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, 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 [...]
UC BERKELEY: MORE ACCOLADES!
We already know that UC Berkeley is one of the top universities in the world, but I still love to see it getting the recognition it deserves. In the latest rankings of graduate programs by US News & World Report, there were many Cal programs that were among the top-rated. Cal was ranked #1 (or tied for #1) in Biological Sciences, Computer Science, English, Psychology and Sociology. I was especially excited to see the graduate program in Economics (which is where I got my PhD) also tied for the #1 position! Other Cal graduate programs that ranked in the top [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: How old is the housing stock in Berkeley?
Many times over the years, when counseling new buyer clients, I have pointed out that the majority of the homes in Berkeley are older, built in the early part of the 1900s. I know this anecdotally, and from looking at so many homes over the years, but I had not seen any actual figures. I thought it would be interesting to look at the data, so I went to my handy public records database and looked at records for the single family homes in Berkeley. A couple things to keep in mind: (1) I only looked at structures that are [...]