Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, city of Alameda, Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito & Richmond
Sales & Values by City, Market Seasonality, Luxury Home Sales, Market Dynamics by City & District, Foreign Homebuyers
August 2019 Report
Remember that it’s not only the “quality” of a location that affects dollar per square foot value, it’s the size of the home: All things being equal (which they rarely are) smaller homes will sell for a higher dollar per square foot value than a larger one.Piedmont’s average house size is usually over 3000 square feet, while in Central Berkeley, it is typically below 1500. However, size is only one of many factors at play in home values.
Market activity usually slows during the late summer months, then spikes back up for the relatively short autumn selling season. This typically begins with a surge of new listings coming on market in September, fueling fall sales. Come mid-November, activity commonly begins to plunge for the winter holidays, to hit its nadir in December. Of course, homes continue to sell in every season of the year.
Market Seasonality
Q2 is commonly the most active market of the year, and the statistics below reflect how strong the demand was this past spring.
It is interesting that some of our highest priced markets experienced some of the strongest buyer demand, as illustrated by these standard statistics – something also seen in San Francisco in Q2. This is a switch from recent years, when the heat of the market shifted to more affordable segments.
According to a new report by the National Association of Realtors – based on a survey of its member agents – the purchase of U.S. homes by foreign nationals plunged in the 12 months through March 2019.
California, and the Bay Area in particular, have been top destinations for international homebuyers.
The last 12 months have been an extremely dramatic time for financial markets as illustrated below. The alternating confidence and fear generated by its swings have been considerable factors in real estate markets. A parallel dynamic has occurred with the swings in interest rates.
