Nov

13

Hello Berkeley: Are sellers giving up?

Posted In: For Sellers, Local Market Statistics

  Today is Thursday. Each Thursday, fellow agents and I shuffle into our cars and drive around Berkeley, Kensington, Albany, El Cerrito, Emeryville and Oakland to check out all of the new listings. Today we saw 9 houses. That is down by 50%. To entice agents to view a house, most will provide food and tasty treats; one house offered [...]

Nov

12

Mountain House, the highest underwater town

Posted In: Foreclosures & Short Sales, Local Market Statistics

Highest underwater town? Huh? Mountain House, California. Mountain House is located about 60 miles east of San Francisco. It is a master planned community designed to promote community, family and lifestyle. But there is something of real interest here: despite being 59 feet above sea level, most of the community is underwater. It is here where the average homeowner is [...]

Oct

13

Homes Sold Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito Aug 04-Aug 08

Posted In: Local Market Statistics, Neighborhoods

Home sales in the East Bay and Bay Area, including Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito and surrounding areas have seen a dramatic decline over the past four years. However, since February of this year, sales have begun to gradually increase. Those areas hit hardest by foreclosures are the same areas seeing the largest increase in sales. Currently median home values are [...]

Oct

10

Alameda County Area Statistics, including Berkeley & Oakland

Posted In: Local Market Statistics, Neighborhoods

Here are the area statistics for Alameda County for August 2008. Note that the median price/square foot is down across the board from the same time last year.

Aug

13

Woah, Nelly. That is some growth.

Posted In: Economy, El Cerrito, Local Market Statistics, Neighborhoods

Hold on, everyone. The headline in the paper this morning says “East Bay population continues to grow.” 2.5 million. Yessiree, 2.5 million peeps living in the good ol’ East Bay. 2007: 22,805 new people joined our culturally rich, food-savvy, have-you-changed-out-your-flourescent-lightbulbs-yet community. That is enough people to fill the city of El Cerrito alone. This is an increase of 0.93% from [...]

Feb

13

Foreclosure, any options?

Posted In: For Sellers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Local Market Statistics

The big “F” word, foreclosure. This word is becoming a part of many consumer’s realities. But for many homeowners, they just don’t understand what it really means. And most are generally unaware that they have options. Check this out: Foreclosure and Default Data, Alameda County: January 2007-August 2007 Alameda: 16 foreclosures, 57 defaults Albany: 6 foreclosures, 17 defaults Berkeley: 33 [...]

Mar

08

The East Bay market- it’s on fire!!

Posted In: Berkeley, El Cerrito, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Listings, Local Market Statistics, Oakland

It’s hot, hot, hot! Despite what the media has portrayed over the past 6 months, our market still has its game. Last week a 2 bedroom/1 bath home in El Cerrito had 8 offers. Two weeks ago a condo in North Oakland had 5 offers. This week a 2 bedroom/1 bath home in the Berkeley Hills had 16 offers. Next [...]

Feb

27

Ode to February

Posted In: Good ol' Fashion Humor, Local Market Statistics, Mortgage & Finance

Goodbye February, Hello Mayor! 1. Unbelievable. Did you know that some 14 percent of all Americans have more than 10 credit cards? This according to a recent study conducted by Experian Consumer Direct, a leading provider of online direct-to-consumer credit reports, scores and monitoring products. When will all of this crash the economy? 2. Phew! Mortgage rates eased back down [...]

Jan

05

Where will the market go in 2007?

Posted In: Economy, Local Market Statistics

This just in…California, on average, will post a decline in appreciation. It was bound to happen: what goes up, must come down. But just how far down are we talking? It depends on who you ask. The California Association of Realtors believe the median home price in California will decline 2% to $550,000 in 2007 compared with $561,000 for 2006; [...]

Oct

24

Mr. Bubble is for the tubs: 2007 Market Forecast

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Local Market Statistics

Hmmmm…so the results are in. The median home PRICE in California is expected to drip, er, drop 2% in 2007 while home sales will drop 7% compared to 2006. But what about us here in the Bay Area? Chris Thornberg, an economist with Bay Area-based Beacon Economics claims “The market is flat and the bubble has popped.” Ouch, that is [...]