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 & 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 [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?
What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it? “We’ve learned from recent fires. Hardening your home and keeping the 5 feet closest to your house clear of flammable materials (including patio furniture and décor) greatly improves its chance of surviving a fire.” CALIFORNIA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL Fire hardening is making changes to an existing home to make it more resistant to wildfire. According to the Fire Safe Council, your home can catch fire in 3 main ways: from ember storms, where small pieces of burning material are blown in front of a fire (embers can apparently [...]
HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS
HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS I spend a lot of time looking at light fixtures and choosing bulbs, because replacing light fixtures is one of the most cost-effective ways to create an updated look in a home for sale. Choosing LED bulbs is surprisingly complicated, but here’s the step-by-step process that I use: 1: Figure out what shape bulb you need (including the size of the bulb and the type of socket). 2: Make sure to get bulbs for enclosed fixtures if your fixture is enclosed. 3: Choose the color temperature. (I always go for 2700K, which is like an [...]
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 sold in an average of 22 days (excluding the Spring Mansion at 1960 San Antonio, which was on the market for 1340 days). The median sold price in the hills was $1,500,000 for 2020, which is up 5.3% from the previous year. 70% of the sales were for more than list price, and those averaged 14% over list. The average sold price per square foot was $770, which is up 3% from 2019.
North Berkeley
A total of 88 properties sold in North Berkeley in 2020, in an average of 18 days on the market. This is more sales, with less time on the market, compared to the previous year. The median sold price in North Berkeley was $1,350,000, which is unchanged from 2019. More than 3/4 of the sales in 2020 were for more than list price, and those averaged 22% over list. The average sold price per square foot was $890, which is up 1.8% from 2019.
***
Winter Results (December 1, 2020 – February 28, 2021):
Berkeley Hills
The median sold price in the hills over the winter quarter was $1,547,500, which is up slightly (0.8%) from the fall and more significantly (by 9.8%) from last winter.
North Berkeley
There were very few sales in North Berkeley over the winter (only 8), so the data is heavily influenced by the characteristics of the properties that sold. 3 of the 8 sales over the winter were small (relatively inexpensive) condos. One of those condos was also a below-market-rate unit (BMR), which means that it must be sold for a restricted, pre-set price ($201,815 in this case). Because these small properties made up a big proportion of the sales, the median sold price over the winter was lower, at $1,195,000, which is lower than in either the fall of 2020, or the previous winter. Despite this data point, single family homes have been selling incredibly well so far in 2021, with loads of offers (we got 26 offers on my listing at 1726 Grant) at very high prices.
***
Interest rates have started creeping up a bit recently (to a little over 3% in many cases), but buyer interest remains intense right now, and the results for the spring season should reflect that!
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?
What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?
“We’ve learned from recent fires. Hardening your home and keeping the 5 feet closest to your house clear of flammable materials (including patio furniture and décor) greatly improves its chance of surviving a fire.” CALIFORNIA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
Fire hardening is making changes to an existing home to make it more resistant to wildfire. According to the Fire Safe Council, your home can catch fire in 3 main ways: from ember storms, where small pieces of burning material are blown in front of a fire (embers can apparently travel more than a mile!) and create spot fires when they land; from radiant heat, where the heat from nearby burning plants or structures is so intense that it can ignite a house without direct contact (this is especially problematic in densely populated areas, where homes are close together); and from direct flame, which can enter a home when plants under windows burn, breaking the glass and allowing the fire inside the home.
If your home was built in 2010 or later, your home should be pretty “hard”, because building codes were changed then to include hardening requirements. Most of the homes around here are much older than that, but even if you have an older house, you’re not required make changes for the sake of fire hardening. It is worth considering, though, given the massive fires we’ve seen around the state in recent years.
Since the start of 2021, there is a new disclosure requirement related to fire hardening for sellers of properties that are located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone (and that were built before 2010). Sellers of those properties are required to disclose to buyers if a home has certain features that make it more susceptible to wildfire and flying embers. The features are: (1) eave, soffit, and roof ventilation where the vents have openings in excess of 1/8” or are not flame and ember resistant; (2) roof coverings made of untreated wood shingles or shakes; (3) combustible landscaping or other materials within 5 feet of the home or under the footprint of any attached deck; (4) single pane or non-tempered glass windows; (5) loose or missing bird stopping (which closes off the open ends of tiles on a tile roof) or roof flashing; and (6) rain gutters without metal or noncombustible gutter covers.
You’re only required to disclose vulnerabilities that you know of, and only if the property is in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, and of course only if you’re selling. However, it’s a good starter list for all of us to consider for improving the fire safety of our homes, even if they’re not going to be for sale.
A state map showing fire hazard zones can be found at https://egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ/. You can zoom in on Berkeley and find a specific property, or look at the boundaries of what they consider the red VHFHSZ (Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone) area.
For more information on fire hardening, check out ReadyForWildfire.org.
HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS
HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS
I spend a lot of time looking at light fixtures and choosing bulbs, because replacing light fixtures is one of the most cost-effective ways to create an updated look in a home for sale. Choosing LED bulbs is surprisingly complicated, but here’s the step-by-step process that I use:
1: Figure out what shape bulb you need (including the size of the bulb and the type of socket).
2: Make sure to get bulbs for enclosed fixtures if your fixture is enclosed.
3: Choose the color temperature. (I always go for 2700K, which is like an old incandescent light, or 3000K, which is a bit whiter, like a halogen bulb.)
4: Choose the brightness (measured in lumens, but most bulbs also relate the brightness to that of old incandescents, like 60W, 75W, or 100W equivalents).
5: Look for bulbs with a high CRI (Color Reproduction Index). I always look for bulbs with a CRI of 90 or higher.
6: If the fixture is on a dimmer switch, make sure the bulbs are dimmable, and that your dimmer switch is LED-compatible (if it’s not fairly new, it probably isn’t).
It is very complicated, so you can also choose to avoid all this by going into a local lighting or hardware store, and getting someone knowledgeable to help you. Once you know what the right bulb is, it’s much easier to pick up replacements or order them online!
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