When Clinton’s friend leased out his floating home, Clinton took the opportunity and moved in. Although only 700 square feet, half of the one he lives in now, the floating house became Clinton’s home for the next 18 years.
A worthy investment, this home first bought for $35,000 recently sold for $840,000. His most recent home’s value, bought over 27 years ago, has appreciated to over $2 million.
“These homes are currently selling for about the same price as a single family home in Marin, which is a very expensive place to live,” Clinton said.
As of September 2025, the median house price was $1.5 million in Marin County. Given the similar expense of the floating homes, it is the lifestyle, not the price, that attracts buyers.
Floating homes have significantly appreciated in value over the last decade. According to Floating times, “In 2020, the average price per square foot was $784 in all of Marin, versus $892 per square foot for floating homes.”
Although the floating home market continues to boom to this day, there are still significant limitations. Floating homes do not qualify for conventional mortgages and as a result, most lenders are local banks and those who do lend are few. In Sausalito county, banks such as Financial Benefits Credit Union and Bank of Marin are of the few who are willing to provide these loans.
“They’re not really real estate. There’s no land involved here. We own our home, but we rent our space like a mobile home park and that’s called berth rent. As a result only a few banks lend, so for a long time they cost less and appreciated more slowly than land homes,” Clinton said.
With loans hard to get, the popularity of this market and its resulting growth ultimately comes down to supply and demand.
“Over the years we’ve been able to get a lot of positive publicity for this community. Also the dynamic that’s happening here is that the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, mandated there will be no new floating home marinas within their jurisdiction and no new spaces in existing marinas, which locked everything into place. So we have a growing demand and a static supply,” Clinton said.