Boutique brokerage · est. 2008 · Marin County, CA · DRE #01884221

A broker-first
brokerage.
Quietly.

Halstead, Monroe & Associates is a four-agent boutique real estate firm serving Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, Sausalito, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, and Ross — the communities of Southern Marin. We've closed 682 transactions since we founded the firm in 2008, representing a combined $3.84 billion in sales. We don't work by volume, we work by fit: each of our four full brokers takes a maximum of 14 active clients at once, with a 1:2 support-staff-to-broker ratio behind the scenes. That's why our clients get their calls returned the same hour, and why our listings sell for a median 4.2% above list, 18 days faster than the Southern Marin average.

682transactions since 2008
$3.84Bcombined career sales volume
4.2% overlist price · median in 2024
18 daysfaster DOM vs Southern Marin avg
An architectural mid-century modern home with large windows overlooking San Francisco Bay, mature oaks and olive trees, terracotta patio and wooden steps leading to the entrance
32 Hawthorne Lane · Mill Valley · represented buyers · closed $4.8M · Sept 2024
Active listings

Three homes
on market this week.

A small curated book. Full disclosure packets, pre-inspections, prior appraisals, and neighborhood comps available on request. Private showings by appointment only.

A craftsman-style Mill Valley home with cedar shingles and a gabled porch
Just listed
$3,295,000

48 Laurelwood Avenue

Mill Valley · 94941 · Homestead Valley
4 BD3.5 BA2,884 sf0.28 ac

1927 Craftsman, three blocks from Mill Valley's Throckmorton Theatre. Kitchen and primary suite renovated 2021 by Butler Armsden; the rest is original wood, original bones, original light. Listed by Celestina Monroe-Whitaker.

View listing + open house dates →
A ranch-style Kentfield home with cedar siding set among redwoods
Accepting offers · Nov 14
$2,450,000

18 Redwood Creek Lane

Kentfield · 94904 · Woodlands
3 BD2 BA1,982 sf0.35 ac

Single-story mid-century on a creek-side parcel. Top-rated Kentfield Elementary boundary. Offers reviewed Thursday Nov 14 at 5pm; pre-inspection and title report available now. Listed by Damien Okonkwo-Beaumont.

Download disclosure package →
Our brokers

Four founders.
Nothing gets delegated.

Theodore Halstead III

Theodore Halstead III

Founding broker · CalDRE #01324418

Third-generation Marin. Founded the firm in 2008 after 12 years at Sotheby's International. Specializes in waterfront and architect-designed properties in Belvedere, Tiburon, and Sausalito. 214 career closings, $1.42B career volume. CIPS, CLHMS (Institute for Luxury Home Marketing), GRI.

Celestina Monroe-Whitaker

Celestina Monroe-Whitaker

Founding broker · CalDRE #01488429

Co-founded HM&A in 2008. Specializes in Mill Valley and Kentfield estates under $5M. Known for sellers' preparation work — stager, architect, landscaper, painter all coordinated before listing. 198 closings, $1.08B career volume. ABR, SRES, CLHMS.

Damien Okonkwo-Beaumont

Damien Okonkwo-Beaumont

Broker · partner 2018 · CalDRE #01872241

Joined the firm 2012, partner 2018. Specializes in Kentfield, Ross, and Larkspur — the family markets. Former architect (B.Arch Cornell) and it shows; clients value his eye for what a home could become. 182 closings, $884M career volume. ABR, GREEN.

Saoirse Rasmussen-Kim

Saoirse Rasmussen-Kim

Broker · partner 2021 · CalDRE #01998744

Joined 2015, partner 2021. Specializes in Corte Madera and Mill Valley for buyers — particularly first-time move-up buyers from San Francisco. Bilingual English/Korean. Fast, analytical, data-forward. 88 closings, $438M career volume. ABR, CRS.

Market data

Southern Marin Q3 2025
at a glance.

Sourced from the Marin County MLS, last updated 24 October 2025. We publish this page quarterly and email a deeper 14-page report to clients on our market-insights list; join via the form at the bottom of the page.

  • $2.84MMedian single-family sale · Southern Marin · Q3 2025 (↑4.1% YoY)
  • 34 daysMedian days on market · single-family · Q3 (down from 42 in Q2)
  • 97.4%Median sale-to-list ratio · 16% of homes sold above list
  • 1.8 moMonths of inventory · still a seller's market but softening
  • $1,248Median price per square foot · single-family homes
  • +11.2%Luxury tier (>$5M) YoY volume · 42 closings in Q3 2025
A Bay view over the hillsides of Mill Valley with a modern residential architecture tucked among mature oaks
View from the Blithedale corridor · Mill Valley
Clients say

One hundred and sixty-two
five-star reviews.

★★★★★

"We sold the family home in Tiburon after twenty-six years. Ted Halstead walked us through it like a therapist, not a broker — what to keep, what to stage, how to price it, when to list. We ended up $880K over our reserve, closed in 22 days, and cried a little signing the papers. He sent us a handwritten card in the mail a week later. Professionals do handwriting."

Elspeth Ballantyne-Okafor
Elspeth & Douglas Ballantyne-Okaforsold · Tiburon · 2024
★★★★★

"Three offers rejected before Saoirse took us on. She found us an off-market listing on Coloma Street in Corte Madera, wrote a cover letter about our kids and our dog to the seller, and had us in escrow by the end of the week for $80K under list. In THIS market. Her listing intelligence is unmatched."

Minako Whitmore-Park
Minako & Jasper Whitmore-Parkbought · Corte Madera · 2025
★★★★★

"We interviewed four agents for our Kentfield listing. Celestina walked the house with an architect and a landscape designer the next morning. She didn't ask us to list first — she asked us to let her fix six things first. We did. The house sold for $285K above our reserve to the first offer, no contingencies. Her preparation is the entire difference."

Quentin Abara-Leveque
Quentin Abara-Levequesold · Kentfield · 2024

A real
home valuation.

We do valuations the way brokerages used to. One of our four brokers will walk your home in person, spend 45-60 minutes understanding your property and plans, review comparable sales from the last 90 days, and send a written 4-page valuation letter within 3 business days. No obligation to list with us. Free for Southern Marin homeowners. We do 6-8 of these a month and will refer you to another broker in writing if we're not the right fit.

  • ✓ In-person walkthrough · not a Zillow printout
  • ✓ Comparable sales from last 90 days in your exact subdivision
  • ✓ Written valuation letter in 3 business days
  • ✓ No obligation to list · we'll refer elsewhere if better fit
  • ✓ Free for owners of Southern Marin single-family homes
Request a valuation →Call (415) 422-8421Email the team
Offices at 14 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley CA 94941 · Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm by appt · California DRE #01884221 · Equal Housing Opportunity.
Before we start

What clients ask
in the first meeting.

What's your commission structure?

Negotiable, as all real estate commissions legally are, and — per the 2024 NAR settlement that took effect August 17th — explicitly decoupled between seller's and buyer's agent. For sellers in Southern Marin our typical listing-side commission is 2.5%, with a separately negotiated offer of buyer's-agent compensation disclosed up front. For buyers we charge a flat $12,500 buyer-representation fee or 2.25% (whichever is lower), often offset in whole or part by seller-offered compensation. We'll walk through the economics in your first meeting and put it all in writing before you sign anything.

Why boutique instead of a Compass/Sotheby's/Coldwell?

Two reasons. (1) Caseload: a typical Bay Area broker at a large firm carries 35-60 active clients; our brokers cap at 14. That's the difference between a same-hour callback and "I'll circle back tomorrow." (2) Tenure: our team has been together since 2008-2015. At big firms average agent tenure is 14 months. When we hand off an escrow to our transaction coordinator, she's been on our team for 9 years and she knows your file. If big-firm national marketing matters to you (some international clients value it), we're happy to refer you; we're honest about fit.

Do you do off-market & pre-MLS listings?

Yes — roughly 18% of our 2024 transactions were off-market. We maintain a list of approximately 80 qualified pre-approved buyers across price bands, and for certain seller-clients (privacy-sensitive, timing-flexible, or exceptionally high-end) we present the home privately to this list before (or instead of) going to MLS. California law (CAR's Clear Cooperation Policy 8.0) tightened the rules here as of Jan 2024; we strictly comply, and we document the election in writing with sellers.

Who else is on the team behind my broker?

Behind our four brokers: one full-time transaction coordinator (Imelda, with us since 2016, licensed #01992241); one full-time marketing director (Oren, who shoots our listing photography and video) plus a contracted staging/architect/landscape/painting rolodex of roughly 22 trusted Marin vendors we've worked with for 5+ years. When you hire a Halstead, Monroe broker, you're hiring this team. No part-time assistant, no overflow to a national call center.

What happens if my broker goes on vacation?

You get introduced to their partner in advance. Every active client at HM&A has a named backup broker from within our four partners; we tell you who, and you meet them. We cross-brief weekly internally on every active file. Nobody drops the ball because someone took four days off. Ted and Celestina have not missed a client call between them in 17 years; this is our culture.

Can I work with you from out of state?

Yes — roughly 28% of our buyer clients are out-of-state relocations (often SF Bay executives moving over the bridge after a life change). We handle virtual tours, local inspections, escrow coordination, and remote signing (DocuSign + notary-by-camera where allowed by CA law). For out-of-area sellers we have an owner's-checklist PDF and local vendor coordination. We're happy to hop on a 30-minute intro call at a time that works for your time zone.

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