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October 2026 Berkeley Real Estate Market Update
Mortgage rates have creeped above 7%, and the inflation data released this month gives the Federal Reserve little reason to ease. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.40% in Freddie Mac's October 15 survey. My October 2026 Berkeley Real Estate Market Update explains what...
September 2026 Berkeley Real Estate Market Update
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates this week for the first time since 2023, even as Berkeley's market keeps appreciating at a level that seems to have little to do with what is happening in Washington. In this September 2026 Berkeley real estate market update I...
AI Home Search: What It Gets Right and What It Can’t See
For most of the internet era, searching for a home meant the same ritual: set your budget, pick a number of bedrooms, check a few boxes, and scroll. Then the real work started — sifting through pages of results, opening listing after listing, digging for the details...
California Homeowners Insurance Market 2026: What Berkeley Owners Need to Know
The California homeowners insurance market has begun to stabilize, but this is not the same as being fixed, and the Berkeley hills remain one of the harder places in the state to insure. On August 19 I sat in on From Crisis to Stabilization, a statewide market update...
August 2026 Berkeley Real Estate Market Update
Summer's underlying economic data came in cooler than the headlines suggest, and Berkeley's market is once again marching to its own drum beat. Below I walk through July's inflation, jobs, and wholesale price reports, the Federal Reserve's latest rate decision, and...
July 2026 Berkeley Real Estate Market Update
June economic data sent softer signals across the board: inflation cooled, hiring slowed sharply, and mortgage rates held roughly where they've been. None of that has loosened the Berkeley market the way the national numbers might suggest. Below I walk through the...
Berkeley Seismic Transfer Tax Rebate: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know
Berkeley sits directly above the Hayward Fault, one of the most seismically active urban faults in the country. The United States Geological Survey rates the probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake on the Hayward Fault at roughly 33 percent within the...
Berkeley Transfer Tax, Explained: What You Pay Now and What Changes Under Measure W
If you're buying or selling a home, The City of Berkeley transfer tax is one of the largest line items in your closing statement that has nothing to do with your agent, your lender, or your home inspector. It's a tax the City collects every time real estate changes...