East Bay guide · Tier S · Rank #6 of 87
House hacking in Richmond (Downtown / Iron Triangle / Point Richmond).
The Bay Area's only BART/Amtrak cross-platform transfer over the metro's cheapest entry basis, with a form-based code that upzones downtown to 12 stories.
What's actually happening in 94801
- Operational
Richmond BART/Amtrak: the Red/Orange-line terminus plus Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins, all in-ZIP. It is the region's only cross-platform BART/Amtrak transfer. BART FY25 Capital Investment Plan
- Adopted
Livable Corridors Form-Based Code (adopted Apr 18, 2023): upzones Macdonald Ave up to 12 stories near BART, plus 23rd St and San Pablo Ave. City of Richmond
- Funded
Metrowalk II / Richmond Transit Village Phase II: about $130M, ~150 affordable units at Richmond BART; funded, with a Mar 2025 financing snag on the record. Grandview Independent
- Existing anchors
Employment cluster downtown: Chevron Richmond Refinery (3,000+), Kaiser Richmond, and the SSA Frank Hagel Federal Building (~2,000). ZIP evidence cache (2026-07-04)
- Optionality only
Waterfront optionality: Point Molate is now EBRPD shoreline park (acquired Aug 2025); Terminal One condos are entitled but stalled. Point Richmond
The numbers
- Median price
- ~$644K (Richmond, +3.8% YoY 3-mo; Zillow ZHVI $632K): cheapest in the metro
- Market rent
- 2bd $2,000 / 3bd $2,500 whole-home (underwriting band; no city rent print this run)
- Property tax (Contra Costa County)
- New-purchase ~1.15–1.30% (JVM); the 1.82% Ownwell median reflects legacy assessments, so model the new-purchase range and confirm the TRA
- Per-bed rent band
- $800–1,100/mo per bed
- ADU rent band
- $1,700–2,200/mo
- Whole-home rent band
- 2bd $2,000 / 3bd $2,500 whole-home
- Underwriting vacancy
- 5% underwriting vacancy
- Appreciation scenarios
- 1.5 / 3.0 / 4.5 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)
Cheapest entry basis in the metro. Appreciation basis: Form-based code plus arbitrage; old stock and refinery-area exposure carry 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 94801
13 buildings in 94801 carry a record. 2 beat renting and index funds, 1 rejected; the rest did not. Every row links to its own page, with the numbers it was scored on.
| Property | At our defaults | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 203 Bissell Ave 4 units · $989,000 | +$69,943 House-Hack | Underwritten — beats renting and index funds, below the publish cut |
| 156 16th St 3 units · $670,000 | +$1,485 House-Hack | Underwritten — beats renting and index funds, below the publish cut |
| 219 Barrett Ave 4 units · $859,900 | −$18,169 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 607-607B Verde Ave 2 units · $725,000 | −$64,438 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 569 18th St 2 units · $599,000 | −$294,911 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 100 12th St 2 units · $599,000 | −$343,628 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 628 21st St 2 units · $699,000 | −$408,206 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 400 Bissell Ave 4 units · $1,300,000 | −$518,172 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 1317 Garvin Ave 2 units · $950,000 | −$551,524 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 240 Duboce Ave 2 units · $988,000 | −$608,194 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 419 B St 1 unit · $795,000 | −$647,013 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 1324 Gaynor Ave 2 units · $950,000 | −$782,520 S&P 500 | Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults |
| 1401 Bissell Ave 4 units · $995,000 | — no verdict on file | Rejected — off market on the public listing as of 2026-09-09 (zpid 18545587, the same page the 2026-09-02 the verified listing record came from, now showing Off market with no ask and no MLS number and reverting to a public record 3 bed 1 bath 1,122 sqft shell) · our listing feed still carried the row Active at 184 days on market, so the feed is stale and the listing is gone · a property that is no longer for sale is not published as a live board row |
The full board shows every region's current week; this table is every record we hold for 94801, newest basis first.
The house-hack angle
Classic transit arbitrage: SFH room rentals and 2–4-unit buildings at a $600K-ish basis with a one-transfer SF commute. Livable Corridors raises the redevelopment ceiling near Macdonald and BART.
What breaks it
- Chevron regulatory overhang and refinery-adjacency air quality
- Iron Triangle safety perception
- The 1.82% Ownwell median reflects legacy assessments: confirm the TRA rate and model the 1.15–1.30% new-purchase range