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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 [...]
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 [...]