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® CA DRE LICENSE #01355514
The Grubb Company 1656 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709
Direct: (510) 390-5406
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 [...]
More Recycling
More Recycling I started using a new paid recycling service called Ridwell in January, and I have to say, I have been loving it. Ridwell charges $14 to $18 per month (depending on the number of months you commit to), and comes to your house every two weeks to pick up items that our regular City recycling pickups don’t collect. They pick up plastic film (including most bubble wrap, grocery and newspaper bags, and the outer packaging on many items), batteries, light bulbs, and threads (clothing and other fabrics) every time, plus they have one additional special category on each [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is (or was!) the California “Dream For All” program?
What is (or was!) the California “Dream For All” program? There have been many programs over the years aimed at helping first-time buyers get into the expensive California housing market, but they have mostly been so restrictive that few people were able to use them. The less-restrictive “Dream For All” program from the California Housing Finance Agency is targeted to low and moderate income first-time buyers. It provides funds for down payment and closing costs through a shared appreciation loan of up to 20% of the purchase price. Here’s an example of how it can work. A qualifying buyer uses [...]
COMPLETED SALES, Berkeley Hills, 1st Quarter, 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in the Berkeley Hills, 1/1/2023 - 3/31/2023. Note that, after you follow the link, you can click on each individual property to see photos and more details. Click "Close" near the top to return to the list. * For the purposes of this newsletter, “Berkeley Hills” refers to the area bounded as follows: north of campus, east of a line heading north on Spruce from campus, cutting over on Los Angeles to Arlington, and then north along Arlington to the Kensington border.
COMPLETED SALES, North Berkeley, 1st Quarter 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in North Berkeley, 1/1/2023-3/31/2023. Note that, after you follow the link, you can click on each individual property to see photos and more details. Click "Close" near the top to return to the list. * For the purposes of this newsletter, “North Berkeley” is defined as the area bounded by University Avenue in the south, the line of Sacramento Street to the west, the Berkeley border to the north, and below Arlington Avenue, Los Angeles Avenue, and Spruce Street (south of Los Angeles) to the west.
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 19 listings on the market in North Berkeley during the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, and only 11 sales. With so few sales, it means that the summary statistics are going to be influenced a lot by the specifics of the properties that sold.
Why is inventory so low? In addition to the factors I mentioned in the last newsletter (concerns about market conditions and sellers not wanting to give up their existing low interest rate loans), the weather has also affected plans. One of the most common things sellers do to prepare their homes for the market is painting, and many exterior painting projects have been delayed because of all the rain we’ve had. In general, low inventory (and lack of competition) is good news for those homes that did come on the market.
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Berkeley Hills, Q1 2023 results:
For the first quarter of 2023, the median sold price in the hills was $1,935,000, which is up 30% from the previous quarter, but down 4% from this same period in 2022. These numbers reflect the 2022 rollercoaster market—the huge upward spike in prices at the beginning of the year, completely reversed by the end of the year as interest rates climbed.
Average sold price per square foot for Q1 2023 was $901, which is again higher (by 11%) than the end of last year, but down (by 6%) from the first quarter of 2022.
Four properties had price reductions before they sold, and properties spent on average 31 days on the market. (Not surprisingly, it was the four properties that reduced their price that pushed the average days on the market up.)
Two-thirds of the sales were for more than list price, on average 24% above list for those that went over.
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North Berkeley, Q1 2023 results:
The median sold price in North Berkeley was $1,400,000 in the first quarter. This is down very slightly (0.2%) from the previous quarter, and down 13% from this same period in 2022 (when prices were spiking).
Average sold price per square foot for Q1 2023 was $928, which is down 7% from the end of last year, and down 16% from the craziness of the first quarter of 2022.
There were no price reductions, and properties sold very quickly, on average after just 13 days on the market, which is even faster than during early 2022. I think these two facts better represent how the North Berkeley market is faring overall than the price statistics. Condos made up a bigger share of the total, which pulls down the median price, and one large very funky property on MLK sold for just $517 per square foot, which pulled down that average. At the same time, there were 4 single family homes that sold over $1000 per square foot, up to a high of $1436 per square foot for a 2-bedroom bungalow on McGee.
In North Berkeley, 73% of the sales in the first quarter were for more than list price, on average 25% above list for those that went over.
***
Buyers are still out there, but with the perception that the market has cooled, they are definitely more picky. Properties that are not well-prepared and/or not appropriately priced are sitting on the market, while those that are well done are selling quickly with multiple offers.
More Recycling
More Recycling
I started using a new paid recycling service called Ridwell in January, and I have to say, I have been loving it. Ridwell charges $14 to $18 per month (depending on the number of months you commit to), and comes to your house every two weeks to pick up items that our regular City recycling pickups don’t collect. They pick up plastic film (including most bubble wrap, grocery and newspaper bags, and the outer packaging on many items), batteries, light bulbs, and threads (clothing and other fabrics) every time, plus they have one additional special category on each pickup day. Check out ridwell.com for details.
I was amazed, and appalled, to see how much plastic film passed through my house, once I started collecting it to be recycled. I feel better knowing that it is at least being recycled (Ridwell ships it to a factory that makes Trex decking). The whole experience has made me pay much more attention to packaging, since yes, reducing the amount I use is even better than recycling it.
With Ridwell, you’re paying for the convenience of having them pick up the items. You can, though, recycle or donate the same things without paying Ridwell to pick them up. Many grocery stores will take plastic film (see bagandfilmrecycling.org for a list), Berkeley Recycling (at 2nd and Gilman) accepts unbroken fluorescent light bulbs and batteries, and there are also various places to donate clothing and other items.
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is (or was!) the California “Dream For All” program?
What is (or was!) the California “Dream For All” program?
There have been many programs over the years aimed at helping first-time buyers get into the expensive California housing market, but they have mostly been so restrictive that few people were able to use them. The less-restrictive “Dream For All” program from the California Housing Finance Agency is targeted to low and moderate income first-time buyers.
It provides funds for down payment and closing costs through a shared appreciation loan of up to 20% of the purchase price.
Here’s an example of how it can work. A qualifying buyer uses an approved lender, and gets a “regular” loan for 80% of the purchase price, combined with a 20% Dream For All shared appreciation loan. The buyer, in this example, only needs to have funds to cover closing costs (which might be, very roughly, 5% of the purchase price).
The buyer makes regular payments (principal plus interest) on the 80% loan, but there are no ongoing payments on the shared appreciation loan. Instead of paying interest on the Dream For All assistance funds, when the property is sold, the assistance funds are repaid, along with a share of the appreciation on the property. If the Dream For All assistance was 20% of the purchase price, the program gets 20% of the appreciation.
There are other programs out there for buyers without a lot of down payment money, where the borrower only needs to put around 3% of the purchase price down. In the Dream For All scenario, though, the monthly payment (on 80%, rather than 97% of the purchase price) is lower, and there is no mortgage insurance as long as the “regular” loan component is 80% or less of the value.
Here are some of the requirements of the Dream For All program:
- The property must be a 1-unit/single family home or a condo, purchased as the primary residence of the new owner.
- Non-occupant co-signers are not allowed.
- The maximum income to qualify in Alameda County is $282,000.
- You must be a first-time buyer, BUT they define a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a home in California in the last three years.
- The maximum “regular” loan amount is $1,089,300, which means that, with 20% Dream For All assistance, the maximum purchase price would be $1,361,625.
- The buyer has to take a Homebuyer Education and Counseling course.
For more details, see www.calhfa.ca.gov/dream/.
Here’s the bad news — the program was so popular, that its funding, which was expected to last until early fall, ran out in not even 10 days! It’s unclear whether the state will provide additional funding, but if you know someone who might qualify and be interested, they should watch and be ready to act quickly if more funds are added.
COMPLETED SALES, Berkeley Hills, 1st Quarter, 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in the Berkeley Hills, 1/1/2023 – 3/31/2023.
Note that, after you follow the link, you can click on each individual property to see photos and more details. Click “Close” near the top to return to the list.
* For the purposes of this newsletter, “Berkeley Hills” refers to the area bounded as follows: north of campus, east of a line heading north on Spruce from campus, cutting over on Los Angeles to Arlington, and then north along Arlington to the Kensington border.
COMPLETED SALES, North Berkeley, 1st Quarter 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in North Berkeley, 1/1/2023-3/31/2023.
Note that, after you follow the link, you can click on each individual property to see photos and more details. Click “Close” near the top to return to the list.
* For the purposes of this newsletter, “North Berkeley” is defined as the area bounded by University Avenue in the south, the line of Sacramento Street to the west, the Berkeley border to the north, and below Arlington Avenue, Los Angeles Avenue, and Spruce Street (south of Los Angeles) to the west.
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® CA DRE LICENSE #01355514
The Grubb Company 1656 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709
Direct: (510) 390-5406