(continued on the reverse)

March/April 2016

R e a l E s t a t e N E W S : T h e B e r k e l e y H i l l s R e p o r t

Articles written and statistics compiled by Marilyn Garcia. Statistics & sold property data based on information from the East Bay Regional MLS as of 3/1/2016. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently re-

viewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information. ©2016 by Marilyn Garcia & Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC.

an sold price was $1,045,000, which is lower than for 2015 as a whole, but this likely reflects the slower win-ter season and the types of properties that came on the market during that period, rather than a true downturn in the market. The average sold price per square foot over the winter was $605, which is a bit higher than the average for 2015, and is up 9% from the last winter.

We’re now at the start of the busy spring sea-son, and inventory is already starting to pick up. From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like we’re in for another great year!

The Outlook

It’s time again to look back over what hap-pened in the local real estate market for the previous year as a whole. As you’ve prob-ably heard, 2015 was another year of a strong seller’s market in the

same time, though, there were properties — 10 of the 140 sold — that had to reduce their price before selling. For the sales where the number of offers was reported (it is optional for the listing agent to enter the number of of-fers into the MLS), the average number of of-fers received was 4, and the range was from 1 offer up to a high of 22 offers on one property. The property that re-ceived 22 offers was a fixer in the Park Hills area, and it’s now for sale again after being fixed up, for almost double the price it sold for last year. (Think about that if you’re con-templating some fix-up has a Berkeley mailing

address.) Sunset does

an idea house every

year, working with ar-

chitects and designers

to showcase the latest

innovations in Western

home design. Located

at 540 Gravatt Road,

the 2016 Idea House

was designed by

Berkeley-based Robert

Nebolon Architects.

They’re planning to do

tours in August and

September, and feature

the home in the Novem-

ber issue of the maga-

zine. I’m looking for-

ward to checking it out!

el ideas, and I’ve no-

ticed more very local

information and

references since

they’ve moved. For

example, there have

been quotes from area

chefs in food articles,

& in a short January

article about calen-

dars, they reference

the cool minimalist

zodiac calendar by

Chelsey Dyer of

Oakland.

Also interesting (if

you like houses as

much as I do!) is the

fact that their 2016

Bay Area Idea House

is located right here,

in the Berkeley/

Oakland hills above

the Claremont Hotel.

(It technically is in the

city of Oakland, but it

DID YOU KNOW...

that Sunset Magazine

has moved its head-

quarters, and they’re

now based at 55 Harri-

son Street in Oakland

(in the Jack London

Square area)? I have

long enjoyed Sunset

for its mix of home,

food, garden and trav-

Real Estate Answers

The goal of title insurance is to protect the insured party against losses due to liens, encumbrances or defects in the title to a specified property. If you own a property, you very likely got a title insurance poli-cy when you bought it; if you’re thinking about buying a property, then yes, you will need it.

Title insurance is different from most insurance policies in that it protects you against things that happened in the past, rather than things that could happen in the future.

tary commitments that are tied to the property, whether there are unpaid property taxes, and whether anyone else has a right to use the property (in whole or in part).

The standard real estate con-tract used in this area specifies that title to the property being sold, unless there is some ex-plicit agreement saying other-wise, “is taken in its present condition subject to all encum-brances, easements, covenants, conditions, restrictions, rights and other matters, whether of record or not, except for mone-

For example, car insurance kicks in if you get into an acci-dent during the policy period (after you buy the insurance). Title insurance protects you from problems that came up before you bought the policy, and for this reason, title com-panies do most the of the work and the “protecting” up front. When you get title insurance for a particular property, the title insurance company does a search of public records related to that property, looking at such things as who the owner is, whether there are any out-standing loans or other mone-

What is title insurance, and do I need it?

Berkeley Hills.

Inventory was as always tight, with only 169 ac-tive listings over the course of the whole year (down from 185 listings in 2014), and 140 prop-erties sold. Lower in-ventory and continuing strong demand from buyers meant that prop-erties sold quickly, in an average of only 19 days on the market, com-pared to 22 days last year. The median sold price in 2015 for the hills was $1,190,500 (up 10% from 2014), and average sold price per square foot was $603.

81% of the sold proper-ties went for more than their list price, on aver-age 15% higher. At the

work on your property before selling, and won-dering if it’s worth it!)

For this past winter sea-son (December 2015-February 2016), there were just 26 active list-ings in the hills, and 30 closed sales. The medi-

M A R I L Y N G A R C I A , P H D C O L D W E L L B A N K E R R E A L E S T A T E

B R O K E R A S S O C I A T E 1 4 9 5 S H A T T U C K A V E , B E R K E L E Y

The Berkeley Hills data discussed here falls within the outline above: north of campus, east of a line heading north on

Spruce from campus, cutting over on Los Angeles to Arlington, and then north

along Arlington to the Kensington border.

Winter Sales, Berkeley Hills* 12/1/2015 — 2/29/2016

M a r i l y n G a r c i a , P h D

C o l d w e l l B a n k e r R e a l E s t a t e

1 4 9 5 S h a t t u c k A v e

B e r k e l e y , C A 9 4 7 0 9

( 5 1 0 ) 9 8 1 - 3 0 3 5

V i s i t m e o n t h e w e b a t

w w w . M a r i l y n G a r c i a . c o m

C a l B R E # 0 1 3 5 5 5 1 4

“Many thanks for the great strategizing and hard work you put in to market

the sale of our home in Berkeley. The renovation, estate sale and staging,

which you suggested and we initially resisted, all enhanced prospective buy-

ers’ positive responses….your advice was right on the mark. In addition to

your excellent marketing plan and execution, we were impressed with your

prompt follow up and attention to detail. We would highly recommend you to

any prospective seller or buyer. ” Bruce and Carol Copeland

Real Estate Answers, What is title insurance, and do I need it? (continued from the reverse)

tary liens of record (which the seller is obligated to pay off).” As a buyer, it’s important to know what restrictions, etc., come with the property, so you can make an informed decision. Are there CC&Rs (rules and restrictions) for the neighbor-hood that could prevent you from renting the property, or perhaps expanding it in the way you had in mind? Is there an easement across the back yard that will impact the size and/or placement of the pool you’ve always dreamed of having? It’s also important that your closing agent know what monetary liens exist, so that these can be paid off as part of the trans-

action. The title search is a critical part of the process for a property sale.

There are two types of title insurance policies: owner policies, and lender poli-cies. When you get a loan to buy a piece of property, the lender will require that you pay for a title insurance policy that protects the lender up to the amount of the loan.

Why, if the lender has a policy, would you as an owner also want a policy at the same time? The owner’s policy covers you and your equity in the property, and it’s a one-time purchase. You don’t need

to buy a new homeowner’s policy if you refinance your loan (although the new lender will require that you buy them a new lender policy).

Going forward, once you own the prop-erty, title insurance insures you against the risk of a challenge to your owner-ship, like a claim by an heir or spouse who did not approve a previous sale of the property, or a forged deed back in the chain of title. The coverage is, as with any insurance policy, subject to the deductibles, limits and terms spelled out in your specific policy.

* See boundary description on the reverse. ** Not all sales included in the summary statistics on the reverse are listed here (per MLS rules). Feel free to

get in touch if there is a particular sale you are interested in that is not listed.

Address Sold Price List Price SqFt BRs Baths Lot SqFt

977 KEELER $620,000 $499,000 720 1 1 6,696

971 REGAL $800,000 $795,000 1270 3 2 5,762

8 PARNASSUS $810,000 $835,000 1725 3 2 6,061

801 KEELER $870,000 $870,000 1596 3 2 6,327

931 SPRUCE $895,000 $795,000 2290 3 3 4,350

600 CRAGMONT $900,000 $869,000 2132 3 2 4,290

1076 EUCLID $910,000 $785,000 1514 2 2 5,800

1150 PARK HILLS $925,000 $729,000 1242 3 1 6,834

2760 SHASTA $1,110,000 $995,000 2245 4 3+ 7,368

483 KENTUCKY $1,150,000 $1,150,000 1872 4 2+ 5,200

70 LATHAM $1,205,000 $995,000 1952 3 3 5,936

2567 ROSE WALK $1,250,000 $949,000 1721 3 2 4,160

1119 KEITH $1,250,000 $1,250,000 2420 4 2+ 4,655

633 SAN LUIS $1,250,000 $1,200,000 2417 3 2+ 6,650

681 WOODMONT $1,375,000 $995,000 1809 3 2 7,248

8 GREENWOOD $1,400,000 $1,250,000 1748 2 2 4,800

2268 CEDAR $1,500,000 $1,500,000 1931 3 2+ 4,095

170 MONTROSE $1,525,000 $1,495,000 2854 3 2+ 5,763

1516 LE ROY $2,100,000 $1,695,000 3712 5 3+ 6,500