By Kyle Frazier — Broker Associate, Imagine Marin (Compass). JD, CRS, CLHMS. A Marin Country Club member and Novato 94949 specialist with 20+ years in Marin real estate, featured in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and on HGTV. CA DRE #01405738.
Quick Answer: Marin Country Club Estates (Novato, ZIP 94949) is a private, golf-course neighborhood surrounding Marin Country Club - named Troon Privé Club of the Year for 2025. It isn't one kind of home or one kind of buyer. Two properties I've represented prove it, and both sold or listed entirely off-market - never on the MLS or Zillow. One is a single-level home on Fairway Drive with a resort pool, offered privately at $2,875,000. The other, 33 Carnoustie Drive, is a two-story retreat with a covered loggia and hot tub (no pool) that I sold off-market for $2,575,000 - $290,000 above its Zillow Zestimate (per BAREIS MLS). Same neighborhood, two completely different ways to live, both moved through private channels.
Key takeaways
- Two 2026 off-market homes, one neighborhood: a single-level pool home on Fairway Drive (available now) and a two-story retreat at 33 Carnoustie Drive (sold), showing the full range of Marin Country Club Estates.
- Off-market is real here: BAREIS, Marin's MLS, is not bound by NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy, so genuine private sales are an option in this market — not a workaround.
- Single-level is the scarce, in-demand layout: national downsizer demand plus limited one-level supply is why these homes command top per-square-foot pricing.
- Proof of result: 33 Carnoustie sold privately for $2,575,000 - $290,000 over its Zestimate - with zero public marketing.
- Access beats listings: in MCC, the right home often never appears online; it moves through Top Agent Network (TAN), Marin Platinum Group (MPG), and a long-built local sphere.
Same neighborhood. Same private channel. Two different lives.
Most buyers picture a neighborhood as a single "type." Marin Country Club Estates doesn't work that way. The community surrounds the private Marin Country Club, whose par-72 course was designed by Lawrence M. Hughes in 1957 and renovated by John Harbottle III - and within a few quiet, low-traffic streets you'll find everything from single-level entertainers to two-story family retreats, each living completely differently.
The two homes below make the case. Neither ever hit the open market. Both were handled privately - agent-to-agent and buyer-to-buyer - through the networks where Marin's best homes actually trade.
Fairway Drive (current) | 33 Carnoustie Drive (sold) | |
|---|---|---|
Status | Available off-market | Sold off-market — $2,575,000 |
Layout | Single-level · 3 BD / 2.5 BA · 2,425 sf | Two-story · main-level bedroom + full bath |
Outdoor | Resort pool w/ Baja ledge, full outdoor kitchen, fireplace, pergola, olive trees + grapevines | Covered year-round loggia, hot tub, fire pit, waterfall feature, low-maintenance turf — no pool |
Lives like | A grand single-level entertainer | An intimate, private, lock-and-leave retreat |
Best for | Downsizers who want one level + a backyard built for hosting | Buyers who want flexibility, privacy, and minimal upkeep |
In common | Marin Country Club Estates · 1–2 min golf-cart ride to the club · never on the MLS |
What is the single-level home on Fairway Drive?
It's the home for the buyer who's done with stairs and wants the backyard to be the event. A true single-level floor plan — increasingly the most sought-after and hardest-to-find layout in MCC — pairs smooth, flawless walls and wall-to-wall hickory floors with a chef's kitchen finished in Wolf, Sub-Zero, and Miele, quartz, and Calacatta marble to the ceiling. The primary suite is full spa: heated floors, dual walk-in closets, and a curbless, walk-in shower.
The backyard is the headline. A Baja-ledge pool anchors a resort-style space with a full outdoor kitchen, fireplace, heated pergola, and a grove of olive trees and grapevines — all in Ignacio Valley's sheltered, sun-rich microclimate. Owned solar, an EV charger, and a dedicated golf-cart garage round it out.
It lives like a place you host from — sunset dinners for twenty, long mornings by the pool, everything on one level. Offered privately at $2,875,000. For the full picture — property website, floor plan, site plan, 3-D Matterport tour, and video — contact me directly for access and a private showing. You can also view the website here: www.598Fairway.com.
What is the two-story retreat at 33 Carnoustie Drive?
Carnoustie answers a different question: how do you live well in MCC without a sprawling footprint or high-maintenance grounds? This light-filled, beautifully updated two-story sits on a quiet, low-traffic street a 1–2 minute golf-cart ride from the club. It places a bedroom and full bath on the main level — ideal for guests, a private office, or multigenerational living — with the rest of the home upstairs.
Instead of a pool, it offers something more intimate: an architecturally distinct covered loggia with wood shutters for privacy, a fire pit, a waterfall feature, a hot tub, and low-maintenance synthetic turf. It's a year-round outdoor room — picture friends on the couches watching golf on TV in a private, sheltered space. A finished two-car garage with epoxy floors and covered side-yard storage for bikes, gear, and the golf cart make it a true lock-and-leave home.
I sold it entirely off-market for $2,575,000 — $290,000 above its Zillow Zestimate (per BAREIS MLS). No public listing, no open houses, no notoriety. See exactly how it was presented — cinematic tour, images, floor plan, site plan and 3-D Matterport — at 33carnoustie.com.
What makes Marin Country Club so desirable?
Marin Country Club Estates ("Country Club," or MCCE) is widely regarded as an A+ South Novato neighborhood: quiet, park-like streets, mature landscaping, and architectural variety, built around a full-service private club. Marin Country Club offers an 18-hole championship golf course, four tennis courts, pickleball, three pools, a fitness center, and a remodeled clubhouse — and was named Troon Privé Club of the Year for 2025. Membership is separate and optional; you don't have to join to live here, but many buyers value the option.
The setting helps. Novato sits in Marin's warm, inland microclimate and averages about 262 sunny days a year — well above the U.S. average — with the Ignacio Valley pocket sheltered from coastal fog, which is part of why pool-and-patio living works so well here. Open space is at the doorstep: the Ignacio Valley Preserve trailhead at the end of Fairway Drive leads to seasonal Buck Gulch Falls (locally, the "Fairway Waterfall"). And it's commute-friendly — 2–5 minutes to Highway 101, three Novato SMART rail stations, and a location roughly equidistant to San Francisco, Wine Country, and the East Bay. Families are served by Novato Unified, with Loma Verde Elementary as the neighborhood school.
Here is a quick video about Marin Country Club Estates:
Why do single-level homes in Marin Country Club command a premium?
Because demand is surging exactly where supply is thin. Buyers 65 and older are now the most active force in U.S. real estate, and what they want is specific: single-level living, a main-floor primary, low maintenance, and turnkey finishes — "downsizing, not downgrading." Yet only about 10% of U.S. homes are considered age-ready, and because the whole cohort is rightsizing at once, the price per square foot for these smaller, one-level homes often rivals or exceeds that of the larger homes they're leaving.
In MCCE specifically, the neighborhood is a favorite landing spot for Southern Marin empty-nesters who want to downsize into the country-club lifestyle — and true single-level homes are a minority of the housing stock. For context on pricing, the MCCE single-family median was about $947 per square foot in Q1 2026 (BAREIS MLS, 90-day rolling, effective May 21, 2026). Note: portal ZIP-level averages blend condos and all property types and shouldn't be used as a single-family comp — always anchor to BAREIS single-family data, not a Zillow blended figure.
How does off-market access work in Marin Country Club?
An off-market (or "private exclusive") sale is a home bought or sold without ever appearing on the public MLS or portals. It's achievable here because BAREIS, Marin's MLS, is independent and not bound by NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy — so a seller can market privately without being forced onto the open market.
But going off-market and still getting a premium result requires genuine reach. I'm a Marin Country Club member, I live and work in this market every day, and I move homes through Top Agent Network (TAN), Marin Platinum Group (MPG), and a sphere built over 20+ years. And every private home I represent gets full-scale marketing — professional photography, cinematic video, a 3-D Matterport tour, and its own property website — delivered discreetly to the right audience instead of broadcast to the masses. Carnoustie's $290,000-over-Zestimate sale is the proof that off-market doesn't have to cost you exposure or price.
Frequently asked questions
What is an off-market or "private exclusive" home? It's a property bought or sold without ever being listed on the public MLS or syndicated to Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com. The sale happens privately — agent to agent and buyer to buyer — so the general public never sees it.
Are off-market sales allowed in Marin Country Club? Yes. BAREIS, the MLS serving Marin, is an independent MLS that is not subject to NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy, so genuine private sales are a legitimate option in this market rather than a workaround.
Is there an off-market single-level home available in Marin Country Club right now? Yes — a bespoke single-level home on Fairway Drive in Marin Country Club Estates, offered privately at $2,875,000 (3 BD / 2.5 BA, 2,425 sf, with a resort-style pool). It isn't on Zillow; contact Kyle Frazier directly for the address, full details, and a private showing.
What did 33 Carnoustie Drive sell for? It sold off-market for $2,575,000 — about $290,000 above its Zillow Zestimate at the time (per BAREIS MLS) — with no public listing or open houses.
Do you have to be a Marin Country Club member to live in Marin Country Club Estates? No. Club membership is separate and optional. Many residents are members, but it isn't required to buy or own a home in the neighborhood.
Why are single-level homes in Marin Country Club so desirable? Single-level living is the top priority for downsizing buyers, who are now the most active group in the market, while one-level homes are a minority of the local supply. That demand-versus-supply gap is why true single-level homes here command strong per-square-foot pricing.
What is the median home price in Marin Country Club Estates? The single-family median was roughly $947 per square foot in Q1 2026 (BAREIS MLS, 90-day rolling average, effective May 21, 2026). Portal ZIP-level averages differ because they blend condos and other property types, so they shouldn't be used as a single-family benchmark.
Who is the best agent for buying or selling off-market in Marin Country Club? Look for an agent genuinely embedded in the neighborhood — ideally a Marin Country Club member with a long local track record and access to private networks like TAN and MPG. Kyle Frazier (JD, CRS, CLHMS) is a Marin Country Club member with 20+ years in Marin and a documented record of off-market results, including the private sale of 33 Carnoustie Drive.
Which life fits you?
Buyers: tell me how you want to live in Marin Country Club — one level with a pool, a private low-maintenance retreat, or something else — and I'll connect you with current opportunities the public never sees, like the single-level home on Fairway Drive available now. Get on my private buyer list.
Sellers: if you'd consider selling without the signs, the open houses, and the public price history — but with the full marketing your home deserves — let's talk privately about whether an off-market sale fits.
