(KRON) — Oakland has been listed as one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, according to GoBankingRates.com.
The website compared every city’s real estate market factoring in things like sale price, number of days on the market and number of homes sold.
Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood is a quiet suburban area with a lot to offer and a lot of high-end homes. But high-end homes seem to be the hardest to sell for realtors. The article published Sunday boasts Oakland’s housing opportunities saying the median number of days a home for sale is on the market is just 19 days with 72 percent of homes selling above asking price.
David Stark with the Bay East Association of Realtors said that’s because of location, location, location.
“Got a close proximity to job centers in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley and the South Bay,” Stark said. “You got access to recreation in the Oakland Hills, you go some fantastic individual neighborhoods within Oakland and it’s a lot more affordable than some of those other markets.”
The article paints Oakland as the place to buy. But East Bay realtors Anna Bellomo and Jessica Waggoner said they were caught off guard by the numbers.
“We were surprised when we saw that article, but we ran the data ourselves that the article is supported,” Waggoner said.
The pair said higher-end homes have been particularly difficult to sell and that the total number of homes selling this year compared to last year have dropped by about half.
Their biggest struggle though, is the level of crime Oakland has dealt with in recent years. Business break-ins and deadly shootings are not easy talking points with buyers looking for their next home. But Stark said the ability to afford in Oakland, seems to trump the concern for high crime.
“Clearly there are buyers that are finding some great value and some very attractive things about making Oakland home,” Stark said.
High insurance rates also make it difficult to sell right now, especially in fire zones.
