Listed for $1.685 million on the first of March, the sale of the remodeled Craftsman home at 1613 Sonoma Avenue, over in Albany, has already closed escrow. And with a contract price of $2.45 million, or roughly $1,040 per square foot, it’s the first home sale in the city to have ever broken the $2 million mark, and rather handily.

Located two blocks from Solano Avenue and built in 1917, the home’s second floor was added by the sellers shortly after purchasing 1613 Sonoma for $337,500 in 1989. The home’s kitchen and breakfast room were remodeled in 2006 with architect Glenn Jarvis leading the way.

And there were, in fact, multiple offers over $2 million, the top two of which were pitted against each other.

10 thoughts on “The First Home in Albany to Break the $2 Million Mark”
  1. Nicely done. Great for comps in the area. Albany has very good public elementary schools and extensive summer camps and after school activities for kids.

  2. really a stunning home. But $750K over asking? I’m sure some real estate agent is going to brag about that on a mailing flyer, but 1) this house sells itself and 2) seems like a huge miss in setting price. hindsight an agent might say it was a strategy that worked… maybe if you saw a $100k lift but this feels like a total miss.

  3. Nice place, and Albany is a really nice town. (But no Bart station, unfortunately. Solano Ave. would seem like a natural location for a new infill station. El Cerrito Station would be a LONG walk.)

    1. Still not very close, but the the North Berkeley BART station is nearer than the El Cerrito Plaza station– 1.1 miles, a 23 minute walk according to google maps.

    2. solano avenue bart station was in the original 1960 BART plan but albany didn’t want the station at the time (some fear of crime, besides the highway was great!), so they scooted it over to el cerrito plaza. Oops.

      There have been infill proposals for a station there for a while, but it is quite close to el cerrito plaza of course so unlikely they will do it now.

  4. Shared bathroom for all three upstairs bedrooms (including the master bedroom)? That would be a deal breaker for me, charming built-ins or not.

  5. It’s really nice up in that part of the bay, however this is a stunning outcome. (Over $1000 PSF in Albany. Wow!) Berkeley/Oakland and the nearby neighborhoods have exploded this current up cycle. There’s no going back… It’s going to reach close to Peninsula pricing soon.

  6. A lot of original Albany single family homes are older and on the small side. Lot size could support larger homes. Do a google street view. In the past few years, there has been more activity to expand and add an additional story to existing homes to make them more modern and livable. Still plenty of investor opportunities along San Pablo Avenue between Berkeley and Albany, El Cerrito.

  7. Albany is overrated. Too far from SF to warrant that price. There is really nothing going on in that city. No diversity too.

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