East Bay guide · Tier A · Rank #20 of 87
House hacking in El Cerrito (El Cerrito / Kensington).
El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD (743 units, 47% below-market-rate, $39M SGC grant) is under construction, with two in-ZIP BART stations and a state Prohousing Designation.
What's actually happening in 94530
- Under construction
El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD: 743 units, 47% below-market-rate, $39M SGC grant; Phase I (69 affordable units) broke ground Mar 5, 2026. BART
- Operational
Plaza and del Norte BART stations, both in-ZIP (del Norte modernized 2021). BART
- Corridor plan
San Pablo Ave Specific Plan corridor. City of El Cerrito
- Designated
Prohousing Designation (Feb 2023). City of El Cerrito
The numbers
- Median price
- Metro mid-band (no city median printed this run)
- Market rent
- 2bd $2,500 / 3bd $3,000 whole-home (underwriting band)
- Property tax (Contra Costa County)
- ~1.46% effective (El Cerrito)
- Per-bed rent band
- $1,000–1,350/mo per bed
- ADU rent band
- $2,000–2,500/mo
- Whole-home rent band
- 2bd $2,500 / 3bd $3,000 whole-home
- Underwriting vacancy
- 5% underwriting vacancy
- Appreciation scenarios
- 1.5 / 2.5 / 3.5 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)
Bedroom ZIP; UC Berkeley is two BART stops away. Appreciation basis: TOD under construction, but bedroom-ZIP demand caps the band; mid 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 94530
2 buildings in 94530 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 411 Liberty St 2 units · $1,550,000 | −$488,562 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 3027 Yolo Ave 2 units · $1,200,000 | −$834,181 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 94530, newest basis first.
The house-hack angle
Room rentals to campus-bound and SF commuters (UC Berkeley is two stops out), plus ADU adds on bedroom-ZIP lots; the Plaza TOD anchors the corridor.
What breaks it
- Bedroom-ZIP economics: demand rides BART rather than in-ZIP jobs
- Tax ~1.46% runs above the county median
- The appreciation band (1.5 / 2.5 / 3.5) is among the metro's lowest: the deal must pencil on rent coverage