Rockridge has been one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in the East Bay of the San Francisco, CA area for many years. A decade ago I remember speaking with clients about how expensive it was relative to other parts of Oakland especially. "Those prices can't keep going up," said I with confidence. I have lived to eat those words! For all the reasons I discussed in my earlier post about Rockridge, this is a neighborhood which continues to increase in demand as more people become more conscious about desirability of an urban lifestyle. Living in proximity to College Avenue in this neighborhood of Oakland, CA allows people to abandon their cars most days, as public transit is accessible, and shops, restaurants and all manner of amenities are close at hand. You can read more about the Rockridge neighborhood in my earlier post.

The result is a real estate market that has remained remarkably steady for the past two years, after seeing some decline in values from the high of 2007. The graph of listing and sold prices in the Rockridge zipcode of Oakland is a compelling picture:

Days on the market tends to be right around one month for the sold properties, though DOM dipped to 16 during the month of April. April was also the first month where the number of sold units reach double digits this year, reaching 15 sales, up from seven in March and only four in February. With such small samples sizes, putting too much faith in the statistics is risky. What is clear, however, is that this is a neighorhood where demand is high, and buyers are willing to pay for the priviledge of being close to amenities. In roughly half of the months over the past two years, median sales price exceeded median list price, and in some cases by a substantial margin.

Buyers are especially willing to pay high prices for tastefully upgraded kitchens and baths in their Rockridge bungalows (read more about that in my previous post). Last year posted several cases of bungalows selling for more than $650/sq. ft. and in one case more than $700 sq. ft. The norm is more in the $450-550/sq. ft. for the area.

As more and more people try to reduce their carbon footprints, homes near to amenities, and especially close to public transportation, should only increase in demand. And it doesn't hurt if those amenities are especially fashionable shops, highly rated restaurants, and even the chicest places for groceries and sundries. Rockridge has all that and more!