Berkeley Real Estate Market - April 2006

From writing about the East Bay Real Estate Market over the last several months, one thing that’s become apparent in month after month is that Berkeley’s numbers either show a market very close to the peak, or that they simply defy any kind of gravity whatsoever.

April’s numbers for Berkeley are no exception to this rule. For example, unit volume is up this April, from sixty-one sold units last April to sixty-four this April. That’s not a huge increase, to be sure, but in every other market we look at from Fremont to Pollock Pines the numbers are typically down. Days on market, which are also “supposed to be” increasing as we move more and more into a buyer’s market, are down as well. Last year the average home sold after 21 days on market; this year that figure has been shaved down to 19 days. Moreover, inventory is a flimsy 1.5 months, compared to three months, seven months, and more in other markets.

On the other hand, appreciation has been quite moderate in Berkeley. This year’s median home sale price of $762,500 is up only 1.6% from last year’s figure of $750,000. The appreciation figure for sold price per square foot shows an even more modest increase of .4% — but at a sold price per square foot this year of $527 it’s pretty easy to see why!

This April the average home listed for $797,082 and sold for $833,156, 4.5% over list. That may seem like a lot until you compere it to April of 2005, when homes in Berkeley sold for an incredible 17.6% more than they listed for!

Site Changes

I’ve just finished a minor site redesign — I hope everyone likes it. I had the search page right on the front page for awhile, but as much as that seemed like a great idea when I did it, I didn’t notice that it improved the search volume that much. So I switched out the home page to be a more traditional “Welcome” sort of a page, and moved the search to a secondary tab.

Of course, with about four links on the home page into the search and two links from anywhere else, you should have no trouble finding it. But just in case. SEARCH HERE. There, hopefully that’s subtle enough.

Oakland Market Update - April 2006

April’s sales figures for Oakland California residential real estate were down somewhat from last year’s numbers, but still have many indications of a strong market.

283 residential units sold in April, down 30.7% from the figure of 370 residential units a year ago. Appreciation was 10.5% from year to year on a median price basis, but on a sold price per square foot basis the appreciation was a more modest 3.7%. Days on market are up, but not alarmingly so. Last April the average sold home spent 22 days on the market, while this year the average was 26 days.

Moreover, homes are still selling above listing price. Last year’s average sale price was 8.6% over the asking price, while this year the average home sold for 3.1%.

Inventory is currently at 3.6 months.