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, 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 [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What’s going on in the home insurance market, and how does it affect current homeowners?
What’s going on in the home insurance market, and how does it affect current homeowners? In late May, State Farm, which is the largest issuer of homeowners’ policies in California, announced that it would not sell any new home insurance policies in California. In addition, Farmer's Insurance just announced that they will limit the number of new policies they sell here. Allstate also stopped issuing new policies in California last fall, so this is a significant trend. Why are these big insurers pulling away from California at this time? Major wildfires in recent years have resulted in surges in claims, [...]
N11 Refresher
N11 Refresher Here’s a brief refresher on N11 quick-access phone numbers (where N is a number between 2 and 9) . 911 of course connects to a dispatcher for emergency services. Did you know, though, that if you call 911 on a cell phone, the call often ends up in a regional center, and then needs to be forwarded to more local help? If the call needs to be re-routed, this adds time to the process. This is not ideal in an emergency, so it’s a good idea to have your local, direct-access emergency number stored in your cell phone, [...]
COMPLETED SALES, North Berkeley, 2nd Quarter 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in North Berkeley, 4/1/2023-6/30/2023. 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.
COMPLETED SALES, Berkeley Hills, 2nd Quarter, 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in the Berkeley Hills, 4/1/2023 - 6/30/2023. 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.
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 quarter this year was $1,825,000, which is down 5% from last year. Average sold price per square foot was $1043, which is down only slightly (by less than 1%) compared to the same period in 2022.
Remember though, there was a crazy run-up in real estate prices in the first part of 2022, and we’re comparing this year’s results to those (briefly) high values. Last year’s bubble popped in the middle of 2022 due to rising interest rates. We find ourselves now basically back to the very respectable values we saw in 2021, before the crazy run-up.
The good news is, there are still a lot of buyers in the market, especially compared to the limited amount of inventory.
- In the hills, there were only 59 active listings for the second quarter this year, compared to 83 last year. 86% of the sales were over list price, meaning that there were multiple offers for most of the properties. Properties that went over list price sold on average for 22% over list. Most properties sold quickly, averaging just 21 days on the market. There were 35 sales in the second quarter, and only one property needed a price change before selling.
- The results were similar in North Berkeley. There number of active listings was low, at only 38 (compared to 43 for the second quarter of 2022). 90% of the sales were over list price, and those sold on average for 26% over list. Most of the 21 properties that sold went as soon as the sellers took offers, but two were on the market for more than 3 months. Those two properties needed price reductions before selling, and they pulled up the average number of days on the market to 28.
The market is not as searingly hot as it was at the start of last year, but we’re not seeing anything like the wave of foreclosures and short sales that happened during the last big down cycle in the market. In all of Berkeley, there was only one bank-owned (foreclosure) property that sold in the first half of 2023, and there were only 2 short sales. Compare this to the first six months of 2012, when 33 foreclosure properties sold, and there were 34 short sales.
The bottom line is, there was an adjustment in the market, but the sky is not falling. Low inventory has kept the market very competitive for desirable homes. Buyers are pickier now, so the right preparation and correct pricing are more critical than ever to a successful sale.
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What’s going on in the home insurance market, and how does it affect current homeowners?
What’s going on in the home insurance market, and how does it affect current homeowners?
In late May, State Farm, which is the largest issuer of homeowners’ policies in California, announced that it would not sell any new home insurance policies in California. In addition, Farmer’s Insurance just announced that they will limit the number of new policies they sell here. Allstate also stopped issuing new policies in California last fall, so this is a significant trend.
Why are these big insurers pulling away from California at this time? Major wildfires in recent years have resulted in surges in claims, and climate change has made this much more likely to be the norm in coming years. Pandemic supply-chain issues and lingering inflation have meant that the cost of settling claims has gone up significantly. The cost of reinsurance, which is insurance that the companies get to protect themselves against excessive losses, has also gotten more expensive. The California Department of Insurance, though, limits companies’ ability to raise rates to cover higher costs and elevated risks, leading State Farm and Allstate to decide that it’s not worth selling new policies here.
Happily, this does not mean that existing State Farm and Allstate customers are losing their coverage. It does mean, though, that anyone looking for a new policy right now is going to find it more challenging, and more expensive. There are still lots of insurers selling policies in California, but there are fewer choices now. The remaining insurers are seeing increased demand for their products, which in theory would lead to higher prices. With pricing controlled by the California Department of Insurance, though, what we get are insurance companies that are much more selective in which properties they choose to insure.
This is not a good time to shop for a new or replacement homeowner’s insurance policy, so it’s also not a good time to do anything to give your existing insurer a reason to cancel. Be extra sure right now that the insurance bill is paid on time. If your insurance is paid by an outside party (such as a lender who collects money for taxes and insurance through an impound account, and makes those payments for you), it’s worth the effort to confirm that the payments are made on time, especially if your loan has been recently transferred to a new bank or servicer. If you are shopping for a new home, when you see one you like, you should plan to check insurability and get coverage quotes very early in the process.
Insurance companies are paying much more attention to the condition of the homes they insure, including their roofs as well as their plumbing and electrical systems. Many companies will not issue a new policy for a home that has older electrical (such as knob and tube wiring, or fuses instead of circuit breakers). If you are planning to sell your home, it’s worth seriously considering work that will make the home more insurable, such as replacing a wood shake roof or knob and tube wiring. Your current insurance policy will (sadly) not be transferrable to the new owners, and buyers need to be able to get insurance to get a loan.
N11 Refresher
N11 Refresher
Here’s a brief refresher on N11 quick-access phone numbers (where N is a number between 2 and 9) .
911 of course connects to a dispatcher for emergency services. Did you know, though, that if you call 911 on a cell phone, the call often ends up in a regional center, and then needs to be forwarded to more local help? If the call needs to be re-routed, this adds time to the process. This is not ideal in an emergency, so it’s a good idea to have your local, direct-access emergency number stored in your cell phone, so you can access a local dispatcher without that extra step. In Berkeley, that phone number is 510-981-5911. (Save this in your cell phone!)
The other N11 numbers are used for the following:
211: Referrals to services for housing, seniors, transportation, etc.
311: General city customer service
411: Local directory assistance
511: Traffic and transportation information
611: Phone company customer service
711: Relay service for the speech and hearing impaired
811: “Call before you dig,” providing information on the location of buried utilities.
Also, it’s not an “N11,” but there is one more important quick-dial number: 988 will take you to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
COMPLETED SALES, North Berkeley, 2nd Quarter 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in North Berkeley, 4/1/2023-6/30/2023.
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.
COMPLETED SALES, Berkeley Hills, 2nd Quarter, 2023
Click to see details and photos of properties SOLD in the Berkeley Hills, 4/1/2023 – 6/30/2023.
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.
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