A tumultuous year for our world and for Real Estate markets came to an end last week. Buoyed by more flexible work-from-home policies, suburban communities with single-family homes stock saw a surge in home sales and value. Meanwhile Emeryville, closer to the urban core and with a surplus of condominiums, saw declines in both sales and sale price.

As we look toward 2021, some are forecasting these trends will continue. This “suburban migration” might be tempered by inventory constraints and rising mortgage rates which are anticipated to tick up from their current fifty year low. How this will impact Emeryville, we’ll have to wait and see.

Rents in Emeryville Continue to drop

Emeryville ranked as the 6th most expensive city in the Bay Area to rent this month. The price of one bedroom units fell 2.2% to a median of $2,250, while two bedrooms fell 1.1% to $2,800.

Overall for the year, Emeryville rents for a 1-bedroom unit dropped nearly 17% from a pre-pandemic high of $2,700. Two bedroom units fell nearly 22% from a pre-pandemic average of $3,570/mo.

Read the full report on Zumper.com. Browse all current Emeryville rental listings here.

Listings Overview

Higher list and lower sales prices

In 2020, the overall number of new listings increased from 168 in 2019 to 187 in 2020, an 11% increase. Despite this, sales were down 11%, dropping from 146 in 2019 down to 130 in 2020. Expired and canceled listings increase 11% to 34 versus 30 in 2019.

List prices saw a slight increase of 1.46% in 2020 with an average sales price of $626,000 compared to $617,000 in 2019. Sales prices reflected a 4.16% decrease in 2020. The average sales price decreased to $599,000 from $625,000. It took 31 days to sell a home in 2020 versus 29 days in 2019, a 6.9% increase.

Year to Year Sales

2020 finishes with strong December

December property sales were at 18, up 63.6% from the 11 in December of 2019 and 38.5% higher than the 13 sales last month. December 2020 sales were at their highest level compared to December of 2019 and 2018. December YTD sales of 130 are running -11.0% behind last year’s year-to-date sales of 146.

Big Price Drop in December

The Median Sales Price in December was $527,250, down -23.0% from $685,000 in December of 2019 and down -13.6% from $610,000 last month. The Average Sales Price in December was $648,438, down -5.6% from $686,755 in December of 2019 and up 4.0% from $623,615 last month. December 2020 ASP was at a mid range compared to December of 2019 and 2018.

The Selling Price per Square Foot is a great indicator for the direction of Property values. Since Median Sales Price and Average Sales price can be impacted by the ‘mix’ of high or low end Properties in the market, the selling price per square foot is a more normalized indicator on the direction of Property values. The December 2020 Selling Price per Square Foot of $616 was down -4.0% from $642 last month and down -2.5% from $632 in December of last year.

Highest Inventory in years

The total inventory of properties available for sale as of December was 20, up 100.0% from 10 in December of last year. December 2020 Inventory was at highest level compared to December of 2019 and 2018. A comparatively lower MSI is more beneficial for sellers while a higher MSI is better for buyers. The December 2020 MSI of 1.1 months was at its highest level compared with December of 2019 and 2018.

Mortgage Rate hits 50 year low

It’ll be interesting to see what will happen in 2021. As of now, the mortgage rate is at a 50 year low. Keep in mind that a mortgage rate can vary based on credit score, employment history, income, debt and other criteria. It’s best to shop around with 2 or 3 providers. In today’s market a pre-approval with a lender is imperative in order to get an offer accepted.

Featured Listing: 8th Floor PPP unit on market for over 270 days

While most single family homes sell fast, with multiple offers and above asking price, many condos sit for a long time and don’t sell at a high price. Many sellers of condos have yet to adjust their expectations and list prices.

6363 Christie Ave, Unit 821 is a 1 BedRoom, 1 Bath condo with 634 SqFt in the iconic Pacific Park Plaza building. It was listed in April, 2020 and is still available. The list price is $499,000 (listing courtesy of Renrose Realty).

Browse current listings here.

This report is prepared by longtime Emeryville resident and Coldwell Banker Realtor Nicole Gruen. Curious about buying or selling in Emeryville? Support your resident realtor.

[adrotate banner=”215″]