You Might Be Surprised but The Numbers Don’t Lie!
The last quarter of 2022 real estate sales did shift a little downward in the Bay Area. Thankfully, our neighborhood did well in 2022. Our median sales price in 2022 rose by $120,000 to $2,125,000. The average sales price rose nearly $200,000 in 2022 to $2,248,911. The increase in both the median and average sales price in Crocker Highlands is due to the last three lines in the financials below. We had more homes that sold in the high-end markets. Many national and Bay Area economists said to never compare the shifting market in 2022 to the astronomical year we had in 2021. They called 2021 an anomaly. This might end up being the peak of the market on a short-term basis, but Crocker Highlands did not fall victim to the declines of other markets.
Crocker Highlands Home Sales
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Homes Sold | 74 | 73 |
| Avg. Days on Market | 11 | 18 |
| Median Sales Price | $2,005,000 | $2,125,000 |
| Avg. Sales Price | $2,030,268 | $2,248,911 |
| Avg. Sold Price per sq.ft. | $937.00 | $869.00 |
| Sale Price/List Price | 130% | 130% |
| Homes Sold $2.5M – $3.0M | 12 | 12 |
| Homes Sold over $3.0M | 6 | 11 |
| % Of All Homes Sold over $3M | 8% | 15% |
Why is Crocker Highlands an Anomaly?
-
Architecture. Crocker Highlands is known for its architecture, which includes a mix of styles from the early 20th century, including Tudor, Colonial, and Mediterranean-style homes. Many of the homes in the neighborhood are considered historically significant and are protected by a local historic preservation ordinance.
-
Community. Crocker Highlands is known for its tight-knit community and active neighborhood association. Residents often participate in community events such as neighborhood walks, block parties, and other social events.
-
Natural Beauty. The neighborhood is surrounded by beautiful greenery, including several parks and green spaces and the nearby Redwood Regional Park which allows hiking and picnicking.
-
Convenience. Crocker Highlands is conveniently located near the heart of Oakland, with easy access to freeways and public transportation. The neighborhood is also close to a variety of amenities, including restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, and other businesses.
-
School District. Crocker Highlands Elementary School is well-regarded for its high test scores making it a desirable place for families with children to live.
-
Location. The neighborhood is located near the neighborhoods of Montclair, Rockridge, and the cities of Piedmont and Berkeley. This allows for easy access using surface streets to an array of shopping, dining, and entertainment options.
The Phenomenal Home Equity Gain In Crocker Highlands
What a gift we have received by choosing to live in Crocker Highlands. Our home values doubled from 2012 to the present. The graph below illustrates one Sunnyhills home purchased in 2013 and shows this two-fold increase in nine years and recognizes the abrupt pull back of buyers in November and December 2022. Even with a shift in values during the last sixty days of 2022, we did very well. What a home equity gain!
2022 Anthony Riggins Sales Showcase
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Early Outlook in January 2023
My primary listing market is in Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley plus a spike in new listings for Orinda and Lafayette in 2023. My team and I are in Downtown Oakland, but the San Francisco office is one of our best clients referring many buyers to me. San Francisco buyers still represent 60% of all home sales in my markets. In our weekly sales meeting discussions in the San Francisco office, agents are reporting very good traffic at their open houses through Sunday, January 29th. I’m monitoring these buyers to see if they write their offers. On February 1, 2023, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25%, however, the following day interest rates decreased below 6% for the first time since September 2022. By February or Super Bowl Sunday, we should have a clearer picture of what these buyers will be doing especially with a downward trend on mortgage rates.
I published an advertisement in the Piedmont Living monthly magazine in January plus a January Architectural Digest ad for my new $3,850,000 Crocker Highlands listing at 1166 Clarendon Crescent. Within 48 hours two calls came in from Piedmont agents who asked me not to sell this Coming Soon listing until their clients are able to see it. This grand estate has a detached Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) which appears to be a driving factor for these two Piedmont potential buyers.
My take on the market is that it is going to be a better year than how we ended 2022. The January 2023 increase in new jobs was 3x’s what all major economists predicted. All initial key indicators for home purchases are trending in the right direction.
Homes That Will Sell Quickly in 2023
-
Complete turnkey homes with an emphasis on an updated kitchen and all bathrooms especially if there is a primary suite bathroom which must be updated to get top dollar. I always say,“Spend money where the check writer spends their time….the kitchen and their bathroom.”
-
A home with a good flow with easy access to a yard or great hardscape directly from a kitchen or family room. A yard in Crocker Highlands has value, and it’s big. Depending on the size of the yard, its value ranges between $200,000 – $325,000 over a house that has a deck or a tough to get to a downslope yard that is not as usable.
-
Presentation is everything with buyers searching online. 75% of the buyers from San Francisco use the Redfin app and the remainder use Zillow and other home search sites. Your photos need to be top-notch along with the staging, plus updates need to be to the liking of the buyers.
-
I now have a new stager who has a more current look and buys new furniture at least twice a year. My stager has set the bar for luxury staging in the East Bay and employs only licensed contractors including painters, hardwood floors, general contractors, and landscapers. My stager even has two project managers including the daughter-in-law of the owner who project manages all of my updates and staging! My clients and I are in good hands to get a property show ready in three weeks to two months depending on the level of updating.
Before and After Photos of Staging/Updating
| Before | After |
|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Return on Investment For Staging and Updates
Luckily, Crocker Highlands has us in the enviable position of receiving at a minimum at least two to four times the return on your staging/remodeling/updates in today’s market. Staging/updating is a must unless your home is a complete fixer and needs everything. We can discuss if you should go to market AS-IS or make the investment if your home needs a lot of updating.
Buyers search online and if your home is not attractive and does not have the furniture that they like, you are at a huge disadvantage. Buyers today want turnkey. If they see “so-so” photos online, they will not come to your house when we have Sunday Opens; nor will they call their agents ASAP the moment they see a house online they like. Let’s have a frank discussion on Concierge Services and running costs through the close of escrow. I really do want this to be an easy process for you. You will receive weekly Friday reports with photos and decisions made during the week with a schedule for the following week. You are never left in the dark. If you have already moved away from the area, you will feel confident knowing what is really happening with your home preparation.
Why Work With Anthony Riggins, A Full-Time Professional real estate agent
As of April 2023 Anthony will celebrate a twenty-year career as a full-time real estate agent. It was a career that was well-planned after working for two technology firms in the dot com era in the mid to late 1990’s. Anthony was a vice president of sales for both firms and was hired to oversee all offices in the United States. Anthony flew 1.2M miles domestically in this six-year tenure. Exhausted from this travel schedule, rarely enjoying the great weather and quality of life in Oakland, he changed careers. Timing was perfect for Anthony to plan his real estate career in the markets of Oakland/Piedmont/Berkeley so he would never have long commutes. Selling some of the most beautiful and dynamic architectural homes in the Bay Area was a natural fit for Anthony.
Anthony has sold close to $900,000,000 in real estate in twenty years and is inching closer to the $1B threshold. A true success story for a guy who grew up in a small town in Tennessee with no family connections to launch his career in the Bay Area. Using his banking skills as a vice president of commercial lending in Houston and Oakland, Anthony approached his newsletters on a quarterly basis like his clients who work for Fortune 500 companies. His business acumen was quickly noticed in his neighborhood of Crocker Highlands and the City of Piedmont and the interviews kept coming from sellers to list their homes.
Marketing is a strong strength of Anthony’s. The national and global reach of Sotheby’s International Realty is a perfect match for his skills. To stay ahead of the curve, Anthony has always had his own marketing person solely dedicated to his listings. His current marketing manager, an Oakland native, lived in Manhattan after graduating from Fordham University with a Journalism degree and started with Compass Real Estate in Manhattan in their early days. She brings cutting edge marketing strategies to promote your listings.
One major differentiating factor for Anthony is his purchase of two great email lists of potential buyers from San Francisco and local feeder markets in Oakland wanting to live in Crocker Highlands and Piedmont. As a result of reaching these particular buyers, Anthony has been highly successful in drawing them to his listings. Anthony never shuts the door at 4:30pm for his Sunday Open Houses, finding some of the best buyer prospects coming in at 4:40pm. This wide net he is casting to the buyers keeps him at a Sunday Open House up to 6:00pm. Anthony is the last to pick up his A-frames on Sunday. Sellers must be patient for their Sunday open house updates as they might not hear from him until 6:30pm.
Known to walk away from potential listings due to sellers wanting unrealistic prices, Anthony is always honest with his clients which is why his days on market are lower than the industry average resulting in very high sale prices versus the list price. Anthony is a full-time real estate agent and active in the market every day. Anthony’s sellers are also impressed by Anthony’s negotiation skills on the offer date. Anthony’s known for getting top dollar for his sellers.
Please reach out to Anthony for any questions regarding the steps and timing to bring your home to market. He is here for all of your real estate needs including a vast network of other Sotheby’s agents throughout California and the rest of the United States. Anthony’s reputation is known throughout the United States with other agents who refer him business and to whom he refers his sellers moving to other areas.
I look forward to working with you.
Anthony Riggins | DRE #01372885
