you will know when you live in Berkeley where the "real berkeley" is...

Curious: I'm not following you. What is intangible about shops or walkability? I have just bought a house with a 83/100 walkability score (see walkscore.com) and the effect on my daily life is wonderfully tangible! As to what the "real" Berkeley is -- you could start a whole other blog to try to address that knotty question.

funny, i am sure that there is a whole section of berkeley that would tell you that the part that costs over $450 per square foot is not the "real" berkeley. I tend to agree that there are parts of berkeley that hold their value due to the intangible benefits associated with those neighborhoods(walkability, access to the university, shopping, and other amenities) that simply are not a part of the other neighborhoods.

yes, there is the "real" berkeley that is worth more than $450/sqft, and there is the berkeley that is worth less, far less.

Philip: I completely agree. As you point out on your blog (http://www.kaakeproperties.com... the Bay Area is a collection of micro-markets and so is Berkeley (and anywhere for that matter). I sometimes get tired of people who postulate on real-estate matters precisely because something that applies to one house on one street might not apply to a house three blocks over! Thank you your comment.

There are still quite a few listings that go well, well over asking -- take a look at 998 Virginia Street - listed for $550, sold for $676 (at least says the agents website) - about $534/sq foot.

I agree it's a better time to be a buyer, absolutely, but multiple over-bid offers are still absolutely common, especially in the mid-range market.

Berkeley like alot of other cities has hot areas and not so hot areas. I had a listing in North Berkeley last summer that went 90k over. This was normal or slightly low overbid compared to others that sold nearby. Personally I am glad to see prices becoming more affordable and maybe there will be less craziness like this ravenous overbidding. At least it seems like slightly less ravenous amounts overbidding.
I can tell you from personal experience being in recent multiple offer situations that there are homes that are hot, in hot areas and get the offers... and then there are the rest.
This market is tough to categorize, it's a dichotomy both good and bad.

Leigh: While nothing is ever categorically certain in the real estate market, I do think you are much better placed as a buyer now than you would have been one -- and definitely two -- years ago. Real estate agents are pricing homes more realistically and homes with some flaws can be had for much less than before. There are always going to be certain homes in certain neighborhoods that flaunt their defiance of market conditions, though. These tend to be snapped up by those people for whom budget is not the major consideration -- and in Berkeley it tends to be homes in the $1m-$2m range. The super expensive ones ($2m+) are having problems selling -- but I doubt that's any comfort to you!

My impression is that there are still some listings generating multiple overbids, but that it's not a matter of course the way it used to be. Indeed, if you look at sales data for Berkeley for February and March, average percent difference between sale and list price was just 101%, and that doesn't take prior reductions into account.

Is the Berkeley market slowing? I don't think anyone can say for sure. But median sale price here has actually been pretty static for about three years: $770K for 2005 and 2006, and $767K for 2007. Feb 2008's median sale price dipped to $703K, but that was on just 16 sales. Then March's median shot up to $850K on 31 sales. And Redfin has 115 current listings with a median asking price of just $650K.

Personally, I think the downturn that has been affecting the rest of the country is finally catching up to Berkeley, and that sales will slow and prices will decline throughout the year. I think the March spike was seasonal and represents buyers who were waiting out the Winter and jumped on new Spring inventory (excluding a few extreme outliers, average DOM for March sales was only 22 days; Feb. was 30 using the same standards).

As a buyer, I'd love for it to be true that the market is slowing down. But for every Florida or Josephine, there are three houses that get multiple offers and 110% of asking. Your sense is that things are changing? (I ask sincerely, again, because I am a buyer.)

Tracey, that's wonderful. My sincere congratulations. Don't let my chintziness detract from your well-deserved satisfaction.

Once again I am dazzled by the knowledge of my readers!

The three "Anons" make some interesting points. Having seen Ninth St, Anon 2, your insight is particularly useful. Thank you.

Toady: I have failed you I'm afraid. We bought a house which certainly cost more than $450/sq ft. What can I say? When it's right, it's right.

3020 Dohr's sellers might want to look a few blocks north at 2776 Dohr. Another bedroom, an extra 300 sf, corner lot, needs some updating but certainly isn't what I'd call a fixer, and a somewhat nicer neighborhood. 121 DOM and reduced to $425K a couple of weeks ago.

And 9th St. is cute, but it's also a block off of a pretty grungy part of University and surrounded by apartments.

Sure, these are the marginal listings, but 18 months ago, there were no marginal listings in Berkeley; everything got multiple offers after two showings.

But I don't think you need to look at just the marginal listings to see that the Berkeley market is declining pretty dramatically. 1208 Ordway, a great nighborhood, listed at $799K and last sold for $871K 2 1/2 years ago. 21 Florida is beautiful (though it has a small lot), but has been languishing for 77 days and has been reduced $100K. And the bank can't seem to give away 1620 Josephine.

Nice time to be a buyer. How's your search going, Tracey? Don't pay more than $450/sf for anything.

While I'd agree that prices are coming down in general, these aren't great examples--take a look at the condition, location, and square footage. Dohr is a fixer and spitting distance from the intersection of Ashby and Sacramento; Edwards is 834 sf and the studio is a converted garage (= no garage parking!). It's in a slightly nicer area (Strawberry Creek nearby) but definitely not one of Berkeley's "hot spots"....both may be priced a little optimistically.

My husband and I went to see the listing in Berkeley, 2022 Ninth St. The pricing is low because of the market, but also in large part to the fact that although the house does not share walls, it is in fact a condo - this is one of two houses which share a lot. So, even though it was listed as single family and it looks the part; it's not.

its springtime, lots of inventory in berkeley, sell while you can homeowners, the second "coming" is here.

revelations 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

sorry to be a nay-sayer, but it appears the end is here. good night.