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, 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 [...]
SEWER LATERALS AND DRAINAGE
Sewer Laterals and Drainage We’ve had a number of office discussions about water-related issues since the first “atmospheric river” passed our way, and I heard something about sewer laterals that I wanted to pass along. A sewer lateral is the underground pipe that takes wastewater from your home to the city sewer line. You probably know that when you sell a home in Berkeley, the sewer lateral needs to be brought up to current standards, either before or soon after a sale, unless there is a compliance certificate already on file. The reason this is a requirement is not to [...]