East Bay guide · Tier A · Rank #11 of 87
House hacking in Berkeley (Southside / Telegraph).
People's Park (1,100+ beds) and a 1,625-bed UC dorm both under construction, with Downtown Berkeley BART in-ZIP and the Southside Plan's 85-ft heights. The UC anchor (25–27k staff, ~45k students) is the metro's deepest room-rental demand.
What's actually happening in 94704
- Under construction
People's Park housing (1,100+ beds) and a 23-story, 1,625-bed UC dorm, both under construction. UC Berkeley / SF YIMBY
- Entitled
1950 Shattuck tower (599 units) entitled. City of Berkeley
- Operational
Downtown Berkeley BART in-ZIP. BART
- Adopted
Southside Plan (85-ft heights, adopted Nov 2023) plus the Middle Housing ordinance (2–8 units by-right on flatland lots, effective 2025-11-01). City of Berkeley
The numbers
- Median price
- ~Berkeley proxy (no ZIP median this run)
- Market rent
- 3bd $3,600 / 4bd $4,400 whole-home (underwriting band)
- Property tax (Alameda County)
- ~1.78% effective (Berkeley city median)
- Per-bed rent band
- $1,200–1,600/mo per bed
- ADU rent band
- $2,100–2,700/mo
- Whole-home rent band
- 3bd $3,600 / 4bd $4,400 whole-home
- Underwriting vacancy
- 4% underwriting vacancy
- Appreciation scenarios
- 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)
Student-driven market; UC demand sets the floor. Appreciation basis: UC demand sets the band; old stock plus student wear at high capex. Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. Run your own scenario in the calculator.
Buildings we underwrote in 94704
3 buildings in 94704 carry a record. 0 beat renting and index funds; the rest did not. Every row links to its own page, with the numbers it was scored on.
| Property | At our defaults | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2732 Parker St 2 units · $1,685,000 | −$1,023,274 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 2610 College Ave 2 units · $1,799,950 | −$1,408,649 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 2529 Ellsworth St 2 units · $1,900,000 | −$2,019,444 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
The full board shows every region's current week; this table is every record we hold for 94704, newest basis first.
The house-hack angle
Room-by-room to the UC market: the deepest room-rental demand in the metro, with Middle Housing raising the by-right ceiling to 2–8 units on flatland lots.
What breaks it
- Old stock plus student wear carries high capex
- Student rooms are the most exposed segment in a rent-softness stress
- Berkeley's ~1.78% tax needs more rent coverage than the mid-county alternatives