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An autumn market update for Berkeley, CA

By
Real Estate Agent with Red Oak Realty

Since August there's been a tangible sense that the market was getting stronger, and not just in the immediate Berkeley area. Buyers who had the financial means to buy decided, finally, to get off the fence. Properties that had been sitting for some time went into contract as a result. We also began to see significantly more all-cash sales, and in higher price ranges. Two of the properties for which I had buyers recently had competition from all-cash buyers at the $1.0 - 1.4M range.

So far this year only one of my buyers has been fortunate enough to get their desired property without competition. For most buyers we're still writing three or four offers before getting into contract, and those are also the number of offers we usually face as competition. Whereas before three offers could take a property more than $100K over list, within the past month we saw cash offers being accepted at or just over list, trumping offers at substantially higher prices, but with greater risk.

 Other key features of our East Bay market: inventory has been low all year, about half of "normal." This year in Berkeley, the number of properties sold per month went from a low of 15 in January, to a high of 53 in April. Each sale represents an opportunity for two agents to be involved in a transaction. Through October, there have been a total of 345 sales this year, representing 690 sides, providing roughly one transaction per member of the Berkeley Association of REALTORS®!

  We've seen few distressed properties so far, but expect to see more by the middle of next year. Properties stay on the market about a month on average, significantly less time than in other markets.

Here are the numbers for BERKELEY for the month of October, 2009:

Median Sales Price: $695K

Median List Price : $715K

#homes for sale: 157 #homes sold: 36   Avg.Days on market: 24

 That's my snapshot of our current diverse market behavior in Berkeley, CA. I'm going to ask Santa for some more houses to list!

Posted by

Arlene Baxter, CRS, Green

Red Oak Realty -- "Seriously Local"

Berkeley Office, 1891 Solano Avenue

Cell: 510.717.1799  GreenBungalows.info   DRE#01209552

Comments (3)

Charles Stallions
Charles Stallions Real Estate Services - Pensacola, FL
850-476-4494 - Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Fl.

Looks like low numbers, are they? Of course not knowing the market this may be typical. Good luck and happy selling. Is the the $8000 credit helping you.

Nov 20, 2009 11:22 AM
Arlene Baxter
Red Oak Realty - Berkeley, CA
Listing/Buying agent, Historic to Green, 2012 REALTOR of the Year, Berkeley Association Berkeley CA & environs

Charles,

You're correct that they're low. That's been our frustration all year -- just not enough inventory, especially not in good areas, and not the spacious "family" home that everyone looks for.

The tax credit really has not helped us much, since so many first-time buyers are priced out in our area. I'll be very curious to see if the new credit that applies to existing home owners will impact us. It will be especially interesting to see how it impacts pricing for homes right around the $800K point.

Cheers, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 20, 2009 06:20 PM
Anonymous
@ berkhills
Thanks Arlene, I love seeing statistics and personal anecdotes that put the figures in perspective.
Nov 21, 2009 07:20 AM
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