# House Hacking in Berkeley (94704): UC's 45,000 students next door: the deepest room-rental demand · The Rent Hacker > Berkeley 94704 for house hackers: People's Park (1,100+ beds) and a 1,625-bed UC dorm both under construction, with Downtown Berkeley BART in-ZIP and the Sout Canonical: https://therenthacker.com/house-hacking/berkeley-southside-94704/ Source: The Rent Hacker (https://therenthacker.com/). License: RSL, attribution required — https://therenthacker.com/license.xml --- [East Bay guide](/house-hacking/east-bay/) · 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](https://peoplesparkhousing.berkeley.edu/updates) - 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](https://berkeleyca.gov/construction-development/land-use-development/middle-housing-zoning) ## 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](/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](/property/rh-1dh48o/2732-parker-st/) 2 units · $1,685,000 −$1,023,274 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [2610 College Ave](/property/rh-tqgbny/2610-college-ave/) 2 units · $1,799,950 −$1,408,649 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [2529 Ellsworth St](/property/rh-qnsyp5/2529-ellsworth-st/) 2 units · $1,900,000 −$2,019,444 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults The full [board](/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 This page is the standing analysis. The weekly part, actual Berkeley-area listings that pass the math, lands on the East Bay board every Wednesday. [This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/) [This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/) · [Read past East Bay issues](/issues/sf-east-bay/) · [Every pick, on the record](/track-record/) · [How a deal becomes a pick](/methodology/) Data synthesized 2026-07-04, catalysts re-verified 2026-07-15. Mortgage-rate basis: 6.43% (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 2026-07-02). Sources are the public planning documents and market listings named above, fetched on the synthesis date. Nothing here is investment advice; every deal needs a bindable insurance quote and parcel-level verification.