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, Spring 2019 wrap-up
The local real estate market looked like it was slowing towards the end of last year, but it sure has bounced back this spring! I talked in the last newsletter about the common perception that big IPOs were going to create wealth and boost the market, and that perception may have had some effect. The other significant factor has been interest rates. Rates on home loans have lately been among the lowest we’ve seen since around election time in 2016, after peaking at close to 5% in November of last year. (If you've been thinking about re-financing your home loan, [...]
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Spring 2019 wrap-up
In the Berkeley hills this past quarter, there were 73 active listings, which is pretty typical for the spring season. Between March and the end of May, 45 properties sold, on average after 18 days on the market. The median sale price was $1,475,000, which is up 15% from the slow winter season, but down 3% from last spring. Only one of the sold properties had a price reduction, and 84% of the sales were for more than list price. Among the properties that went over, the sold price was on average 25% above list price. Where reported in the [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: How have the massive fires in recent years affected homeowner’s insurance locally?
How have the massive fires in recent years affected homeowner’s insurance locally? I spoke with Ruth Stroup with Farmers Insurance, who is always a great source of information about the insurance world, and asked her what changes she’s seen as a result of the tragic fires we’ve had in California over the last few years. Ruth said that the huge claims in back-to-back years from the fires have affected insurance companies’ ability to get reinsurance. (Reinsurance pays a share of the claims in the case of massive losses like with the fires, and is a critical component of the insurance [...]
I’VE MOVED!
I’VE MOVED! After 16 years with the same brokerage, I decided it was time to make a change, and I’m delighted to share that I’ve joined The Grubb Company! I chose The Grubb Company after lots of information gathering, and discussions with various brokerages. The Grubb Company was the clear choice, because of their longstanding commitment to our area (they have been in business for over 50 years), their excellent market share, their commitment to quality, the fantastic support staff, and most importantly, the caliber of the agents. The average agent at The Grubb Company does more business (measured by [...]
THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Spring 2019 wrap-up
The local real estate market looked like it was slowing towards the end of last year, but it sure has bounced back this spring! I talked in the last newsletter about the common perception that big IPOs were going to create wealth and boost the market, and that perception may have had some effect. The other significant factor has been interest rates. Rates on home loans have lately been among the lowest we’ve seen since around election time in 2016, after peaking at close to 5% in November of last year. (If you’ve been thinking about re-financing your home loan, now could be a good time!) Low rates give buyers more incentive to find something now, and more purchasing power.
In North Berkeley, there were 36 active listings in the spring (down from 47 last spring, which was higher than normal). Between March and the end of May, 25 properties sold, on average after 19 days on the market. The median sale price was $1,430,000, which is up 24% (wow!) from the slow winter season, and up 10% from last spring.
Four of the sold properties had price reductions, but 80% of the sales were for more than list price. Among the properties that went over, the sold price was on average 28% above list price.
Where reported in the MLS, the average number of offers was 6. One home, a fixer on Posen, got 15 offers, which was the highest number reported.
The average sold price per square foot in the spring was $908, which is up 15% from the winter, and up 7% from last spring. There was a big range in outcomes for price per square foot though. Of the 25 sold properties, 3 sold for less than $700 per square foot. These were all larger homes, which is the usual pattern (larger homes typically sell for less per square foot, and vice versa). The greatest concentration of sales was between $800 and $899 per square foot. On the high side, two properties sold for more than $1300 per square foot. One was my 4 bedroom listing on Lincoln Street (contrary to the usual rule about larger homes), and the other was a 2 bedroom on Delaware.
There continue to be signs that the real estate market is slowing elsewhere, but here in North Berkeley, it’s still super hot!
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Spring 2019 wrap-up
In the Berkeley hills this past quarter, there were 73 active listings, which is pretty typical for the spring season. Between March and the end of May, 45 properties sold, on average after 18 days on the market. The median sale price was $1,475,000, which is up 15% from the slow winter season, but down 3% from last spring.
Only one of the sold properties had a price reduction, and 84% of the sales were for more than list price. Among the properties that went over, the sold price was on average 25% above list price.
Where reported in the MLS, the average number of offers was 5. One property, a fixer on Poppy Lane, got 18 offers, but this property was on the market for some time. It was first listed in November, and it fell out of contract twice before it finally sold in March.
The average sold price per square foot in the spring was $767, which is down 2% from the winter, but up 6% from last spring. There was a big range in outcomes for price per square foot though. Of the 45 sold properties, 5 sold for less than $600 per square foot. These were fixers and larger homes. At the other end of the range, 6 properties sold for more than $1000 per square foot. These were all smaller homes, which is the usual pattern (smaller homes typically sell for more per square foot). The other 34 sold properties were scattered pretty evenly throughout the range in between.
Overall, even though there continue to be signs that the real estate market is slowing elsewhere, but so far locally, we’re still doing well. The local market looked like it was slowing towards the end of last year, but was not the case this spring. The common perception that big IPOs were going to create wealth and boost our real estate market seems to have had some effect. The other significant factor has been interest rates. Rates on home loans have lately been among the lowest we’ve seen since election time in 2016, after peaking at close to 5% in November of last year. Low rates give buyers more incentive to buy now, and more purchasing power. Likewise, if you are currently a homeowner, and you’ve been thinking about refinancing your home loan, now could be a good time!
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: How have the massive fires in recent years affected homeowner’s insurance locally?
How have the massive fires in recent years affected homeowner’s insurance locally?
I spoke with Ruth Stroup with Farmers Insurance, who is always a great source of information about the insurance world, and asked her what changes she’s seen as a result of the tragic fires we’ve had in California over the last few years.
Ruth said that the huge claims in back-to-back years from the fires have affected insurance companies’ ability to get reinsurance. (Reinsurance pays a share of the claims in the case of massive losses like with the fires, and is a critical component of the insurance business.) As a result, many of the big-name insurance companies are not selling new policies in high-risk locations.
Insurers use a scoring system that evaluates how much risk of loss there is in a particular location. A property is given a risk score based on characteristics like accessibility (how easily fire-fighting equipment can get to a property—Ruth said this is the biggest factor), slope, and the amount of fuel nearby.
New insurance policies are available for properties with high risk scores, but one has to go to a specialty insurer, at a much higher cost. Ruth has not seen any issues of this type for properties in the Berkeley “flats,” where the lack of slope, easier road access and fewer areas of dense vegetation lead to more favorable risk scores. This can, though, be an issue right now for homes in the Berkeley hills. (If you live in the hills, this is probably not the time to shop for a new insurance carrier!).
Ruth recommends that everyone periodically review their insurance policy, to make sure you have enough coverage. Building costs have increased substantially in recent years, so it’s important to make sure your replacement value reflects that. Ruth also suggests that everyone check the endorsements on their current insurance, to see if you have enough coverage for building code upgrades. She recommends getting building code upgrade coverage of at least 25%, due to newer ordinances that would require expensive improvements if you had to rebuild, such as interior sprinklers, greater seismic resistance and higher energy efficiency.
I live in the hills, so I asked Ruth how much it would cost to insure my house, if I were buying a new insurance policy today. My home’s risk score turned out to be on the low side for the hills (there are some wide and fairly straight roads between me and the nearest fire stations), but she still estimated that a new policy would cost me double what I am now paying. I think some of that additional cost is the current situation, and some is probably that I am underinsured in light of higher construction costs. Time to call my insurance agent!
I’VE MOVED!
I’VE MOVED!
After 16 years with the same brokerage, I decided it was time to make a change, and I’m delighted to share that I’ve joined The Grubb Company!
I chose The Grubb Company after lots of information gathering, and discussions with various brokerages. The Grubb Company was the clear choice, because of their longstanding commitment to our area (they have been in business for over 50 years), their excellent market share, their commitment to quality, the fantastic support staff, and most importantly, the caliber of the agents. The average agent at The Grubb Company does more business (measured by number of transactions or by dollar volume) than at any other brokerage in the Bay Area. My new colleagues are wonderful, and their collective knowledge is a great additional resource for me in helping my clients.
My contact information remains the same, as does my focus on the North Berkeley and Berkeley Hills markets. As always, don’t hesitate to get in touch if there’s anything I can do, whether you’re thinking of buying or selling, or just have a general question. I’m always happy to hear from you!
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