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, Q2 2026 results
THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Real Estate Market Update, Q2 (April - June) 2026 Strong Buyer Competition Returns to Berkeley The Berkeley real estate market has felt much more competitive this spring, with noticeably more bidding for desirable homes than we've seen recently. The number of active listings was unchanged in North Berkeley and up in the Hills, but buyers have been much more aggressive. One reason may be expectations that major AI companies, including OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude), will go public later this year. Whether or not those IPOs happen on schedule, buyer demand has clearly strengthened, as many buyers [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: When’s the best time of year to sell a Berkeley property?
When's the best time of year to sell a Berkeley property? The honest answer: it depends on the property and the year. But here are the patterns that matter. The slowest period is reliably mid-December through mid-January. Holidays, travel, and school breaks mean buyers simply aren't focused on real estate. For sellers, this is the time to avoid. After mid-January, buyer activity and new listings both climb steadily through spring, typically peaking in April or May. By June, school's out and summer travel begins, softening the market through mid-August. Activity rebounds in the latter part of August through September and [...]
MESH MATTERS
Mesh Matters One useful home hardening step most homeowners can take is also one of the simpler ones: covering vents, gutters, and the open space under decks with ember-resistant metal mesh. Metal mesh and gutter guards help keep embers from entering and igniting your home — a common way homes catch fire, often well before any fire front arrives. This matters for safety, and increasingly for insurability, as insurers look more closely at home hardening when assessing risk. It's increasingly relevant for resale too, since buyers are paying closer attention to insurability and fire mitigation when evaluating a home. If [...]
COMPLETED SALES, North Berkeley, 2nd Quarter 2026
Click HERE to see details and photos of properties SOLD in North Berkeley, 4/1/2026-6/30/2026. 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 2026
Click HERE to see details and photos of properties SOLD in the Berkeley Hills, 4/1/2026 - 6/30/2026. 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.