It’s time as usual to look at the previous year’s results for our local real estate market, and also talk about the results for the winter season just ended.

2021 started off with a bang. A big upswing in buyer interest led to major competition between buyers, which led to big price increases. The craziness moderated somewhat later in the year as interest rates started increasing and more homes came on the market for sale, but values stayed at the new higher levels.

In 2021, there were more properties on the market in both North Berkeley (127 active listings) and in the Berkeley hills (272 active listings) than we’ve seen for years, but it was still not enough inventory for all the interested buyers.

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NORTH BERKELEY

115 North Berkeley properties sold over the year, and 79% of the sales were for more than list price. List prices have not increased as much as values have, so all last year (and continuing now) we saw even more serious overbidding than is typical for this area. For the properties that sold over list price, the average was 30% over, but more than 50% above list was not uncommon.  Some Berkeley properties sold as high as double the list price.

The median sold price for 2021 in North Berkeley was $1,650,000, which was an increase of 22% over 2020.  Sold price per square foot, at $984 per square foot, was 11% higher than the previous year.

The winter season just ended (December 2021 through the end of February 2022) was very similar to the start of last year, with intense buyer interest. Inventory was back to its usual low level (there were only 18 active listings, and 17 sales for the 3 months), but buyers again seemed extra motivated and there were some epic bidding wars.

The median sold price for the winter season was $1,550,000.  This figure is lower than for 2021 because more small properties sold, but it is 30% higher than last winter. The average sold price per square foot from December to February was a whopping $1091, which is up 10% from the fall, and up 29% compared to last winter.

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BERKELEY HILLS

234 properties sold in the hills during 2021. 52% of them sold above list price, by 25% over on average, but again, far far greater overbids (by $1 million or more) were also happening.

The median sold price in 2021 for the Berkeley hills was $1,700,000, which was an increase of 13% over 2020.  Average sold price per square foot, at $861 per square foot, was 12% higher than the previous year.

For this past winter season (December 2021 through the end of February 2022), inventory was low (there were 44 active listings, and 38 sales for the 3 months), but buyer interest was intense.  The median sold price for the winter season was $1,925,000, which is 24% higher than last winter.  The average sold price per square foot was $899, which is up 11% from the fall, and up 12% compared to last winter.

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So far spring, 2022 is looking like more of the same. Inventory is picking up somewhat, but the prospect of higher interest rates to come (because of higher inflation) is keeping buyers motivated and the competition for available properties very high.