East Bay Market Update - January 2024

Happy New Year!

As we welcome 2024, we hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and found time to relax with family and friends. Our newsletter series began one year ago, and we greatly appreciate the positive feedback we’ve received. Each month, we aim to discuss a topic that’s timely and relevant to our readers. Research and analysis are at the core of our business; we firmly believe leveraging data creates value for our clients as they navigate the dynamic Bay Area real estate market. If there is ever something you’d like to know more about, we’d love to hear from you! It may be information that other readers would find helpful and warrant a deeper look.

As we close the books on 2023, we thought it would be worthwhile to look back at median prices over the last three years in Piedmont, Berkeley, and Oakland. An unprecedented rise in interest rates began in March 2022 and had notable repercussions on the local housing market. Both the number of home sales and the median prices of homes sold were impacted. Rates are expected to come down in 2024 if inflation continues to lower and hits the Fed’s 2% target. If we don’t see an improvement in inflation, or if it rises again, we may see more rate hikes. We’ll keep a close eye on the market and always welcome a discussion about buying or selling strategies.

In Piedmont, the number of home sales in 2023 was down 32% from 2021. However, the median home price was only down 5% during that same period. 

In Berkeley, the number of home sales in 2023 was down 42% from 2021, and the median home price was down 7% during that period. This speaks to the low level of available inventory but also points to the value Berkeley holds even during a slow market. 

In Oakland, the number of home sales in 2023 was down 43% from 2021, and the median price was down 6%. Again, this points to the resiliency of value in the Bay Area, particularly for a city with a wide range of housing stock.