We are Rolling up Our Sleeves at Peralta Park

Berkeley Hills Realty has adopted Solano-Peralta Park. In support of our local community, Berkeley Hills has voluntarily taken on the role as Peralta Park stewards. Our responsibility includes a weekly cleanup. We are at the park every Wednesday around noon, sweeping, pruning and watering. If you are in the neighborhood (Solano Avenue @ Peralta) and want to stop by, we would love to see you.

Because of recent cuts in the city's budget, the staff caring for our local parks have been stretched thin. As a result, the city was very supportive and thankful of our efforts and even donated tools and brooms. The city also put as in touch with some key individuals who have been very responsive to our questions and have provided us with guidance along the way.

If you would like to find out how you can volunteer to care for a park near you, contact your local Park and Recreation department:

City of Berkeley
2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
TEL: (510) 981-6700, TDD: (510) 981-6903, FAX: (510) 981-6710
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Email: parks@ci.berkeley.ca.us

City of Oakland:
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Suite 3330
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 238-PARK

City of Albany:
Recreation & Community Services
1249 Marin Avenue
Albany, California 94706
Telephone: (510) 524-9283

City of El Cerrito:
7007 Moeser Lane El Cerrito, CA 94530-2392
General Line: (510) 559-7000
General Fax: (510) 528-9413

Kensington
Police Protection and Community Services District
(510) 526-4141
http://www.kensingtoncalifornia.org/parks-and-recreation

News of Government Takeovers: Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae

The Jury is out on whether long term government involvement of these formerly private institutions will benefit our home buyers. So far the market has reacted possitively.

Our hope is that the resulting lower interest rates (at least in the short term) may make this an exceptionally good time to invest again in real estate. Could we be facing a unique market where the bottom (assuming we are near the bottom) could actually coexist with reasonable interest rates?

From AP:
Investors, Industry Pleased With Govt. Takeover




Here is the California Association of Realtor's official (cautiously optimistic) stance:

In light of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury's action, C.A.R. today reaffirmed its support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their countercyclical roles.

While the short-term impact of the Treasury's actions over the weekend served to calm the markets and restore confidence, in the longer term these entities need to be able to fulfill their historic mission. A privatized Fannie and Freddie will short-circuit the countercyclical role the GSEs have played during precarious times in real estate markets.

Without an institutionalized mortgage-backed securities market, mortgage capital eventually will be less predictable and more expensive, and adjustable-rate mortgages could become the standard loan for home buyers, as could higher down payment requirements. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage as we know it will no longer be readily available for most home buyers and may effectively disappear. The result could be a dramatic decline in homeownership rates in California and across the nation.

C.A.R. is concerned that the Treasury, and Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's new CEOs, will overreact and change the mission and role of the GSEs. Wall Street and investors are understandably reluctant to buy mortgage backed securities (MBS) that are not either originated from or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie.

The GSEs hold or have securitized nearly half -- roughly $5 trillion -- of all mortgages in the U.S., and in the current environment with private lender constraints, they account for the vast majority of all new mortgages in California.

We have just recently begun to see an increase in home sales, currently at nearly 490,000 units on an annualized basis, up from 284,000 in the fourth quarter of last year. The most significant, reliable source of home loans in California today are financed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. California's and the nation's housing markets simply cannot withstand the financial rug being pulled out from beneath them. Additionally, the repercussions this could have on the already weak economy could be devastating.

Berkeley Homes Sold Prices for August 2008

The East Bay real estate market remains strong, as evidenced by the recorded sales in Berkeley for the month of August. Note that the statistics for Map Area 8 are skewed by one anomoly. Most areas averaged less than thirty days on the market and many sold for more the the asking price. We captured Berkeley to give a snapshot indication of the market for the month of August. Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington statistics are also available upon request.

Address	Original Price	Sold Price	%	DOM
Berkeley Map Area 1
2206 ROSE ST	$695,000	$695,000	100%	16
1185 GLEN AVE	$1,549,000	$1,180,000	76%	32
644 CRAGMONT AVE	$1,495,000	$1,400,000	94%	40
699 HILLDALE AVE	$735,000	$810,000	110%	18
954 GRIZZLY PEAK BLVD	$975,000	$950,000	97%	29
996 CRAGMONT AVE	$789,000	$785,000	99%	30
1175 OXFORD ST	$899,000	$910,000	101%	19
1291 GRIZZLY PEAK BLVD	$699,000	$801,000	115%	19
28 SENIOR AVENUE	$890,000	$890,000	100%	15
774 NEILSON ST	$599,000	$535,000	89%	14
2707 ROSE ST	$599,000	$725,000	121%	18
145 FOREST LN	$990,000	$981,300	99%	11
590 CRAGMONT AVE	$995,000	$900,000	90%	24
798 WILDCAT CANYON RD	$935,000	$925,000	99%	13
2652 SHASTA RD	$1,150,000	$1,020,000	89%	0
355 ARLINGTON AVE	$879,000	$920,000	105%	12
Totals	$14,873,000	$14,427,300	97%	19
Berkeley Map Area 2
1357 Northside Avenue	$620,000	$599,000	97%	68
806 CONTRA COSTA AVE	$849,000	$833,700	98%	28
1064 MONTEREY AVE	$789,000	$703,000	89%	40
1703 VINE ST	$699,000	$758,000	108%	17
1921 CAPISTRANO AVE	$1,050,000	$1,175,000	112%	13
1347 CURTIS ST	$729,000	$719,000	99%	29
Totals	$4,736,000	$4,787,700	101%	33
Berkeley Map Area 3
1301 MILVIA ST	$698,000	$764,300	109%	24
1511 ROSE ST	$650,000	$620,000	95%	66
1844 VINE ST	$799,000	$785,000	98%	10
Totals	$2,147,000	$2,169,300	101%	33
Berkeley Map Area 4
1219 EVELYN AVE	$394,900	$363,900	92%	7
1140 CEDAR ST	$749,000	$810,000	108%	16
Totals	$1,143,900	$1,173,900	103%	12
Berkeley Map Area 6
2210 7TH ST	$679,000	$620,000	91%	58
941 BANCROFT WAY	$514,900	$477,500	93%	20
Totals	$1,193,900	$1,097,500	92%	39
Berkeley Map Area 7
1531 OREGON ST	$399,000	$350,000	88%	79
2928 Otis	$529,900	$565,000	107%	10
2430 BONAR ST	$619,000	$624,000	101%	12
2302 CALIFORNIA ST	$539,000	$591,000	110%	16
1324 TALBOT AVE	$375,000	$415,000	111%	9
Totals	$2,461,900	$2,545,000	103%	25
Berkeley Map Area 8
1708 OREGON ST	$649,500	$515,000	79%	305
1402 DWIGHT WAY	$549,000	$554,000	101%	10
3020 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WAY	$439,900	$439,900	100%	0
1525 PARKER ST	$595,000	$588,000	99%	0
Totals	$2,233,400	$2,096,900	94%	79
Berkeley Map Area 10
2925 ASHBY AVE	$850,000	$790,000	93%	48
2436 STUART ST	$529,000	$555,000	105%	20
365 PANORAMIC WAY	$929,000	$949,000	102%	13
2805 PARKER ST	$750,000	$760,000	101%	10
76 PLAZA DR	$1,195,000	$1,285,000	108%	12
Totals	$4,253,000	$4,339,000	102%	21