Novato Has Approved Hundreds of New Homes. Why Isn't Anyone Moving In Yet?

On July 27, 2026, Novato's Planning Commission voted 4–0, on its consent calendar, to give Wood Hollow Residences three more years. The City Council approved that project of 66 for-sale single-family homes at 100 Wood Hollow Drive on May 13, 2025. The extension covers the tentative subdivision map and design review. The city's hearing notice says the 66-lot plan itself is unchanged. More than a year after approval, nothing has been built, and the approval now runs well past this decade's midpoint.

That vote sums up Novato's housing market better than any median price. Add up the projects now moving through City Hall and the County and you get more than 1,300 homes, counting apartments and junior accessory units. Yet the city's and County's public records show no project under construction or selling homes in 2026. A buyer shopping in Novato this fall is buying in the resale market. Given how approvals work here, that will likely stay true for several more years.

An Approval Works Like an Option With an Expiration Date

An approved map gives a developer the right to build a specific plan. It doesn't set a start date. If interest rates, construction costs or financing don't line up, the builder can wait. An extension pushes back the date when that right expires.

Wood Hollow isn't the only example. Valley Oaks, proposed by Campus Properties, LLC for a 37.6-acre site on the west side of Redwood Boulevard near Pinkston Road, received a three-year map extension from the Planning Commission on February 9, 2026. According to the City of Novato's project page, the plan includes 61 attached and detached single-family homes, 45 attached junior accessory dwelling units and 20 townhome-style condominiums. Sixteen units would be affordable, homes would range from roughly 1,800 to 3,000 square feet, and about 20 acres would remain open space.

Wood Hollow came through California's builder's remedy process. Nine of its 66 homes are set aside for low-income households. The city lists Align Real Estate as the applicant. The city's materials say the applicant asked for more time. They don't say why. The reason matters less than the pattern. Novato's two most advanced subdivision approvals have both chosen to extend their deadlines rather than start building.

The Pipeline, From Closest to Furthest From Move-In

These are the projects ordered by how far along they are, using each one's latest public status.

1. Wood Hollow Residences, 100 Wood Hollow Drive. 66 for-sale single-family homes, approved May 2025 and extended three years on July 27, 2026. No construction schedule has been published.
2. Valley Oaks, Redwood Boulevard near Pinkston Road. 126 units, approved, with a three-year map extension granted February 9, 2026.
3. 200 San Marin Residences. Eight attached three- and four-bedroom homes from Uplight Partners, one of them deed-restricted affordable. On September 14, 2026, the Planning Commission voted 4–0 to recommend approval to the City Council, asking for darker earth-tone colors in the design. Staff expected the Council to take it up in late October. It's recommended for approval, not yet approved.
4. Davidon Homes, 805 Atherton Avenue, unincorporated Novato. 45 detached for-sale homes, 37 at market rate and eight deed-restricted affordable. The project was still under County review as of the Marin County project page update on September 3, 2026. In May, the Marin Independent Journal reported that the developer said construction could begin in summer 2027 if approvals proceed as planned.
5. Broadstone Marin, 250 Entrada Drive. Alliance Residential's 101 townhome-style units on the former Inn Marin site. The city made its second completeness determination on May 20, 2026, a step that comes before any approval. The city page doesn't say whether the homes would be for sale or for rent.
6. Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, 8161 Redwood Boulevard. The site sits between the Days Inn and the former Birkenstock building. The Marin Independent Journal reported in August that Habitat cut the plan from 80 units to 50 three- and four-bedroom affordable ownership homes. It submitted revised preliminary plans in July and expects to break ground 18 to 24 months out, with move-ins starting in 2029. The city's project page still describes the earlier 80-unit version.
7. The former Fireman's Fund campus, 773, 775 and 777 San Marin Drive. By far the largest project, and the one people mention most.

Habitat's 2029 is the only move-in year anyone has put in public. Davidon's summer 2027 is a possible construction start, and it depends on approvals that haven't happened yet.

Fireman's Fund Is the Number Everyone Quotes

The campus master plan allows 1,000 to 1,300 primary homes across 44 of the site's 65 acres. Building types would range from two- and three-story single-family homes to multifamily buildings up to five stories. That range is what people usually mean when they say Novato is getting a lot of new housing.

The application actually under review is smaller and more specific. On March 2, 2026, San Marin Owner, LLC filed a vesting tentative map for 119 single-family lots, 84 townhome lots and 725 apartments on three parcels, 928 units in all. The city lists the environmental review level as still being assessed, and no homebuilder is named.

Work on the site is visible, but it isn't homebuilding. The city announced demolition in September 2025, and the Marin Independent Journal reported in December 2025 that crews were tearing down the campus. At the September 14, 2026 Planning Commission meeting, staff said demolition was still underway, mostly removing concrete and asphalt. The grading underway was meant to keep drainage and stormwater under control through the winter. Staff said the map application was still in process. It would divide the property for single-family development and set aside a separate parcel for the apartments.

Of the 928 units, 725 are planned as apartments. The remaining 203 are single-family and townhome lots, and the city's records don't say whether they would be sold or rented. Before any home goes up on them, those lots still need map approval, then separate design review and building permits for each future project, which the master plan requires.

What Buyers Are Buying Into This Year

With the pipeline years from delivery, the market that matters this fall is resale homes. According to BAREIS MLS city-level reports, Novato's recent pace looks like this:

That's 153 residential closings in Novato from July through September 2026. Compare that with the three for-sale projects whose home counts are clear and that are furthest along or have stated timelines: Wood Hollow's 66, Davidon's 45 and Habitat's 50 add up to 161 homes. If all three were finished tomorrow, they would add about one quarter's worth of Novato sales. Their realistic timelines spread those homes across the late 2020s.

Countywide, BAREIS reported 184 Marin sales in August 2026, with a median sale price of $1,372,500 and 28 median days on market. In August 2025 the figures were 164 sales, a $1,347,500 median and 33 days. Novato's monthly average stayed below that county median all summer. The two are different measures, but the gap is consistent with Novato's position as one of Marin's more accessible price points. Its large pipeline isn't what keeps prices there. The homes being priced and sold are existing ones.

How a Project's Stage Changes Your Decision

For a buyer looking at streets near San Marin Drive, the Redwood Boulevard corridor or Atherton Avenue, these projects matter in two ways, on two different timelines.

The first is supply. It's slow and uncertain, and each stage tells you something different. A completeness determination means the city has the paperwork, nothing more. A Planning Commission recommendation still needs a Council vote. A three-year map extension means the right to build is alive but not being used yet. A demolition crew is clearing a site, not putting up homes.

The second is the neighborhood itself, which can change long before any home goes on sale. A former office campus in transition, an infill site off Redwood Boulevard or a new subdivision entrance can all change what a block looks and sounds like over a homeowner's first decade there. Novato's planning project pages and the County's project listings are public, list each application's status by date, and say when hearings will be noticed. Checking them takes a few minutes and is part of understanding what a particular address will be like over time.

A Few Direct Questions

Is any new for-sale housing actually being built in Novato right now? The city and County project records reviewed for this post show none under construction or selling homes as of fall 2026. The projects are at stages ranging from completeness review to approved with extended deadlines.

When could the first new homes realistically be available? Habitat for Humanity has publicly projected move-ins starting in 2029. Davidon Homes has described summer 2027 as a possible construction start, depending on approvals. No other project has published a delivery date.

Will Fireman's Fund bring down Novato prices? The application under review includes 203 single-family and townhome lots alongside 725 apartments, and building on those lots still requires map approval, design review and permits, with no builder named. Novato closed 153 resale homes in just July through September 2026, so even that portion would arrive gradually against a much larger resale market.

Why do approved projects ask for extensions? The city's Wood Hollow materials don't give a reason. In general, an extension keeps an approval valid while the developer decides when to start.

If you're weighing a Novato home near one of these sites, I'm glad to go through the project pages and approval stages with you, so you know what's planned nearby and how far along it really is. Julia Camajani works with Marin buyers who want to understand what's coming as well as what's for sale today. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.