Thursday, July 31, 2008

Berkeley Home Sold Prices for July of 2008

The East Bay real estate market remains strong, as evidenced by the recorded sales in Berkeley for the month of July. Many homes have still sold for more than the asking price. We captured Berkeley to give a snapshot indication of the market for the month of July. Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington statistics are also available upon request.

Address Original Price Sold Price % DOM





Berkeley Map Area 1



2371 EUNICE ST $1,245,000 $999,500 80% 108
780 Spruce $1,125,000 $940,000 84% 87
2471 CEDAR ST $999,500 $1,000,000 100% 74
1501 OLYMPUS AVE $648,000 $618,000 95% 34
2 QUAIL AVE $940,000 $890,000 95% 35
34 FLORIDA AVE $1,195,000 $1,195,000 100% 15
14 QUAIL AVE $635,000 $650,000 102% 14
763 CRAGMONT AVE $985,000 $1,050,000 107% 12
1542 LE ROY AVE $1,795,000 $1,702,240 95% 13
2 GREENWOOD CMN $1,079,000 $1,260,000 117% 22
192 FAIRLAWN DR $489,000 $512,000 105% 14
1946 MARIN AVE $799,000 $750,000 94% 21
Totals $11,934,500 $11,566,740 97% 37





Berkeley Map Area 2



1178 COLUSA AVE $850,000 $777,000 91% 65
532 Vincente Avenue $1,080,000 $970,000 90% 36
740 ENSENADA AVE $599,000 $600,000 100% 15
641 NEILSON ST $760,000 $744,050 98% 12
1950 Vine St $550,000 $560,814 102% 19
1793 SAN LORENZO AVE $839,000 $860,000 103% 27
1821 HOPKINS ST $1,060,000 $1,030,000 97% 17
1972 YOSEMITE RD $1,295,000 $1,250,000 97% 39
560 COLUSA AVE $769,000 $750,000 98% 18
1531 THOUSAND OAKS BLVD $679,000 $699,000 103% 12
551 NEILSON ST $795,000 $875,000 110% 9
1727 CAPISTRANO AVE $798,000 $882,000 111% 13
Totals $10,074,000 $9,997,864 99% 24





Berkeley Map Area 3



1607 Martin Luther King Jr Wy $1,290,000 $1,035,000 80% 93
1538 Martin Luther King Jr Wy $875,000 $820,000 94% 51
1306 MILVIA ST $1,195,000 $1,350,000 113% 13
1740 MCGEE AVE $579,000 $665,000 115% 11
1332 CARLOTTA AVE $850,000 $1,111,000 131% 16
1410 CYPRESS ST $699,000 $650,000 93% 8
1510 JOSEPHINE ST $995,000 $1,230,000 124% 14
Totals $6,483,000 $6,861,000 106% 29





Berkeley Map Area 4



1421 HEARST ST $599,000 $550,000 92% 6
1377 FRANCISCO ST $550,000 $600,000 109% 15
1607 BELVEDERE AVE $579,000 $615,000 106% 14
1488 KEONCREST DR $719,500 $793,000 110% 11
Totals $2,447,500 $2,558,000 105% 12





Berkeley Map Area 5



1429 HARMON ST $534,900 $426,000 80% 270
2512 RUSSELL ST $975,000 $1,244,000 128% 13
1532 7TH ST $499,000 $575,000 115% 15
Totals $2,008,900 $2,245,000 112% 99





Berkeley Map Area 6



1716 7TH ST $474,900 $449,900 95% 15
Totals $474,900 $449,900 95% 15





Berkeley Map Area 7



1521 PARKER ST $539,000 $575,000 107% 21
2350 WEST ST $515,000 $515,000 100% 0
Totals $1,054,000 $1,090,000 103% 11





Berkeley Map Area 8



3034 HARPER ST $389,000 $401,000 103% 16
2901 KING ST $295,000 $305,000 103% 16
2604 MATHEWS ST $795,000 $855,000 108% 14
2641 MATHEWS ST $499,000 $490,000 98% 30
2754 MATHEWS ST $519,000 $535,000 103% 14
1314 67TH ST $449,000 $475,000 106% 15
Totals $2,946,000 $3,061,000 104% 18





Berkeley Map Area 9



2111 WOOLSEY ST $579,000 $540,000 93% 53
2509 WOOLSEY ST $975,000 $961,435 99% 13
Totals $1,554,000 $1,501,435 97% 33





Berkeley Map Area 10



67 EL CAMINO REAL $849,000 $810,833 96% 23
3020 BATEMAN ST $799,000 $825,000 103% 15
3300 CLAREMONT AVE $975,000 $975,000 100% 14
49 EVERGREEN LN $1,545,000 $1,565,000 101% 7
46 ROANOKE RD $711,000 $699,000 98% 8
19 ALVARADO RD $1,595,000 $1,806,000 113% 19
Totals $6,474,000 $6,680,833 103% 14

Friday, July 18, 2008

Places Worth Caring About

The original noble purpose of this blog was to explore new ways to encourage and cultivate good citizenship in our communities. A new era is upon us. Fuel prices are increasing and fringe topics such as "New Urbanism" and "Living Locally" are gaining mainstream popularity. Suddenly it seems that community just might be what saves our planet and the human race. We knew it was a noble cause.

The East Bay is unique. There are no big box stores in Berkeley. For years I have heard its citizens proudly differentiate themselves from suburbia. Our urban centers have neighborhood or street names like Rockridge and Piedmont Avenue. It hasn't always been clear why this is better...until recent social studies sought to duplicate and distill its charms.

From the Charter of the New Urbanism:
We advocate the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the following principles: neighborhoods should be diverse in use and population; communities should be designed for the pedestrian and transit as well as the car; cities and towns should be shaped by physically defined and universally accessible public spaces and community institutions; urban places should be framed by architecture and landscape design that celebrate local history, climate, ecology, and building practice.
To get a sense of the places we have created as a nation-- and the places we need to build and care about in the future, watch the following James Howard Kunstler discussion titled, The Tragedy of Suburbia. Please note that the F-word is used in his speech. Do not watch if you would find this offensive. The video takes approximately twenty minutes. If you want to skip any offensive language and get to the heart of the matter, the last four minutes are worthwhile.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Bargain Hunting For Homes Can Be Misleading

Many buyers looking for foreclosure deals are finding Internet research tools misleading.

From an Inman News article posted on July 7, titled When Prices are Too Good to be True, by Matt Carter:

"A constant stream of headlines about rising foreclosures and falling home prices in many U.S. markets might lead bargain hunters to believe that there are some incredible deals to be had out there....

Is the housing downturn so bad that you can now swoop in and buy a house in Hermosa Beach, Calif., for less than $100,000? A search for foreclosure properties on Trulia -- which puts the average sale price of a home in the coastal city at $1.67 million -- might lead you to believe that the answer is yes.

The problem is that most, if not all, of these properties aren't officially on the market. They are "pre-foreclosures," meaning that their owners have defaulted on a loan, prompting a lender to begin the foreclosure process."

"Pre-forclosure" lilstings do not only artificially inflate the numbers of available listings for a particular area...
"The reality is that the majority of homes that start the foreclosure process never complete it. The borrowers refinance, catch up on their payments, or do something else to avoid foreclosure." - Brad Geisen, the founder and chief executive officer of Foreclosure.com
...they also grossly misrepresent the prices.

"They may represent the amount outstanding on the loan that's in default -- sometimes a relatively small second loan -- or the amount that the borrower is in arrears. Real estate agents, investors and sophisticated buyers will know that it's impossible to buy a house in Hermosa Beach for $4,712. But first-time home buyers may miss the fine print on sites like Yahoo and Trulia that explains that this is not the home's listing price -- and that the property may not even be for sale." - Matt Carter, Inman News

"If you are looking for the best deal... contact a Realtor!"

Doug Birnbaum, a Realtor with Veranda Homes in Costa Mesa, Calif., said he recently fielded a call from a client who saw what she believed was a listing for a four-bedroom house for $100,000.

"In Costa Mesa, there's not going to be a four-bedroom for less than $350,000," he said. The $100,000 figure "could have been the second mortgage in default, "Birnbaum said, but "the Web site was so misleading I never actually figured out where the property was -- there was no address, just an intersection."

That experience led Birnbaum to post a warning on Trulia Voices, titled: "RealtyTrac, are the prices too good to be true?"

"It appears that ReatlyTrac is posting homes on Trulia for shockingly low prices, "Birnbaum wrote. "Now what these prices actually reflect is the dollar amount of one of the liens on the home. This in no way reflects ... the true value of the home. If you are looking for the best deals in this red hot market, contact a Realtor!"

Friday, July 4, 2008

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Berkeley Home Sold Prices for June of 2008

The East Bay real estate market remains strong, as evidenced by the recorded sales in Berkeley for the month of June. All 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 June. Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington statistics are also available upon request.

Address Original Price Sold Price % DOM





Berkeley Map Area 1



2577 ROSE ST $1,000,000 $885,000 89% 104
769 SPRUCE ST $1,245,000 $1,400,000 112% 66
1406 QUEENS RD $729,900 $655,000 90% 37
1036 MARIPOSA AVE $1,250,000 $1,300,888 104% 15
2683 SHASTA RD $1,395,000 $1,450,000 104% 17
561 SANTA CLARA AVE $1,095,000 $1,095,000 100% 14
704 WILDCAT CANYON RD $895,000 $895,000 100% 22
927 EUCLID AVE $989,000 $1,020,000 103% 6
749 CRAGMONT AVE $779,000 $879,000 113% 23
901 ARLINGTON AVE $1,095,000 $1,302,000 119% 10
1336 SUMMIT RD $1,395,000 $1,422,000 102% 12
33 STEPHENS WAY $1,598,000 $1,383,384 87% 21
2381 EUNICE ST $849,000 $885,000 104% 4
Totals $14,314,900 $14,572,272 102% 27





Berkeley Map Area 2



914 MODOC ST $1,165,000 $1,125,000 97% 12
499 COLUSA AVE $785,000 $760,000 97% 21
525 NEILSON ST $715,000 $775,000 108% 15
908 MENDOCINO AVE $1,800,000 $1,825,000 101% 11
Totals $4,465,000 $4,485,000 100% 15





Berkeley Map Area 3



1320 Martin Luther King Jr Way $625,000 $550,000 88% 34
1635 CEDAR ST $610,000 $585,000 96% 17
965 MENDOCINO AVE $1,095,000 $1,259,000 115% 14
1547 JOSEPHINE ST $699,000 $752,750 108% 10
1641 FRANCISCO ST $650,000 $780,000 120% 14
Totals $3,679,000 $3,926,750 107% 18





Berkeley Map Area 4



1355 BERKELEY WAY $650,000 $680,000 105% 20
1324 SANTA FE AVE $619,900 $612,000 99% 5
Totals $1,269,900 $1,292,000 102% 13





Berkeley Map Area 7



2416 SACRAMENTO ST $425,000 $389,000 92% 6
1141 ADDISON ST $410,000 $391,000 95% 43
2415 ACTON ST $639,000 $669,000 105% 7
Totals $1,474,000 $1,449,000 98% 19





Berkeley Map Area 8



1110 Parker $895,000 $869,000 97% 23
1603 Russell St. $506,500 $490,000 97% 31
2815 PARK ST $683,000 $683,000 100% 1
Totals $2,084,500 $2,042,000 98% 18





Berkeley Map Area 9



2649 DANA ST $650,000 $638,000 98% 33
3020 WHEELER ST $499,000 $512,500 103% 14
2137 WARD ST $499,000 $437,000 88% 36
3034 FULTON ST $659,000 $806,000 122% 14
2210 DERBY ST $749,000 $915,000 122% 14
Totals $3,056,000 $3,308,500 108% 22





Berkeley Map Area 10



2742 PRINCE STREET $1,095,000 $900,000 82% 49
4 ALVARADO PL $1,780,000 $1,700,000 96% 16
2813 KELSEY ST $1,295,000 $1,325,000 102% 38
545 PANORAMIC WAY $799,000 $775,000 97% 11
2648 STUART ST $879,000 $883,000 100% 14
28 OAKVALE AVE $1,395,000 $1,350,000 97% 11
200 THE UPLANDS $1,195,000 $1,254,000 105% 6
Totals $8,438,000 $8,187,000 97% 21

Note: Berkeley Hils Realty may not have participated in all of the above sales. Information is provided via the MLS system and is only as accurate as the information entered into the system.