Summer 2019

Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond

  • Deep Market Knowledge
  • Analytical, Strategic, Creative
  • Honest, Adept, Direct

“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

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, Summer 2019 wrap-up

After a super hot spring 2019, the North Berkeley market settled down somewhat over the summer.  Most properties still sold fast and for great prices, but there were a few that took somewhat longer to sell, and average days on the market overall was up a bit to 19 days.  Interest rates though are still fantastic — if you’ve been thinking about doing a refinance, now is a great time to call your favorite loan person! There were not a lot of active listings in North Berkeley over the summer (only 23), and correspondingly not a lot of sales (only [...]

By |September 25th, 2019|Data, Housing Market, North Berkeley, Real Estate Trends|

THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Summer 2019 wrap-up

The market over the summer in the Berkeley hills was quite good.  We all know that prices are determined by supply and demand, and both were in our favor.  The supply of homes on the market was relatively low.  There were 40 sales and 42 active listings in the Berkeley hills over the summer.  The number of active listings was substantially lower than the 73 active listings in the spring, and the 68 active listings last summer. At the same time, demand was strong, helped in part by low interest rates, which are back under 4% in many cases. [If [...]

By |September 25th, 2019|Berkeley Hills, Data, Housing Market, Real Estate Trends|

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on market for a while?

Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on the market for a while? In most parts of the country, properties come on the market, and if they don’t sell after a period of time, motivated sellers will reduce the list price to attract buyers.  Around here, if a property is not getting the interest the seller hoped for, sometimes the seller will reduce the list price, but other times the list price will increase.  What’s going on? The answer lies in the strategy that was followed in choosing the original list price.  In other areas, the [...]

By |September 25th, 2019|General Interest, Housing Market, Sellers|

Emergency Alerts

EMERGENCY ALERTS Have you signed up yet for Alameda County emergency alerts?  The system is called AC Alert, and it’s very easy to sign up to receive notifications from city and county agencies in the case of an emergency.  Just go to ACalert.org online, and you can sign up to receive notifications by voice message, text message and/or email. The City of Berkeley previously used an alert system called BENS, but this system is no longer active, and subscribers to BENS are not automatically signed up for AC Alert. There are other alert systems that have slightly different focuses.  I [...]

By |September 25th, 2019|Berkeley, General Interest, Resources|

THE OUTLOOK: North Berkeley, Summer 2019 wrap-up

After a super hot spring 2019, the North Berkeley market settled down somewhat over the summer.  Most properties still sold fast and for great prices, but there were a few that took somewhat longer to sell, and average days on the market overall was up a bit to 19 days.  Interest rates though are still fantastic — if you’ve been thinking about doing a refinance, now is a great time to call your favorite loan person!

There were not a lot of active listings in North Berkeley over the summer (only 23), and correspondingly not a lot of sales (only 22, compared to 29 last summer).  A relatively high percentage of the sales were condos: 5 of 22 sales, or 23%.  Compare this to the spring, when 12% of the sales were condos, and last summer, when it was 14%.  The average size of the properties sold was smaller this summer too — only 1565 square feet, compared to over 1800 square feet in both the spring and last summer.

Given that there were more condos and smaller properties sold, it’s not surprising that the median sale price for North Berkeley was lower, at  $1,290,000.  This is down 10% from the crazy spring season, and down 8% from summer 2018.

The good news is that the average sold price per square foot was higher over the summer, at $936.  This is up 3% from the spring, and up 9% from last summer.  The increase in price per square foot tells us that the reduction in the median price is more about the type and size of the properties that sold, rather than a major shift in the market.

Only two of the sold properties had price reductions, and 86% of the sales were for more than list price.  Just as in the spring, the average amount over for the properties that sold above list price was 28%.

The average number of offers (where reported in the MLS) was 4, down from 6 in the spring, but still plenty to get great results.  We are very lucky to live in such a desirable location, both for our own enjoyment, and because there are so many buyers who want to live here too. The market can calm down a bit, and we’re still doing well.

THE OUTLOOK: Berkeley Hills, Summer 2019 wrap-up

The market over the summer in the Berkeley hills was quite good.  We all know that prices are determined by supply and demand, and both were in our favor.  The supply of homes on the market was relatively low.  There were 40 sales and 42 active listings in the Berkeley hills over the summer.  The number of active listings was substantially lower than the 73 active listings in the spring, and the 68 active listings last summer.

At the same time, demand was strong, helped in part by low interest rates, which are back under 4% in many cases. [If you’ve been thinking about doing a refinance, now is a great time to call your favorite loan person!]

Put together the strong demand and the limited supply of homes for sale, and we got a summer where properties sold quickly (in an average of 16 days on the market), and for good prices.

The median sale price for the Berkeley hills from June through August was $1,567,775.  This is up 8% from the spring season, and up 14% from last summer.

The average sold price per square foot was $770, which is down very slightly from the spring (when it was $772), but up 8% from Summer 2018.

Three of the properties that sold over the summer had price reductions, and one property had a list price increase (see below for a discussion of list price increases). A majority — 88% — of the sales were for more than list price.  For the properties that sold above list, the average was 22% over.

Where reported in the MLS, the average number of offers was 4.  The highest number of offers received (19) was for a very funky fixer on San Luis Road with amazing Bay views.  It needed a lot of work, but it was a great project, so it’s not surprising that it attracted so much interest.

Beyond the hills, there are signs out there that the market may be slowing down, which will make strategic pricing and great preparation increasingly important. We are very lucky though to live in such a desirable location, both for our own enjoyment, and because there are so many buyers who want to live here.  Even if the market calms down a bit, we’ll still do well!

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on market for a while?

Why do list prices sometimes increase after a property has been on the market for a while?

In most parts of the country, properties come on the market, and if they don’t sell after a period of time, motivated sellers will reduce the list price to attract buyers.  Around here, if a property is not getting the interest the seller hoped for, sometimes the seller will reduce the list price, but other times the list price will increase.  What’s going on?

The answer lies in the strategy that was followed in choosing the original list price.  In other areas, the typical strategy is to choose a list price around market value, or sometimes a little above market value “to leave room to negotiate.”  If the property doesn’t sell after a certain period of time, that’s a signal that the list price is too high, so the right response is to reduce the price.

Around here, things are more complicated because there are different strategies for choosing the list price.  Some properties follow the strategy I just described, going with a list price at market value.  This strategy makes sense for properties where we don’t necessarily expect there to be multiple offers, perhaps because the price point is high, or there’s something specific about the property that the right buyer would find appealing, but that wouldn’t work for everyone.  For properties where the list price is around market value, the correct response if they don’t sell in a reasonable amount of time is a price reduction.  (Note that “a reasonable amount of time” in this case might be somewhat longer than the two-week marketing period we often see in Berkeley, because with this strategy, you’re waiting for the one right buyer to come along.)

The other strategy, which is of course the most common one in Berkeley, is to choose a list price that is below market value, to attract multiple offers and competitive bidding on a specified offer date.   What if a seller chooses a low list price, but doesn’t get any offers on the offer date, or gets just one offer at the low list price?   In this case, one reasonable response is to increase the list price.  After the offer date passes, the likelihood of getting multiple competing offers is quite low.  Sellers in this case can switch to the other list price strategy, and increase the list price to market value.  Note that there probably is some information in the fact that the property didn’t get multiple offers, and that information should be taken into account in choosing the new price.

The right list price strategy for a particular property depends on the characteristics of the property itself, and how the market is doing.  Choosing the right list price is key.  The houses that are priced correctly from the start are the ones that sell quickly and for the most money.

Emergency Alerts

EMERGENCY ALERTS

Have you signed up yet for Alameda County emergency alerts?  The system is called AC Alert, and it’s very easy to sign up to receive notifications from city and county agencies in the case of an emergency.  Just go to ACalert.org online, and you can sign up to receive notifications by voice message, text message and/or email.

The City of Berkeley previously used an alert system called BENS, but this system is no longer active, and subscribers to BENS are not automatically signed up for AC Alert.

There are other alert systems that have slightly different focuses.  I signed up a while ago for Nixle (used by the Berkeley Police Department), and have received a variety of messages about things like missing persons, road closures, and crime alerts.  To sign up for text message alerts from Nixle, you just text your zip code to 888777.  You can also get email alerts from them by signing up at nixle.com.  UC Berkeley also has an alert system, called WarnMe.

Even if you are signed up for Nixle or WarnMe, though, the City of Berkeley says that you should also sign up for AC Alert, which is the City’s primary emergency notification system.

By |September 25th, 2019|Categories: Berkeley, General Interest, Resources|Tags: , , |

Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond

  • Deep Market Knowledge
  • Analytical, Strategic, Creative
  • Honest, Adept, Direct

“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

Marilyn Garcia, PhD Broker Associate, Realtor® CA DRE LICENSE #01355514

The Grubb Company 1656 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Direct: (510) 390-5406

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