for 30 consecutive days or less, and bars advertising such rentals. Fines run up to $1,500 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for repeat violations within a year. Rentals of 30 days or more are allowed.
What does a seller have to provide when a Sausalito home sells?
Two documents: the city’s Residential Building Record Report, delivered to the buyer before closing, and a sewer lateral compliance certificate from the Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District. The city asks for at least two weeks to prepare the report, so sellers should order it at listing.
Has Sausalito had landslides?
Yes. On February 14, 2019, a debris flow above the Hurricane Gulch area crossed Sausalito Boulevard and toppled a house into another, as documented by the U.S. Geological Survey. On any hillside home, ask for geotechnical reports and the permit history of retaining walls and decks, and consider an engineer’s review during escrow.
Does Sausalito have a city transfer tax?
No. Only Marin County’s documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 applies; San Rafael is the only Marin city the county recorder lists with its own transfer tax. At Sausalito’s September 2026 median, the county tax is about $1,730.
What is Sausalito’s hotel tax?
Sausalito’s transient occupancy tax is 14% of rent, raised from 12% by voters on November 6, 2018. It applies to hotels, motels and inns; it doesn’t make a short-term rental of a home legal.
Which school district serves Sausalito?
Kindergarten through eighth grade is in the Sausalito Marin City School District, and high school is in the Tamalpais Union High School District (Marin County Office of Education). The elementary district has no parcel tax in the county’s 2026–27 summary. Confirm the schools for a specific address with the districts.
Who provides fire service, and is Sausalito in a fire hazard zone?
The Southern Marin Fire Protection District serves Sausalito. CAL FIRE’s 2025 maps classify land in the district’s communities as Moderate, High or Very High hazard, and the district took its adopting ordinance to a first reading in April 2025. Look up the specific parcel, because a High or Very High zone brings AB 38 defensible-space paperwork at sale.
Which Sausalito neighborhoods are good to invest in?
We don’t rank neighborhoods. What we can tell you is that the short-term rental ban means any investment here is a long-term rental, that condos and hillside homes carry different costs (HOA dues and reserves versus slope and drainage work), and that the Residential Building Record Report tells you whether a second unit is legal. Our investor services page explains how we run the numbers.
Can I buy a floating home in Sausalito?
Yes, when one is listed, but the purchase works differently from a house on land. Confirm whether the marina is inside the city or in unincorporated Marin, read the berth agreement and the marina’s approval rules, get an inspection of the float as well as the house, and check lender and insurer availability early. Any rebuild or major remodel may need city or county approval and a BCDC permit.
Are Sausalito’s floating homes inside the city limits?
Not all of them. Waldo Point Harbor, with Sausalito addresses, is in unincorporated Marin and zoned by the county as a Floating Home Marina District. The city’s own harbor list includes houseboat berths at Sausalito Shipyard and Marina and the Galilee Harbor live-aboard cooperative, but it doesn’t state each harbor’s jurisdiction, so check the parcel or berth record for any home you’re considering.
How do I get to San Francisco from Sausalito without a car?
The Golden Gate Ferry runs a Sausalito–San Francisco route. Marin Transit Route 61 links Sausalito with Marin City, Tam Junction and the coast, and the nearest SMART train station is in Larkspur.
Sources & notes
- Redfin: Sausalito housing market (September 2026), Census QuickFacts: Sausalito city and C.A.R.: September 2026 sales and price report
- City of Sausalito: resale requirements, harbors and marinas, Municipal Code Chapter 5.16 (short-term rentals) and Chapter 3.12 (transient occupancy tax)
- County of Marin: Waldo Point Harbor floating home exception (2026) and BCDC: check if you need a permit
- U.S. Geological Survey: February 14, 2019 Sausalito Boulevard landslide (Data Series 1112)
- Southern Marin Fire Protection District: Fire Hazard Severity Zone ordinance (April 2025) and Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority: Measure C
- Marin County Assessor-Recorder: transfer tax, Marin Water and Marin County Office of Education: school parcel taxes
- Golden Gate Ferry, Marin Transit Route 61 and SMART stations
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.
