Sales prices of single family homes in one of our favorite neighborhoods--Rockridge in Oakland, CA--have seen a series of rises and falls over the past three years. From this time in 2008, median sold prices in this popular area saw a fairly percipitous fall from the mid-$900's to the mid-$700's, and back up to the mid-$900's nine months later. From a median of $780K at the beginning of 2010, they zoomed up by almost $200K to $975K, dropped back to around $800K, soared again last quarter to the $900K range, only to drop back again this quarter to a median of $818K. What an exhausting ride! Over the course of three years median sold prices are now down 16%, but we won't be surprised to see them take another swing upwards! While median sold prices ended down 6% as compared to this time last year, over the past three months median prices have been on the rise. Inventory has been relatively high, with 81 properties for sale, of which 35 sold.
Part of the erratic price behavior is based on the disparate nature of the inventory: a combination of the vintage homes that are found on both sides of College Avenue, and the large, mostly new homes in the Rockridge hills. Both types of construction fall within the 94618 zip code, and there is a broad range of prices.
We've seen an additional swing in behavior in list price vs. sold price in the homes for sale in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, CA. This past quarter sold prices(in green) fell below median list price(in red) by $44K, whereas the previous quarter sold prices were in excess of list by $47K.
Despite national and state-wide news to the contrary, our extended Berkeley area market feels quite active, with lots of new buyers hoping to take advantage of record low mortgage rates. We continue to suffer primarily from a dearth of desirable inventory. The most attractively presented, well-located homes continue to attract multiple offers. All-cash offers seem to have tapered off as one would expect with the low rates, but we still hear of one or two each week, usually in one of the multiple-offer scenarios. An all-cash offer still is tremendously attractive to a seller!
On this of all days, we celebrate the simple joys of life: heirloom tomatoes, cling peaches, blackberries, sweet corn. . . . and community. 
Visiting a farmers’ market provides the pleasures of top-quality products with the added satisfaction of talking with the vendors, hearing their stories and details about their products. The aromas and the sounds are vibrant. You feel part of a community, rather than just being an isolated shopper.
One of my favorite ways to spend time on a Sunday morning, before heading off for an open house, is to visit the Kensington Farmers Market. It’s small but has everything I usually want: great coffee from Catahoulie (I use their Butkus or Lola for espresso). There are always several great fruit and veggie options. And this past week I enjoyed speaking with two vendors in particular:
For the carnivores among us, Fifth Quarter was selling some intriguing pate, confit and other specialty charcuterie items. I took home some ground duck crepinettes, patties of duck and pork, seasoned with mustard seeds and dried figs. We grilled them and they made lovely, rich burgers.
There will be live music from Suska Varda, and as a special treat you’ll be able to get wood-fired pizza from Fist of Flour. What a gentle and yummy way to spend some time on this on Sept. 11th.
Heading to an Association breakfast meeting, I turned on the car radio to hear a national real estate market update. The reporter was commenting on the fact that the housing market recovery was going to be much slower than originally anticipated, lasting at least through next year, if not longer. The number of foreclosures nationwide is being talked about in the range of 5-6 million still on the books in the "shadow inventory" we all hear about. Foreclosures are being absorbed at a rate of about 1M per year. Could it really take five or more years for us to see a recovery? Speculation is that recovery will come sooner, as a result of foreign investment increasing, and a natural increase in the number of households requiring housing.
An interesting point was made about the fact that fewer new households are being formed now than a year ago. Speculation is that with such financial pressures, and especially with the fear that they could not sell a home if they own one, couples are less likely to split up and form new households. Adult children are less likely to leave home and start their own households under current economic restrictions. Imigration rates have also slowed.
Jobs are being created at a slower rate than expected, and unlike in previous recessions, many employers are willing to eliminate jobs even at the risk of not being able to replace them when the economy begins to recover. Unlike in previous downturns, now a very large number of positions are occupied by contract workers, without benefits.
That's the fairly grim macro picture. As I listened, I considered that some of my clients or future clients could be listening to this same story. And how do I reconcile this nation-wide picture with my current local experience? This week I spent five hours at a pre-offer inspection with a buyer, inspecting a $1 million home, so that my buyer could make the strongest possible offer in a multiple offer situation. He was already planning to write an all-cash offer, but having no inspection contingency would make the offer significantly more compelling. We were competing against three other offers. (He didn't get the house). That is the kind of pressure that buyers face here in the hot parts of the Berkeley, Rockridge and Piedmont markets right now, where multiple offers and quick sales are again the norm. It's both odd and difficult to counsel clients when our market appears to have hit bottom, picked up, and gone back to the kind of activity level that we experienced at the top of the market. Now prices are 10-20% lower than the peak, but the competition is stiff. Right here. In my neighborhoods. It's all about micro-markets!
All residents of the Berkeley, CA area are invited to bring their lifeless laptops, sick cellphones, tired TVs and moribund monitors to the Berkeley Association of REALTORS® this Thursday from 1 - 4 pm or Friday from 10 -noon and their electronics will be recycled for FREE. This is the annual Earth Day tribute I organize on behalf of the GREEN Council of the Berkeley Association of REALTORS®. Last year we filled the conference room -- help us do that again this year!
The office is conveniently located at the corner of MLK and Cedar Streets in Berkeley (1553 MLK Jr. Way for those with GPS!). Please, no major appliances. As an added bonus, all donors will receive a reusable lunch bag filled with Green Goodies and tips on saving energy. It includes a CFL, bio bag, outlet gaskets, as well as information about how to recycle CFLs. It's our way of saying Thank You for e-cycling with us on Earth Day!
Clients receive lots of care, information & custom attention. Buyers are given an introduction to our diverse neighborhoods, history, architecture & favorite restaurants/ shops! Past. Assoc. President
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