Berkeley Median Home Prices Reach $1 Million Mark
BERKELEY (KPIX 5) -- The latest Bay Area community to hit the $1 million mark for home prices isn't located in Silicon Valley or Marin County, it's Berkeley.
"I've lived in Berkeley for over 20 years. I went to UC Berkeley. Berkeley is my home," said Yun Suh, an independent film maker who was looking for a home in Berkeley over the past year.
Suh went to countless open houses and made multiple offers, but no luck. "I was very depressed, because it was beyond what I thought I could afford, way beyond," she told KPIX 5.
Red Oak Realty reports the median price for a single family home in Berkeley is now $1,050,000.
"Just blows my mind," Suh said.
Aman Daro of Red Oakl Realty said, "It comes back to the story of supply and demand. There's very little supply."
The homes are selling 20 percent above the asking price on average.
"Our clients and our sales over the last year, about one-third were all cash, up to a price range of $3 million," said Ira Serkes of Pacific Union Christie's Real Estate. "So we're talking about all-cash sales."
Other East Bay cities are also breaking records. The median price in Piedmont for the first time surpassed $2 million, $2,192,500 to be exact.
The median in Albany is $950,000, $889,500 in Alameda, $775,000 in El Cerrito and $649,000 in Oakland.
San Leandro and Richmond have some of the lowest median home prices, with San Leandro at $531,500 and Richmond at $418,500.
"In comparison to the rest of the Bay Area, it's still a relative bargain, focus being on relative," Daro said.
As for Suh, she gave up on Berkeley and started looking in Oakland a month ago.
"Had to beg and borrow the last bit to be competitive, but we did it," Suh said
This week, she went into escrow on an Oakland house and went from a home buyer to now, a home owner.
Realtors don't think prices will drop anytime soon. So if you're selling, you're in luck. If you're buying, they say find a good agent and be patient.
