So, according to Forbes, Berkeley is the second most overpriced suburb (ouch that word hurts) in the United States of America.
Why? Because it takes 14.7 years of total earned salary for the median-income ($51,256) Berkeley household to afford the median priced home ($752,500). While the report accepts these figures might be distorted by the UC population, it goes on to say “there’s a larger group of residents responsible for the sharp divide between the million-dollar homes in the hills that look out over the bay and those renting apartments closer to Interstate-580.”
While I wouldn’t dispute these findings per se, I would argue that what sounds alarming news for homebuyers should be tempered with a reality check. For I, your on-the-ground housing hound in Berkeley, feel confident in declaring that, right now, buyers are calling the shots.
All around me I see homes in fine neighborhoods with no takers and diminishing price-tags. Others are going on the market with “realistic” asking prices, and still failing to attract interest. And in the more modest neighborhoods, there are potential bargains, often the result of desperation and/or foreclosures. Take the following:
2210 Bonar Street (at University) (above): 2/1 home with permitted studio on 4,800 sq ft lot reduced from $575,000 to $549,000.
1531 Oregon Street: a 3/2 bungalow with deep yard in need of TLC priced at $399,000 — or $308/ sq ft.
Harmon (at Sacramento) (above): 3/1.5 bank-owned home with dual pane windows, hardwood entry and tile kitchen with new cabinets. Reduced by $50,000 to $469,500.
I’m not saying there aren’t still overpriced homes out there, just that on the whole it’s buyers, not sellers, who are setting the agenda.
United States
Canada