Emeryville Real Estate & Rental Report: July 2018

September 4, 2018
3 mins read

The Emeryville Real Estate market saw a dip in total sales, but a spike in median sales price. Part of this spike was driven by the rare sale of a single family home in our city.

For the first time since February, a detached home was sold and it went a whopping 38% over asking price. 5881 Vallejo Street is a 5BR/2Bath home with 1960 sq. ft. and was offered at $949,000. It sold within 13 days for $1,310,000 with three offers submitted.

Of the 12 sales in Emeryville in July, all went over asking:

  • 7 went over asking between 0% – 10%
  • 3 went over asking between 10%-20%
  • 1 went over asking between 21%
  • 1 went over asking by 38%

Among these 12 sold properties, 4 were all cash offers and 8 buyers utilized financing.

There are currently 16 active listings in Emeryville that range in price from $377,400 for a condo on 40th Street, to $797,000 for a  townhouse. Browse all Emeryville listings on EastBayModern.com.


July 2018 Rental Report:

Zumper.com published their latest monthly rental report for the Bay Area that covers 30 cities in our region. Emeryville dropped from fifth to the sixth highest rents in our region. The price of one bedroom units also fell, dropping 3.7% to a median of $2,890. Two bedrooms dropped 4.2% to a median of $3,670.

Read their full report on Zumper.com →


July 2018 Sales by The Numbers:

In July, the lowest sale price went for $380,000 for a studio at the Watergate complex. The highest sales price was $1,310,000 for the Single Family Home mentioned above.


Types of Homes Sold:

The number of homes sold in July decreased from 20 to 12.

Studios & 1 Bedroom Homes:
The number of 1 bedroom and studios sold decreased from 11 to 4.

2 Bedroom Homes:
The number of 2 bedroom homes sold decreased from 9 to 7.

3 Bedroom + Homes:
1 detached home was sold.


Median Sales Price vs. Median List Price:

Both median sales and list price increased dramatically in July with the sales price increasing from $584K to 758,500 and list price from 552K to 664K.


Average Days on Market:

The Average Days on the Market for Emeryville homes also increased from 16 to 20 days.

Emeryville Real Estate Market Q&A:

Thanks to Mark F. for sending us our first Emeryville Real Estate question! Mark asked: “How do you craft a winning offer?”

There are many aspects I consider when writing an offer. It’s not always the price that will determine if a seller picks your offer. There are other aspects as well. Here are the things I try to consider:

What’s a good offer price?
To determine a fair price that is a winner, you need to check previous comparable sales. Properties that have similar attributes, are in the same neighborhood and that have sold within the last 6 months. It’s easier if the property is a condo and there have been multiple recent sales in the same complex. It’s more difficult if the property you are interested in is unique.

How many offers are expected?
Not every seller’s agent will tell you, but most do. It’s important to find out how many disclosure packages were sent out and how many buyers agents have signaled or confirmed to write an offer.

Who is the seller?
It makes a difference if you are dealing with an investor (mostly money motivated) or with an individual seller. If you deal with an individual seller, emotion can be a factor. A personal letter to the seller might tip the scales in your favor despite a lower offer.

What is the buyers circumstance?
I deal with buyers that have no to very little down payment and I also deal with all cash buyers. It really depends on how much a buyer wants a property. If you really want it, you need to come in with your best offer. Depending on your loan, a $10,000 higher mortgage will translate to roughly $50/month payment. It’s disappointing when a buyer loses out on a property by a slim margin. Don’t forget that we live in the bay area and that there is a cost of waiting. Every property you don’t get, will most likely be higher priced 6 months from now.

Length of Contingencies?
A seller wants the safest and highest offer most of the time. The safest offer is cash with no contingencies. If you are not a cash buyer – like most of the population – you need to consider shortening or even waving contingencies. The three contingencies in an offer are:

  • Inspection (a quick contingency is 5-7 days)
  • Appraisal (if you have a loan, your lender will require an appraisal. A quick contingency is 7-10 days)
  • Loan (again, if you have a loan and depending on how high your down payment is, you need to keep this contingency. A quick contingency is 7-12 days

Close of escrow?
Depending on where you buy in the Bay Area, typical lenders will offer to close within 14 – 20 days. A close of escrow below 20 days is considered ‘fast’. Again, the seller is interested in mitigating risk and avoiding having to go back on the market. A quicker escrow means less risk.


Send in your questions!

I know that the real estate market can be confusing. Are you wondering if the market is softening? If it’s a good time to buy? What are the first steps in buying a home? Send me your questions and I will write about it…  Email East Bay Modern REALTOR® Nicole Gruen→.

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Nicole Gruen

Nicole Gruen is a top real estate agent at Coldwell Banker who specializes in the East Bay—especially in Emeryville where she lives. After working for 15+ years in Silicon Valley for companies like IBM, NVDIA, and Nestle, she transitioned to pursue real estate, which was a true passion for her. With her extensive knowledge of the East Bay markets, Nicole is a unique agent who combines her data-driven approach and people-first philosophy to help you buy, sell, and market homes with ease.

For more information, visit her website: www.eastbayreal.com

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