It’s been part of my mantra to sellers for years: correct pricing is the key to a successful transaction. It not only determines the obvious: a property that sells instead of not selling, but the entire transaction is much for favorable for the seller if the price is considered by buyers, and by their agents, to be appropriate and perhaps a tiny bit low. We’re not talking unrealistic, but a price that will be viewed as a good value by buyers. If that’s in place the likelihood dramatically increases of getting at least a second offer, and a more satisfactory transaction as viewed by several metrics. Below I show how average days on the market is impacted: properties that sold over asking sold within 10 days – 3+ weeks (there will be some variation based on when properties are marketed vs. when they enter the Multiple Listing Service). Properties that sold below asking were on the market on average twice as long, and in some cases the difference was extreme: nine days vs. 73 days last year in the Claremont Hills.

Average DOM in East Bay Neighborhoods 2011

In most neighborhoods the difference between list and sales price was greater in the negative direction. For example, for Berkeley as whole properties that sold over asking did so by an average of 4%, but properties that sold below list did so on average by 10%.
There are more subjective, but also important differences in transactions where there is more than one offer: buyers are more likely to have fewer, and shorter contingencies. They are much less likely to ask for concessions from the seller during negotiations. Overall, the transactions with multiple offers tend to be much smoother and less stressful for all concerned.

I’m looking forward to the first open house of my new listing in the North Berkeley Hills, in Berkeley CA. Recently we’ve had seen stunning views from up there, including dynamite sunsets. This home is truly just right: not too big, not too small, all the space is used well and it feels cozy, warm and peaceful. The neighborhood brings those qualities as well, with watchful, but respectful neighbors. I was up one evening and heard something I never hear at my home on the Arlington: the sound of a breeze through the tall fir trees. This property has the feeling of a retreat, but my clients were at their UC Campus offices in just over 15 minutes, and bus access is excellent. In addition to three bedrooms, there is an alcove in the living room that one of my clients used as her office, and her partner used the separate cottage in the garden–a quite wonderful space! I’ll be open two Sundays, the 29th and Feb. 5th. For even more photos visit www.923CrestonRoad.com. List price is $685,000.

Ultra Charming Split-level Home with Cottage in North Berkeley Hills!

Overview Maps Photos Features Description Open House Market Stats

$685,000 Single Family Home Main Features 3 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 1 Partial Bathroom Interior: 1,332 sqft Lot: 4,950 sqft Location 923 Creston Road BERKELEY, CA 94708 USA To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the “Like” button below:

---

Arlene Baxter McGuire Real Estate (510) 7171799 eastbay.bungalows@gmail.com http://www.GreenBungalows.info      Listed by: McGuire Real Estate

Our recent listings Ultra Charming Split-level Home with Cottage in North Berkeley Hills! Spacious Duplex near UC Berkeley campus Subscribe to our listing feed

Nearby properties for sale

It gave me great pleasure to host a party on Thursday! No, it wasn’t your normal holiday party. This was the tour for agents, and my listing was THE place to be. This Queen Anne duplex south of campus was indeed the Queen of the day, welcoming almost 100 agents, and I was delighted to finally have this property ready to find its new owners!

In 15 years in the business this property has taken more time and effort on my part, as well as requiring more of an investment on the part of the trust that is selling it, than any other listing. I coordinated major projects: a new foundation, a drainage system, new sewer lateral, new roof on both the building and the garages (a wonderful asset in this location!). It was painted from head to toe, inside and out. Floors were refinished, the garden was relandscaped. The electrical system was improved (though actual upgrading of the service is still advised). As we speak new furnaces are being installed. The shared driveway has two lovely new drivestrips with mulch down the middle–a thing of beauty in the eyes of this proud listing agent!

Berkeley has many rental properties, and this has the strong advantage of having both units vacant. It’s also a terrific location, near campus but not too close, and between the shops on Telegraph and Shattuck, each with their own character. Walkscore gives it a score of 86: very walkable.

Want to take a peak: check out my slide show above, or for even more details visit: www.2326ParkerSt.com.

So far the response has been super: I’ve mailed out 12 disclosure packages! Any offers will be heard by appointment on Wednesday, December 14th.

As I count the things for which I am grateful this Thanksgiving, I have several things on my real estate list:

–I am grateful for terrific clients! Right now I have two wonderful sets of buyers in contract, am looking for a wonderful family, and am working with  lovely sellers getting properties ready to bring to market, one very soon, and a couple early in 2012. A special pleasure is to be working with two of my favorite agents on one of the buyer’s transactions.

–I am grateful that lobbying efforts by NAR and state associations succeeded in maintaining jumbo loan limits at $729,750 within California. Lowering those limits would have significantly dampened the high end market in our area.

–I am grateful that a relatively small percentage of properties in this market area are distressed properties: either short sales or bank-owned properties. As I talked with colleagues from all over the country at the recent National Assoc. of REALTORS convention a couple weeks ago, I met numerous agents whose market is dominated by foreclosures. Some cities count their distressed inventory as high as 95%.  As you can see, our market is impacted, but to a much lesser degree.

What is striking to me in the numbers below is 1) our inventory is very low and 2) it is taking much longer than normal to sell. We are used to average days on market in Berkeley, CA area hovering around a month. Currently it is taking almost three months for the current inventory to sell.

And for those of you reading this, thank you! And a very Happy Thanksgiving to you!

For anyone looking for a view home with traditional charm, updated kitchen and bath, and a great location, I have a recommendation for you. Visit 2530 Edwards Avenue, in El Cerrito. A significant arched picture window frames beautiful views of Mt.Tamalpais and the Bay from the living room. The home has a stylish, urban chic aesthetic that should appeal to many buyers. Those who would love a view home in Berkeley will feel very much at home here—and will especially appreciate the value! One of my favorite pocket parks is right down the way; Poinsett Park is one of those great local secrets, a little unexpected treasure. And for more serious outdoor activities the Mira Vista Golf Course and Country Club is nearby, another under-appreciated gem of the region.

 This home has more to offer than the usual starter property: it has a third much-desired bedroom in addition to an extra-spacious living room with fireplace. The eat-in kitchen has been updated in cheerful blue tiles, combining with white cabinetry to create a crisp, clean effect. The updated bathroom features tasteful stone tiles and custom finishes. It’s easy to imagine entertaining friends on the inviting stone patio.

 You can check out this home on Sunday, November 6, from 2-5 pm, or by appointment. It is listed by my colleague Parisa Samimi at McGuire Real Estate; offered at $435,000.

An event this evening can help you make sense of an excellent program available in both Alameda and Contra Costa County. I’ve mentioned energy assessments, and available improvement programs in various newsletters and blog posts because I know that you might really benefit from the programs. I know many homes are like mine: drafty in winter (and on a windy day like today!), uncomfortable in the summer, with high energy bills. There are a remarkable number of rebates available now, coordinated through a program called Energy Upgrade California (clicking on those words will take you to the very extensive website).   It’s also a bit tricky to work your way through the details of what’s available, who can do the work, and the performance levels changes necessary to qualify for the various rebates. Some of the rebates end soon. If you can make the program this evening it would be a great way to learn about how the program could benefit you, and get started on having a more comfortable, and energy efficient home this winter!

Date: Tonight, Wednesday, November 2nd
Time: 6:30-8pm
Location: YMCA Teen Center           
                 2111 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Berkeley, 94714

The Surprising Facts About Your Home Energy Use
Did you know?

• You may be eligible for up to $6,000 in rebates from PG&E and other sources when you make your home more energy efficient.
• The average home loses approximately 40% of its energy through leaks
• Indoor air quality is 2-5x worse than outdoor air quality, according to the EPA
• The average home creates more air pollution than the average car 

 Learn how easy it is to get thousands of dollars back on home improvements that will save money, save energy, and make your home more comfortable.

Participating Contractors who are trained and ready to work on your home will be there to answer your questions.
 
 If you cannot make the program this evening, I am happy to speak with you about it, and share what I know. I spent two days last month with Build it Green, learning more about this and other energy efficiency programs available to homeowners. My husband and I are about to meet with a building performance contractor in hopes of sealing up some of the gaps and issues in our home. I’ll be pleased to share what I know!

A wonderful civic landmark, and Berkeley’s first public work of art,  the fountain at the Arlington Circle, celebrates 100 years this Sunday, Oct. 16th. A birthday party will be held in honor of the four bear cubs and their fountain from 2-4. Originally part of the civic improvements aimed to help Berkeley become the state capitol, the fountain today is a much-loved source of civic pride.

I remember the fantastic party that was held when the new bears were unveiled in 1996, replicas of the original bears designed by Arthur Putnam as part of the overall design by John Galen Howard. That September day the city brought out their vintage fire truck, cookies in the shape of bears were distributed, and a huge crowd assembled for the unveiling.  The tremendous work of the Friends of the Fountain and Walk restored to Berkeley a lovely centerpiece that had been destroyed in 1958. Since then, Sara Holmes with the help of her husband Harvard has been a fierce protector of those bears, the ballustrade, the grass and the functioning of the fountain. I often see her consulting with City workers, or cleaning up the circle. Hats off to you Sara, and to our wonderful Berkeley bears!

Our local City Councilmember, Laurie Capitelli, will be on hand and sweets and drinks will be served.

For more about the Fountain and the party, visit their site.

Sales prices of single family homes in one of our favorite neighborhoods–Rockridge in Oakland, CA–have seen a series of rises and falls over the past three years. From this time in 2008, median sold prices in this popular area saw a fairly percipitous fall from the mid-$900′s to the mid-$700′s, and back up to the mid-$900′s nine months later. From a median of $780K at the beginning of 2010, they zoomed up by almost $200K  to $975K, dropped back to around $800K, soared again last quarter to the $900K range, only to drop back again this quarter to a median of $818K. What an exhausting ride! Over the course of three years median sold prices are now down 16%, but we won’t be surprised to see them take another swing upwards! While median sold prices ended down 6% as compared to this time last year, over the past three months median prices have been on the rise. Inventory has been relatively high, with 81 properties for sale, of which 35 sold.

Part of the erratic price behavior is based on the disparate nature of the inventory: a combination of the vintage homes that are found on both sides of College Avenue, and the large, mostly new homes in the Rockridge hills. Both types of construction fall within the 94618 zip code, and there is a broad range of prices.

We’ve seen an additional swing in behavior in list price vs. sold price in the homes for sale in the  Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, CA. This past quarter sold prices(in green)  fell below median list price(in red) by $44K, whereas the previous quarter sold prices were in excess of list by $47K.

This past quarter we experienced a sense of low inventory, and insufficient quality listings to meet demand in certain price points. The $750 – $1M range felt especially limited. This quarter 322 single family homes were available, which is 38 fewer than last year, but actually 20 or so more than in 2009 or 2008.

Why then did it feel like we had such low inventory? In the real estate industry we deal to a large degree with perception, and the perception has been that no one is getting what they want. Despite gorgeous interest rates, buyers are not particularly  motivated–they are still waiting for “bargains.”  There continues to be a considerable disparity between the well-priced, well-presented homes which sell on schedule, often with two or three offers, and homes with some flaw in the minds of buyers. If not priced properly, homes with flaws, or those needing work can sit for weeks. Sellers compare current prices to those at the peak of the market in 2007. Some sellers are concerned about the existence of distressed properties in their neighborhoods which pull down median prices, even though we have many fewer than most California communities. On balance, our market remains much stronger than most parts of the state or the country.

Berkeley City-wide, this third quarter saw median sold prices just slightly higher than a year ago at $668,500, and down 11% from three years ago. For the second quarter sold prices exceeded list prices, with the median for sale being $634,000. Activity remained almost identical at 136 properties sold, but from a somewhat lower inventory (322 this year vs. 360 last year, which was a quarterly high). Days on Market remained right around one month.

In North Berkeley (94707) inventory actually is down this quarter from this time last year, with 66 single family homes available vs. 80 in 2010. However, more of them sold: 35 sold this year, vs. 27 last year. It’s taking a bit longer to sell this year: 39 days vs. only 26 last year.  Interestingly, the median LIST price is down from last year, but the median SOLD price is up 20% from a year ago to $801,000, though down 7% from three years ago. Sold prices have seen a steady rise over the course of this year.

Indian Summer here in the Bay Area is such a beautiful time of year that it may be hard to get motivated to prepare for the colder weather ahead. But those early rains should have given us a reminder that we need to be sure our homes are ready for the winter weather. Some basic tasks should be accomplished every year; you know you should sweep the roof and clean out those gutters! But this year I urge you to take advantage of a special rebate program available in Northern California. A unique partnership of PG&E, and local and federal stimulus money, Energy Upgrade California is a program you should explore if you are experiencing any of these issues:

• drafty rooms
• rooms that just won’t heat up in winter
• cold floors
• rooms that are too hot in summer
• high utility bills
• musty smells

Most of our homes are older, with single-paned windows. I’ve recently received ads from several companies urging me to replace my old windows with new ones this winter. I may replace a few windows that are broken, especially in rooms where an extra pane would help abate noise. But before you go to the expense of window replacement, consider having a building performance professional look at your home as a unified system. Sealing building leaks, leaking or cracked heater ducts and improving insulation and circulation may be a better choice.

Did you know. . .

· The average home loses approximately 30-40% of their energy through leaks in the home
· Indoor air quality is 2-5 times worse than outdoor air quality according to the EPA
· You can potentially receive more than $4,000 in rebates and low interest financing from Energy Upgrade California

Right now, EUCA provides rebates of $1,000 for completing some basic energy improvement steps, and up to $4,000 for more advanced measures, based on measured improvements in performance.

You’ll need to chose a building contractor from an approved list on the website, have a home performance evaluation, and then choose from a prioritized plan which improvements make most sense for you to make. Some cities, including El Cerrito, are adding an additional incentive by providing a rebate for the cost of the evaluation. That makes pursuing this program a win-win-win: for you, your home and the environment!

This video from the EPA & Dept. of Energy will give you details about what to expect in the home performance evaluation. It really is possible to improve the overall comfort of your home, regardless of its age. And with rebate money available, this is a great time to get more comfortable!