Not only is our weather hotter than San Francisco—so is our East Bay real estate market. In fact, the East Bay real estate market alone is the hottest in the entire nation!
Sellers are thrilled, of course. But buyers should be too—especially here in the East Bay where you still get the best value for your money in the Bay Area and interest rates are at an all time low. In the article “Oakland real estate prices surge for a second year, still below 2007 peak,” published on Oaklandlocal.com, my friend and fellow agent, America Foy, says that for young couples before they have children, Oakland “is really the place to be.”
Another reason for buyers to get in is the fact that prices are still going up. According to CNN Money, the forecasted gain for Oakland is 9.3% through September 2014.
My experience backs up the facts. The most recent properties I sold flew off the market.
Here are some highlights:
This beautiful East Bay home in Del Rey (Orinda) is nestled among fruit trees with a picturesque pool and spa. This gem sold in less than a week, with multiple offers, for $1.375m.
This gorgeous Craftsman sold in four days at 30% over asking. It was listed for $965k and sold for $1.275m!
This chic and smart little townhouse in a lush, gated community in West Oakland sold off-market and over asking in one day!
Could it get any hotter than that folks? Well, actually yes! The luxury real estate market in the East Bay is also at the top of the charts in the Bay Area, and the U.S.
“According to a recent report released by Redfin, ultra-luxury home sales (the most expensive 1% of properties) are the fastest-growing residential real estate market in the nation, with 72% more luxury homes sold in San Francisco this year than the same time last year. The numbers are even higher for San Jose and Oakland, at 91.2% and 96.2% respectively. Compare that to the other 99% of homes, whose total sales this year are down 1.9% in San Francisco, 7.3% in San Jose, and 2.2% in Oakland.” – San Francisco New Developments
Excerpt below from “10 hottest housing markets for 2014” on CNN Money, by Les Christie:
“This blue-collar city and its posh surrounding suburbs benefit from neighboring San Francisco’s spillover.
[Oakland] is more affordable than the rest of the Bay Area, especially at the moderate- and low-end,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.
Oakland-area home prices have come roaring back since the housing bust, jumping 26% for the 12 months through last September, according to CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
With the region’s high-paying tech industry going strong, deep-pocketed workers continue to flock to the area helping to push the median home price to a whopping $545,000.
CoreLogic expects home prices to climb another 9.3% by the end of September. Yet this hot market is expected to eventually cool. Over the next five years, CoreLogic expects home price growth to slow to 4.5% annually.”