Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond
“Marilyn is exceptional. Her knowledge base, enthusiasm for her job, professional ethics, organization, sensitivity to our aesthetic requirements, loyalty and gentle perseverance set her apart.”
-- Bill and Carol Seidel
Marilyn Garcia, PhD
Broker Associate, Realtor®
DRE# 02014153
District Homes
1758 Solano Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94707
Direct:
(510) 390-5406
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q4 and 2025 (annual) results
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Real Estate Market Update, Q4 and full-year 2025 results The real estate market in Berkeley held up well in 2025, mostly because Berkeley continues to be in great demand, but also thanks to a slight downward trend in interest rates. Rates started 2025 at around 7%, and ended the year in the low 6% range. This shift helped bring some renewed energy into the market, particularly in the second half of the year. --- North Berkeley For 2025, the median sold price in North Berkeley was $1,600,000, down 9% from 2024. However, that drop reflects a change [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Summer (Q3) 2025 results
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, with results from Summer (Q3) 2025. How is the Real Estate Market Doing? The current economic and political climates, combined with interest rates in the mid-6% range (even after the Fed’s September rate cut), continue to weigh on buyer confidence. The good news, though, is that Berkeley real estate remains strong—and even gained ground in the third quarter. Both North Berkeley and the Berkeley hills posted solid results, reflecting continued demand despite broader uncertainty. *** North Berkeley In North Berkeley, the median sold price in Q3 2025 was $1,575,000—up 7% from last [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Spring (Q2) 2025 results
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, with results from Spring (Q2) 2025. Spring is traditionally the busiest season in the Berkeley real estate calendar, and 2025 was no exception. Across both North Berkeley and the Berkeley Hills, the second quarter brought a flurry of activity, supported by sustained strong buyer demand. Even as interest rates remained elevated and economic signals remained mixed, the local market showed resilience. Price trends this spring were driven in large part by the mix of properties sold. North Berkeley saw more condo sales, and the Hills saw more higher-end sales; these shifts shaped [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q1 2025 results
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, with results from Q1 2025. As I write this in early April, the newly implemented Trump tariffs have introduced a big wave of uncertainty into the economy. Uncertainty and tariffs generally aren’t good for the stock market—but paradoxically, bad news for stocks can mean good news for interest rates. In uncertain times, investors often move money into bonds, which tends to push mortgage rates lower. And lower rates are good for the housing market. Even in periods of economic instability, a home remains a solid long-term investment: you can live in it, [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, 2024 wrap-up and results from Q4
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, 2024 wrap-up and results from Q4 Looking back on the Berkeley real estate market for 2024, mortgage rates continued to be the big story. The Federal Reserve cut its federal funds rate target three times in the last portion of 2024, by a total of 1%. Mortgage rates reached their lowest level of the year in September, in the low 6% range, right around the time of the first Fed rate cut. Since then, though, despite two more Fed cuts, mortgage rates have climbed back up to almost 7%. What happened? Mortgage [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q3 2024 wrap-up
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q3 2024 wrap-up The most interesting news in real estate lately has not been about the local market, but rather about interest rates and Federal Reserve policy. Over the summer, the expectation was that we were reaching the point where the Fed would start lowering interest rates. After 11 increases in the Fed’s interest rate target from March 2022 to July 2023, and more than a year at the July 2023 peak, the Fed reduced its target rate on September 18th. The cut was widely expected, and interest rates on home loans [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q2 2024 wrap-up
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q2 2024 wrap-up It has been a wild real estate market out there this spring. Buyers were very picky, and many were looking for properties that were close to shops, campus and transportation. Buyers in this category seem to have adjusted expectations and accepted that higher interest rates are the new normal, and they are back in the market. As a result, we saw some big bidding wars for desirable homes, and some high price results. Since much of the area I’m calling “North Berkeley” is close to shops and transportation, it [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q1 2024 wrap-up
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q1 2024 wrap-up How is the market doing so far this year? It’s been mixed. Higher interest rates are definitely having an effect. Some properties are selling quickly with multiple offers, and others are not. In general, properties that are well-presented (with good preparation, good staging, and good marketing), and that are strategically priced compared to similar properties, are selling well. There are a good number of first-time buyers in the market, who typically shop for smaller/less expensive homes. There are also wealthy or high-income buyers, who can afford a purchase even [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q4 and full-year 2023 results
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q4 and full-year 2023 results 2023 was an interesting year in Berkeley real estate, where the driving factor was interest rates. Rates climbed to almost 8% during 2023, from around 3% at the start of 2022, with two main effects. On the demand side, higher interest rates reduced demand by increasing costs for any buyer needing to get a loan. To give you a sense of the impact, a loan of $1M at an interest rate of 3% costs $4216/month; at 8%, the monthly payment on that same loan is $3122 more [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q3 2023 results
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q3 2023 results The main feature of the Berkeley real estate market in the third quarter of 2023 was the combination of rising interest rates and low inventory of homes for sale. Interest rates on home loans have climbed to the high 7% range, reaching almost 8% as I write this. This is more than double what rates were at the beginning of 2022, so it’s not surprising that we’ve seen a reduction in demand for properties compared to last year. At the same time though, there has been a decline in [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q2 2023 results
Looking at the market data for the second quarter of 2023, the theme seems to be “good news, bad news.” Let’s start with the bad. If you compare price results for the second quarter of this year to the second quarter of 2022, prices are, not surprisingly, down. The median sold price in the hills was $1,725,000 for the second quarter this year, which is down 12% from last year. The average sold price per square foot, $904, is 13% lower than it was for the same period last year. In North Berkeley, the median sold price in the second [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q1 2023 results
A big question on many people’s minds lately is “how is the real estate market doing?” One important answer to that is that inventory has been really low so far this year. There were only 32 listings on the market in the Berkeley hills during the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, which is less than half the number from the same period last year. With so little inventory, there also weren’t many sales. The 15 sales in Q1 this year were also less than half as many as in the first quarter of 2022. In North Berkeley, there were only [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Q4 and Annual 2022 results
Last year was the craziest roller coaster I’ve ever seen in our local market. We started 2022 with an intense surge in buyer activity, but that surge was reversed by the summer and through the end of the year, as buyers adjusted to higher interest rates, concerns about the economy, and declines in the stock market. *** NORTH BERKELEY: Looking at 2022 as a whole, the median sold price in North Berkeley was $1,650,000, which is unchanged from the previous year. Average sold price per square foot, at $1046, was up 7% compared to 2021. Properties in North Berkeley sold [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Summer 2022 results
The real estate market over the summer was noticeably more subdued than in the first half of the year. Buyers were in an absolute frenzy in the spring, anxious to get into the market before interest rates increased, and as a result, prices went up sharply. Over the summer, the spring spike in prices vanished, as buyers became much more cautious. A number of factors together explain why the summer market slowed. The stock market went down (affecting buyers’ down payment funds), and interest rates went up (affecting affordability). Some buyers could no longer afford the type of home they [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Spring 2022 results
There has been a lot going on in the real estate market since my last newsletter, when I wrote that competition between buyers was looking especially intense. The prospect of increasing interest rates always motivates buyers to find something before rates go up, so they bid extra hard for available properties. As a result, we saw more incredible sale prices during the spring, and the market reached a new peak. **** NORTH BERKELEY There were 39 properties on the market in North Berkeley over the spring season (March through the end of May), and 27 properties sold. Of these, all [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & the Berkeley Hills, Annual 2021 & Winter 2021-22 results
It’s time as usual to look at the previous year’s results for our local real estate market, and also talk about the results for the winter season just ended. 2021 started off with a bang. A big upswing in buyer interest led to major competition between buyers, which led to big price increases. The craziness moderated somewhat later in the year as interest rates started increasing and more homes came on the market for sale, but values stayed at the new higher levels. In 2021, there were more properties on the market in both North Berkeley (127 active listings) and [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & Berkeley Hills, Fall 2021 results
I mentioned in the last newsletter that the market seemed to be cooling off a bit from the spring frenzy, and that was true through most of the fall season. That has changed recently (the market has been crazy hot again in December!), but we won’t have data on that until next year, when the currently pending sales have closed escrow. Over the fall, inventory was relatively high, and it was the competition between properties that made the market a little cooler than earlier in the year. Prices are still sky-high though. Sales over $2 million are now not uncommon [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & Berkeley Hills, Summer 2021 wrap-up
I have been getting lots of questions lately about the state of the market, with people mentioning news articles that cite slowing. Our local market was not quite as crazy over the summer as it was over the spring, and that seems to be continuing into the fall. However, the spring was sooooooo crazy, that even with a little cooling, the market is still very solid. **** BERKELEY HILLS There were 96 active listings in the hills for the summer 2021 season (June through August), and 66 properties closed escrow. These numbers are up from the spring, which is not [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & Berkeley Hills, Spring 2021 wrap-up
I am definitely a data-lover (I know that will not come as a surprise!), but I have been especially looking forward to analyzing the data for Spring 2021. The Berkeley market has been super hot since the start of the year, and the spring results are where that should show up. **** BERKELEY HILLS Over the spring season, there were 75 active listings in the hills, and 59 properties sold. These numbers are both higher than for Spring 2020 (not surprisingly, given that was the start of the pandemic shut-downs), and they’re also higher than in Spring 2019. Properties were [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & Berkeley Hills, Winter 2020-21 wrap-up
As always in the March/April newsletter, I’m going to review both the data for the past year, and also look at the winter quarter results (for December through February). *** 2020 Results: 2020 was a surprisingly solid year in local real estate, despite a big lull in activity with the first shelter-in-place. After just a few weeks, though, real estate was deemed an essential service, and activity gradually picked back up. Berkeley Hills 150 properties sold in the Berkeley hills in 2020, which is a bit fewer than in 2019, but there were also fewer homes on the market. Properties [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley & Berkeley Hills, Fall 2020 wrap-up
I find this sort of amazing given what’s been going on in the world this year, but our real estate market has continued to do remarkably well through the fall season. The combination of super low interest rates and the desire to have a better space to shelter in has kept demand from buyers strong. At the same time, fewer property owners have put their homes on the market — for Berkeley as whole, the number of homes for sale from January through November this year was down 14% compared to the same period last year. With low supply and [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley (North & Hills), Summer 2020 wrap-up
Between the pandemic, the wildfires, and the blanket of smoke we’ve had to live with lately, one would think that the local real estate market would have gone into hibernation, but this has not been the case. The pandemic has caused many people to re-evaluate where they want to live. We’ve been spending much more time in our homes— for work, for school, for meals, for entertainment, for exercise, for leisure— so having the right indoor and outdoor spaces for those activities is more important than ever. Many people working from home are moving to take advantage of lower real [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley (North & Hills), Spring 2020 wrap-up
I’m going to shift focus somewhat for this issue of The Outlook. We’re living in a time right now when many of our usual concerns seem trivial. Compared to the importance of the growing calls for an end to systematic racism and violence against black people and reforms in the way we police our communities, and compared to coping with a global pandemic and its effect on our lives and livelihoods, real estate market statistics seem like a side note. However, there are a variety of reasons why people still want to know what’s happening in the local real estate [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Winter 2019-2020 wrap-up
Let’s start with a look back over the previous year in North Berkeley real estate, and then take a quick look forward. Over the course of 2019, there were 89 active listings in North Berkeley, and 81 properties sold. Both of these numbers are down from the previous year, when we had 101 active listings, and 92 sales. Low inventory meant that there were multiple buyers interested in most properties, and 81% of the sales were for more than list price. Sale price averaged 26% above list price for those properties that went over. The median sale price for 2019 [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Winter 2019-20 wrap-up
In Berkeley hills, there were 195 active listings over the course of 2019, and 161 properties sold. 81% of the sales were for more than list price, with multiple buyers interested in most properties, and sale price averaged 20% above list price for those properties that went over. The median sale price for 2019 was $1,425,000, which is up 3% from the previous year. The average sold price per square foot was also up, by 3% from the previous year at $747. Most properties sold quickly, in an average of 20 days on the market. Fourteen properties (8% of the [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why should you pull a permit for work done on your home?
Why should you consider pulling a permit for work done on your home? The #1 reason you should get a permit if you’re having work done on your home that requires it is the obvious one: it’s required by law, and you can have problems with the City if they discover you don’t have a permit, either as the work is being done, or after the fact. That said, it’s definitely the case that many homes in our area have work that was done without permits. Homeowners choose to skip permits for a variety of reasons, including the cost of [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Fall 2019 wrap-up
The fall is always an interesting season in our real estate market, because we go from one of the slowest times of the year (just before Labor Day) to one of the busiest times of the year (just after Labor Day). We see what feels like a flood of new listings in September. Inventory though is always tight in North Berkeley, so it was a small flood — there were only 25 active listings all fall. 20 properties sold, of which 4 were condos and 16 were single family homes. The median sale price for North Berkeley in the fall [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Fall 2019 wrap-up
It was another interesting fall in local real estate, and we saw the usual flood of new listings to the market after Labor Day. Even though this happens pretty much every year (because many sellers wait to list until after Labor Day, thinking that August may not be the best time to sell because some buyers are out of town on vacation), it affects perceptions of how the market is doing. There were 73 active listings over the fall in the Berkeley hills, which is up slightly from last fall. 38 properties sold, and 12 properties were withdrawn or expired [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready?
I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready? It’s a well-known fact that right now is not the optimal time to sell a home in our area. It is, however, the right time to start getting things in place if you’re thinking of selling next year, so that you’re ready for the very busy selling season. Here are the first things to do to get ready. (1) Think about where you’ll be when your home is on the market. Do you already have your next home set? Are you renting or buying [...]
How sold price per square foot varies with property size
I've mentioned in past newsletters that, in general, smaller properties sell for higher prices per square foot. This chart compares the average sold price per square foot for properties of different sizes. The data is from the area indicated, January 1, 2019 through October 31, 2019.
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Summer 2019 wrap-up
After a super hot spring 2019, the North Berkeley market settled down somewhat over the summer. Most properties still sold fast and for great prices, but there were a few that took somewhat longer to sell, and average days on the market overall was up a bit to 19 days. Interest rates though are still fantastic — if you’ve been thinking about doing a refinance, now is a great time to call your favorite loan person! There were not a lot of active listings in North Berkeley over the summer (only 23), and correspondingly not a lot of sales (only [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Summer 2019 wrap-up
The market over the summer in the Berkeley hills was quite good. We all know that prices are determined by supply and demand, and both were in our favor. The supply of homes on the market was relatively low. There were 40 sales and 42 active listings in the Berkeley hills over the summer. The number of active listings was substantially lower than the 73 active listings in the spring, and the 68 active listings last summer. At the same time, demand was strong, helped in part by low interest rates, which are back under 4% in many cases. [If [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on market for a while?
Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on the market for a while? In most parts of the country, properties come on the market, and if they don’t sell after a period of time, motivated sellers will reduce the list price to attract buyers. Around here, if a property is not getting the interest the seller hoped for, sometimes the seller will reduce the list price, but other times the list price will increase. What’s going on? The answer lies in the strategy that was followed in choosing the original list price. In other areas, the [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Spring 2019 wrap-up
The local real estate market looked like it was slowing towards the end of last year, but it sure has bounced back this spring! I talked in the last newsletter about the common perception that big IPOs were going to create wealth and boost the market, and that perception may have had some effect. The other significant factor has been interest rates. Rates on home loans have lately been among the lowest we’ve seen since around election time in 2016, after peaking at close to 5% in November of last year. (If you've been thinking about re-financing your home loan, [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Spring 2019 wrap-up
In the Berkeley hills this past quarter, there were 73 active listings, which is pretty typical for the spring season. Between March and the end of May, 45 properties sold, on average after 18 days on the market. The median sale price was $1,475,000, which is up 15% from the slow winter season, but down 3% from last spring. Only one of the sold properties had a price reduction, and 84% of the sales were for more than list price. Among the properties that went over, the sold price was on average 25% above list price. Where reported in the [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Winter 2018-19 wrap-up
The real estate market is constantly in transition -- seasonally, through market cycles, in response to changes in changes in employment and interest rates, and in response to changes in preferences. Over the last handful of years, the North Berkeley market has benefited a lot from increasing demand for properties near BART, shops and restaurants. The market as a whole was somewhat slower than expected in the fall, but overall 2018 was pretty good in North Berkeley real estate. Going into 2019, there is a lot of talk about big upcoming tech IPOs, and the influx of cash and purchasing [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Winter 2018-19 wrap-up
Towards the end of last year, all the talk was about the real estate market softening, with buyers being more cautious, and a greater supply of listings for sale. Lately, though, the talk is more about big upcoming tech IPOs, and the influx of cash and purchasing power they’re likely to bring to the market. Looking back at the annual data for 2018 in the hills, the median sold price was $1,380,000, which is up 5% from the 2017. The average sold price per square foot was up even more, by 8% from the previous year, at $724. The general [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: How old is the housing stock in Berkeley?
Many times over the years, when counseling new buyer clients, I have pointed out that the majority of the homes in Berkeley are older, built in the early part of the 1900s. I know this anecdotally, and from looking at so many homes over the years, but I had not seen any actual figures. I thought it would be interesting to look at the data, so I went to my handy public records database and looked at records for the single family homes in Berkeley. A couple things to keep in mind: (1) I only looked at structures that are [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Fall 2018 wrap-up
There have been some real changes in the broader real estate market (in the Bay Area, statewide and nationally) since the beginning of 2018. With interest rates rising, and more limitations on the deductibility of property taxes and interest on home loans, homes are less affordable at any given price. Added to this, the tone of nationalist exclusion and the tariff wars coming to us from Washington have lessened the attractiveness of U.S. real estate to foreign investors. In light of these factors, it’s not surprising that the real estate market has cooled. We’re very fortunate, though, to live in [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Fall 2018 wrap-up
We’re very fortunate to live in an area that historically has weathered real estate downturns well, but there have been some real changes in the broader real estate market (in the Bay Area, statewide and nationally) since the beginning of 2018. With interest rates rising, and more limitations on the deductibility of property taxes and interest on home loans, homes are less affordable at any given price. Added to this, the tone of nationalist exclusion and the tariff wars coming to us from Washington have lessened the attractiveness of U.S. real estate to foreign investors. In light of these factors, [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Summer 2018 wrap-up
I mentioned in the last newsletter that there have been some rumblings of changes in the market, with higher inventory spreading out the buyer pool. This was true again over the summer in the hills. We had 68 active listings over the summer, compared to 66 last summer, 63 in summer 2016, and only 41 in summer 2015. Happily there were also lots of sales over the summer — 61 properties sold in the Berkeley hills. The higher number of properties competing for buyers did show in prices somewhat. The median sold price for the summer was $1,375,000, and the [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Summer 2018 wrap-up
There has been a lot of talk lately about changes in the market triggered by higher levels of inventory. Higher inventory was a factor again over the summer in other areas of Berkeley (see the post with data for the Hills area this summer, for example), but not in North Berkeley. There were only 26 active listings in North Berkeley over the summer, compared to 40 last summer, 33 in summer 2016, and 31 in summer 2015. 29 North Berkeley properties sold over the summer, at a median price of $1,400,000. This is up 8% compared to the spring, but [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Spring 2018 wrap-up
I was excited to crunch the numbers for this spring season, with two questions in mind. First, there has been a lot of talk lately about the relatively high level of inventory on the market, so I wanted to see how the number of active listings compared to past springs. It turns out that there were in fact more active listings this spring (47) than in the past several years (36 in spring 2017, 35 in 2016, and 33 in 2015). This pattern — more homes for sale as the market has been rising — is not surprising, as more [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Spring 2018 wrap-up
I was excited to crunch the numbers for this spring season, with two questions in mind. First, there has been a lot of talk lately about the relatively high level of inventory on the market, so I wanted to see how the number of active listings compared to past springs. It turns out that there were in fact more active listings this spring (74) than in the past several years (69 in spring 2017, 59 in 2016, and 55 in 2015). This pattern — more homes for sale as the market has been rising — is not surprising, as more [...]