An 80% rise in home values since the recession
It’s time to take a deep breath; especially for those who purchased their homes before April 2011. That was the lowest point for home values during the Great Recession lasting from 2008 through the Summer of 2012. Beginning in the Fall of 2012, our housing market began to recover. I am not sure any of us long-term residents would have imagined that in a five year span our home’s values would rise by 80%! I can personally give you my case study.
Case study to support the 80% rise in home values in Crocker Highlands
My personal residence at 971 Grosvenor Place. During the Recession with lowering home values, I too began to worry when the home prices would improve. In 2011, I wrote down my professional opinion of our home’s worth. That number was $1,200,000. I was spot on based on the value of sold homes in 2011. For estate purposes, I had an appraisal of our home in November 2017. The appraisal came in at $2,100,000. If you take the appraised value of $2,100,000 in today’s market versus being at the bottom of the housing market in 2011, this is approximately an 80% rise in our home values. So, it’s true. Those of us Crocker Highlands residents who purchased our homes in 2011 or before have seen a huge rise in our home’s values. This equates to an average of 16% per annum increase over the last 6 years!
Crocker Highlands 2017 Year End Analysis*
Year
2016
2017
Avg. Sales Price
$1,485,000
$1,488,050
Sold Price per sq.ft.
$660.00
$700.00
Sold Price % over List Price
120%
120%
Number of Homes Sold
52
54
Numbers of Days on Market
16
17
Number of homes sold over $2M
8
3
Can Double Digit Growth continue Year over Year?
5351 Belgrave Place #3B at Broadway Terrace
There appears to be no slowing down. I had two of the first sales in January 2018. The first one was a two bedroom and two bath condo with 1,400 square feet at the entrance of the Claremont Country Club on Belgrave at Broadway Terrace. The condo has great views of San Francisco, The Bay Bridge, The Golden Gate Bridge and The Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. The unit next door with the exact same layout and slightly better views sold in 2017 for $800,000 which was the highest sold unit in the building. I convinced the sellers of #3B to spend $70,000 to update their unit with an open kitchen out to the views and some renovation to the bathrooms. If you want to know how hot the market is in 2018, my seller had 6 offers all above asking. The importance of presenting the property at its best combined with a multimedia advertising campaign paid off for the sellers. They accepted an all cash offer, ten day close and no contingencies for $1,300,000. In one year and using my stager, decorator and contractor updates for an investment of $70,000 (this was paid out of escrow—there were no costs up front), the building rose from $800,000 to $1,300,000!
887 Portal Avenue off Mandana Blvd
The other early January 2018 close was for an off-market sale of a home that was doing some bathroom and minor updates to their magnificent property at 887 Portal Avenue. A disappointed buyer who had lost several times in bidding wars in 2017 made an AS IS offer (three toilets and one bathtub were onsite but not installed plus the home was not show ready with staging). We were listed to go to market in March for $1,650,000. The buyer’s AS IS offer was accepted at $1,900,000. My seller was one of the best negotiators ever and deserves credit for driving me to get her the best price for an off-market sale! I get some credit for advertising her childhood home as Coming Soon in November and December to attract buyers and their agents; although the Buyer’s agent called me for a possible off-market sale due to my market share in Crocker Highlands.
In conclusion,
I do not see our market slowing down in 2018 and here is why:
- Oakland grew up! New restaurants during the recession flocked to Lakeshore and Grand Avenue increasing the highly sought after walkability factor for today’s buyers.
- Thank you San Francisco for being too big, having too many residential high rises with no balconies, too much traffic and cold, dreary weather during the summer months!
- Buyers want light, bright and special homes. Crocker Highlands was developed by San Francisco’s great architects who toured Europe after rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. They came back ready to develop their first Spanish Mediterranean, Normandy, Tudor or Storybook. The varied architecture is certainly a high-ranking factor when choosing to purchase in our neighborhood.
- Gone are the days that San Franciscans began their home search for Oakland only in the popular neighborhood of Lower Rockridge. For the fourth year in a row, Crocker Highlands has outpaced Lower Rockridge with the higher Average Sales Price. Crocker is now a top choice for San Franciscans when they begin their home search. Buyers tell me at Sunday Open houses that they like the varied architecture in Crocker Highlands, it’s walkability to shopping and dining, having a garage which is a rarity in Lower Rockridge, ease of parking on the streets in Crocker and they are quite happy with the B bus line from AC Transit for their commutes into San Francisco for work.
- We are not tech driven like San Francisco’s economy where 72% of employees work in the technology field.
- San Francisco is just way too expensive. We gladly embrace the migration to our most welcoming and friendly neighborhoods. Buyers are getting more for their money and enjoying a better quality of life.
