Archive for the ‘Alameda County: Oakland, Alameda, Pleasanton, Livermore’ Category
June 29, 2008
The latest publication of Alameda sales in SFGate shows the most sales recorded in one week for this city I’ve seen since last summer. Sixteen residential sales were recorded between May 16th and May 23rd, with over a third of these under $600k. The number of homes sold in each price range is as follows:
Under $300k=2
$301-$400k=2
$401-$500k=1
$501-$600k=1
$601-$700k=3
$701k-$800k=2
$801-$900k=2
$901-$1M=1
Over $1M=1
Check out this blog Knife Catchers: A blog documenting the implosion of one of the largest housing bubbles in US history with a focus on Alameda real estate. The above link takes you to a post on April 19th 2008 and features 3226 Central Ave., one of the homes sold below. Apparently the list price was $959,000. At the time, Knife Catchers didn’t think it would sell unless significantly reduced. However, not only did the home sell fairly briskly (in about 30 days) it sold for close to asking (approximately reduced by 50k). How’s that for an imploding market?
Alameda Sales
63 Britt Court $665,000, sold 05-19-08, 3 bdrms, 1489 sq. ft., 1997
3226 Central Avenue $908,500, sold 05-22-08, 3 bdrms, 2541 sq. ft., 1902
3273 Encinal Avenue $525,000, sold 05-23-08, 2 bdrms, 763 sq. ft., 1941
3455 Hazel Lane $430,000, sold 05-20-08, 3 bdrms, 1334 sq. ft., 1973
381 Hollister Avenue $750,000, sold 05-16-08, 4 bdrms, 2219 sq. ft., 2005
1254 Park Avenue $925,000, sold 05-20-08, 8 bdrms, 2584 sq. ft., 1910
950 Shorepoint Court #200 $270,000, sold 05-21-08, 1 bdrms, 741 sq. ft., 1972
1421 Versailles Avenue $634,000, sold 05-23-08, 2 bdrms, 1388 sq. ft., 1932
455 Central Avenue #A $339,000, sold 05-23-08, 1 bdrms, 420 sq. ft., 1912
1316 Clinton Avenue $770,000, sold 05-16-08, 2 bdrms, 1460 sq. ft., 1906
26 Gonsalves Court $1,320,000, sold 05-22-08, 5 bdrms, 3646 sq. ft., 1997
1103 High Street $840,000, sold 05-23-08, 4 bdrms, 2361 sq. ft., 1925
8 Kinkaid Square $850,000, sold 05-20-08, 3 bdrms, 2724 sq. ft., 2005
1142 Peach Street $666,000, sold 05-23-08, 3 bdrms, 1242 sq. ft., 1900
950 Shorepoint Court #222 $309,000, sold 05-20-08, 2 bdrms, 951 sq. ft., 1972
1327 Webster Street #B306 $282,000, sold 05-21-08, 1 bdrms, 701 sq. ft., 1970
June 28, 2008
We all have our pet subjects. One of mine — you may have noticed — is “walkability”. So I was delighted to read that the wonderful Walk Score is soon to launch “America’s Most Walkable Neighborhoods”, a ranking of the 40 largest cities in the U.S. Can’t wait to see it.
In the meantime, it is revealing to see how Walk Score defines a “walkable neighborhood”. The parameters are much broader than I would have imagined and encompass demographics as well as proximity to useful resources.
A walkable neighborhood is, according to them, a community which has the following characteristics:
- A center: a discernible center, whether it’s a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
- Density: The neighborhood is dense enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to be cost effective.
- Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
- Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
- Accessibility: The neighborhood is accessible to everyone and has wheelchair access, plenty of benches with shade, sidewalks on all streets, etc.
- Well connected, speed controlled streets: Streets form a connected grid that improves traffic by providing many routes to any destination. Streets are narrow to control speed, and shaded by trees to protect pedestrians.
- Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
- Close schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.
I would be interested to hear from readers which neighborhoods they think fit some or all of these descriptions. Central and South Berkeley? Rockridge? Montclair Village? El Cerrito?
Walk Score have also devised a couple of very cool maps which clearly demonstrate the difference between a walkable area and its opposite:
To me, these maps bring to mind the difference between taking a one-mile walk in Berkeley and in Piedmont.
Previous posts that have addressed walkability issues:
On San Leandro (or why it’s tiresome to buy underwear in Berkeley)
Montclair: is this the new hot spot for savvy Bay Area buyers?
Notes on a neighborhood: Chabot
Rockridge duplex offers price and fixing potential
Berkeley: can’t get enough of those views
Mapping the walkability factor
June 27, 2008
Forget your psychic friend and magic 8 ball. CurbedSF has it that today’s savvy home hunters leave it to programmers to come up with a way to tell them, via scientific survey, whether a neighborhood is a good fit or not. Indeed, Hoodeo is the “neighborhood match maker,” your online connector of human to ‘hood.
So I gave it a spin- God knows I am having a hard time finding a place I can afford in SF; maybe Hoodeo knows something I don’t. Among its questions, the survey asks me if I wanted to stay in this city or if I would go anywhere. Since my job and friends and life are here, I actually do want to stay here, but just for fun, I chose “will go anywhere.” Hoodeo also smartly inquires how much I make and how much I “want to spend” on my next home, as well as how big I want it, cleverly reminding me that those square feet I desire will also have to be cleaned (I picked 1000 square feet, and since I had the option, 2 beds and at least 1.5 baths since I share with a man whom occasionally disgusts me). I decided the fair amount to pay, based on what we make, and that we would like to have money left over to travel and buy beer and such, would be 400 to 450K.
I should be, according to Hoodeo, living in Philidelphia. Wait, but you didn’t ask if I like sub-zero winters! I don’t!
Back to Hoodeo then, this time insisting on staying in the Bay Area. If I am to spend what I want to spend, I will need to think about Pacifica, San Bruno, South San Francisco, or– if I want the city proper– Bayview. Wait, you didn’t ask if I like gunfire in my front yard. I don’t!
Needless to say, Hoodeo has left some poignant questions off the list in determining if a ‘hood will fit you. For instance, nowhere am I asked what I think of On Deadline’s report that
Members of the Presidential Memorial Commission tell the San Francisco Chronicle that they’ve already collected 8,500 signatures on a petition to put the proposal before voters this November. If it passes, the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant would be renamed [the “George W. Bush Sewage Plant.]
To which I say: I am home.
June 27, 2008
The 33rd Annual Montclair Village Fine Arts Festival is being held this weekend, Friday through Sunday, in the Montclair district of Oakland. Montclair Village is nestled in the upper Oakland hills and definitely lives up to its moniker of “village”, not feeling at all like part of a big urban city. The downtown, along Mountain Blvd
and adjacent streets, is primarily comprised of boutiques and small businesses, gourmet as well as standard food fare, and a large recreation center. The weather should be nice, so plan on heading over this way, checking out the booths, the Farmer’s Market on Sunday, and then seeing some of the wonderful homes available for sale in the neighborhood.
Location: Montclair Village is located just off of the Warren Freeway (Hwy 13) between Park Blvd. and Moraga Ave.
Date: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Time: Fri 10-6; Sat 10-5; Sun 10-5
Montclair is noted for its low crime rate and good schools, and you can get more bang for your buck than in the Crocker Highlands neighborhood or over in Berkeley. There are approximately 21 homes available for sale in this area, ranging in price from $445,000 to $3,500,000. Five on the west side of Highway 13, 9 on the east side, and 6 that cannot be mapped. There are none known to have an open house this weekend, but that shouldn’t prevent you from driving by and checking them out. Here are the 6 homes closest to downtown on the east side of Highway 13:
Closest to downtown is 1901 Magellan Drive, a 5/2 listed for $905,000 ($437/sf). On the market 19 days, a contemporary home with great views. Close to BART and the freeway.
Nearby is 5905 Zinn, a good example of mid-mod architecture with lots of windows and resulting light. Being offered by the original owner for $777,000 ($568/sf), you get over a quarter of an acre with this home.
There are 3 homes along Colton Blvd, a traditional 3/2 fixer at 6030 listed for $750,000 ($436/sf), an 4/3 updated rancher at 6097, offering great views and a price tag of $899,000 ($339/sf), and a 2/2 contemporary on a substandard lot at 6670, listed for $600,000 ($369/sf).
There is also 3/2.5 of 2,065 sf updated modern home with large airy rooms at 5931 Mazuela Drive listed for $899,000 ($435/sf), which could quite possibly be my favorite of the bunch.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the biggest festival happening this weekend. The 2008 San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade will be taking place Saturday and Sunday. The theme “United by Pride, Bound for Equality” comes on the heels of the historic decision to allow all people to marry, regardless of gender. On Saturday, the celebration will take place in the Civic Center from noon to 6pm, and on Sunday there is the annual parade, with Cyndi Lauper and Charo the celebrity grand marshals, beginning on Market Street at 10:30. The parade is followed by events in Civic Center Plaza from noon to 7 pm. This will be a particularly well-attended event, so plan on using public transit, as parking will be difficult.
June 25, 2008
It’s now officially summer, traditionally the time for homes to get spruced up and go on the market in droves. It’s also the first summer in a buyer’s market for many years and buyers are bargain hunting. One of the Oakland neighborhoods that saw its value shoot up during the housing bubble is the Laurel. With wonderful bungalows at the foot of the Oakland Hills, the Laurel offers not only great homes but convenience to shopping on MacArthur Ave. and proximity to the 580 freeway to the south and further up, the Warren freeway to the north.
Perusing throught the listings I was pleased to see that many homes in the “lower” Laurel seem to be pricing “right”. The homes I’ve highlighted below range from $277,500 to $474,000 and all are 2/1’s except for 4010 Brown Ave., which is a 3/2. Compare this to sales in the fall of 2007 contained in my post What Does Fair Mean? A Closer Look at the Laurel.
As you drive north into the ”upper” Laurel and towards the Oakland Hills, prices jump up to the 500k range, and once into Laurel Heights, there is at least one listing in the 600k range. Closer to the hills=higher prices; well, no surprise there. However, I wonder if these prices will hold since several of the listings I highlight in the upper district already have price reductions and all below have been on the market more than 40 days. Plus, while the homes are lovely from the photos, they are relatively small (all around 1000 SF). What do you think: are these homes priced “right”?
“Lower” Laurel District
3046 Georgia St. 2bd/1ba listed for $277,500. Description emphatically states “NOT A SHORT SALE” and status is “back on the market”. No square footage listed. Previous sale was in Feb 2007 for $470,000.
3531 Laurel Ave. 2bd/1ba 975 SF Listed for $289,900. 1920’s stucco bungalow. Last sale March 2008 for $303, 571.
3425 Suter St. 2bd/1ba 1024 SF. Listed for $349,000. Reduced from $399,000. Last sale was in May 2005 for $525,000. 1920’s craftsman.
3801 Brown Ave. 2bd/1ba 1138 SF. Listed for $399,900. Last sale was in Dec 1999 for $286,000. Victorian with white picket fence.
4010 Brown Ave. 3bd/2ba 1100 SF Listed for $465,000. Reduced from $497,000. Last sale was in Dec 2006 $474,000.
“Upper” Laurel District
Pictured Above: 3287 Arizona St. 2bd/1ba List price $548,000. Reduced from $598,000. 1920’s bungalow, crisp, clean, white, airy-looking interiors.
3251 Wisconsin St. 2bd/1ba 1110 SF List price $569,000. 1930’s Mediterranean. Reduced from $595,000.
3812 Harbor View Ave. 2bd/1ba 1057 SF List price $590,000. Last sale was in July 2004 for $550,000.
June 25, 2008
It’s always good to find fellow real-estate groupies out there in the blogosphere.
Recently I made the virtual acquaintance of My East Bay Agent, a site run by Andy Kaufman, Glen Bell and Norman Gee, three real-estate agents in the East Bay (well, there’s a surprise).
I was led to the site via Felix Salmon’s Portfolio blog, via Mike Simonsen’s Altos blog, both of whom paused to consider a fascinating Altos graph which shows what’s been happening over the past year to house prices in Berkeley and Oakland (below).
Simonsen believes the chart is indicative of the real-estate pricing phenomenon being experienced across the nation, namely:
- Demand is off everywhere and everyone knows it.
- So if you’re a home buyer in the East Bay with good cash and good credit, you get your pick. In this case, Berkeley has generally better schools, more cachet, etc., so the buyers go there first.
- There’s enough demand to keep the market afloat.
- If you don’t have good cash and good credit, you get nothing. There is literally no spillover demand for Oakland.
- A few years ago, a home buyer might look to the nicer neighborhoods in Oakland for additional inventory or a lesser school-premium price. Not the case any more.
Salmon, interestingly, sees one overarching reason for the disparity on display: “Berkeley is like Manhattan,” he writes. “It is one of the very few areas of the country where marginal house prices are set by what people are willing to pay, rather than what they are able to pay.” Read his argument here.
Commentators on the sites raise pertinent issues such as the difference in inventory, crime stats and the always significant existence of micro-neighborhoods. Sometimes it seems making any generalization about real estate — or life for that matter — is fraught with problems.
June 23, 2008
The Alameda County Fair opened this past weekend when fair visitors were treated to a fireworks display on Friday evening and the annual parade on Saturday. The fair is open daily until July 6th. Monday-Thursday hours are 11AM-10PM; Friday-Sunday hours are 10AM-10PM. Hours will be slightly shortened for the July 4th holiday: 10AM-9PM. Admission is $10 for Adults, $7 for Seniors and $6 for children ages 6-12. Seniors go free on Wednesdays; Children under 6 always free. Parking is an additional $8.
Special Dates:
June 20-22nd: Military Appreciation Weekend. Free admission with a valid Military ID plus free for 1 guest.
June 24th and July 1st: $2.00 Tuesday Admission plus $2.00 off carnival admission.
June 20th, 27th and July 4th: Kids 12 years old and under free.
Plus catch double concerts every night, 6 & 8 PM, free with admission. See Boyz II Men, Eddie Money, Los Lobos and many more!
See the fair website for directions and more information.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 21, 2008
Here are the most recent recorded sales in Alameda, Albany, Emeryville and Piedmont listed in SFGate.com. Alameda has six sales recorded, with two under $500k, three betweem $501k and $700k and one above the $1M mark. As per the usual for Albany (small but steady), three sales are shown to have closed from May 8th-May 13th. Emeryville also records three sales for that period. Finally, Piedmont boasts a whopping four sales for the period: two at around $1.3M, one at $1.6M and the fourth at over $2M. The home at 333 Sea View has finally sold, as I first blogged about this property back in December 2007.
Alameda
339 Broadway #218 2bd 1007 SF
Sale Price: $443,500
763 Lincoln Ave. 2bd 959 SF
Sale Price: $480,000
143 Santa Clara Ave. 3bd 1079 SF
Sale Price: $635,000 List Price: $665,000
5 Ellis Ct. 4bd 1860 SF
Sale Price: $700,000
2831 San Jose Ave. 2bd 1224 SF
Sale Price: $525,000 List Price: $540,000
1250 St. Charles St. 4bd 2687 SF
Sale Price: $1,350,000
Albany
1130 Evelyn Ave. 3bd 1809 SF
Sale Price: $997,000
713 Spokane Ave. 1063 SF
Sale Price: $625,000
650 Santa Fe Ave. 3bd 1204 SF
Sale Price: $829,000
Emeryville
1311 65th St.
Sale Price: $355,500
4336 Salem St. 5bd 2712 SF
Sale Price: $680,000
6400 Christie Ave. #5402 565 SF
Sale Price: $293,000
Piedmont
330 La Salle Ave. 3bd 3087 SF
Sale Price: $1,365,000
221 Mountain Ave. 3bd 3375 SF
Sale Price: $2,312,500
15 Littlewood Dr. 4bd 2515 SF
Sale Price: $1,375,000
333 Sea View Ave. 4bd 2165 SF
Sale Price: $1,659,000 List Price: $1,895,000
June 18, 2008
Jerry Brown, Oakland’s last mayor and California’s current Attorney General, had a vision. That vision was condos. Lots of ‘em. All around Oakland. Especially downtown. Why? I think it was a build-condos-and-they-will-come-type-of-thing. Take shiny new condos, add lots of people and presto: get the critical mass needed to “jumpstart” this great diamond-in-the-rough of a city.
So Oakland built condos. Oakland even allowed apartment buildings to be converted into condos. And now we are flooded with them. It seems as though Jerry’s vision and the housing boom that brought us apartments-cum-condos has trainwrecked (is that a word?) into the housing downturn.
Which brings us to: The Uptown. The Uptown (pictured above) is a development on Telegraph between 17th and 21st streets in downtown Oakland. Floating in a sea of brand new condos, V Smoothe (a very savvy local Oakland blogger) has pointed out that the Uptown is special since the development was planned from the start to be apartments. Ok. Fine. Rentals for folks who can’t buy. But these aren’t just any old rentals. They are brand-spanking-new, luxurious even, apartments. Take a look at their current website: for $1580 you can have a studio. Junior-one bedrooms start at $1745; “regular” one bedrooms start at $1895; two bedrooms can be had for $2420. What? Pricey, you say? Perhaps. But you’ll be getting brand new:
Whirlpool sleek white-on-white appliances, custom white finish cabinetry with stainless steel accents, Moon Dust granite counter tops in kitchen and bath, custom top-mounted double stainless steel sinks in kitchens, upgraded fixtures and faucets. Natural maple finish wood laminate flooring in living room and kitchen, updated woven Berber-style carpeting in bedrooms, ceramic tile in baths. Designer pendant and track lighting. In-suite washer and dryer.
So what do you think? Worth it to rent?
And if you still want to buy condos on the cheap, the unincorporated yet “census-designated-place” (never knew there was such a term) of Ashland has a condo development called City Walk up for auction at the end of this month. On Sunday evening, June 29th, 32 units will be presented for sale by auction at the San Mateo Marriott. One-bedrooms start at $145,000. See the Accelerated Marketing Partners website for more information. And if you’re wondering (like I was) where Ashland is, it’s in Alameda County, between San Leandro and Hayward, east of San Lorenzo.
June 14, 2008
The latest edition of SFGate.com shows 70 sales recorded in Oakland from April 30 to May 7th 2008. That’s more than double the number recorded during a period I looked at in the winter (see my post on February 2008 sales in Oakland here). Given that Oakland seems to have the largest volume of sales in Alameda County, I thought it might be interesting to see the breakdown in price for these homes. Thanks to PowerPoint, I was able to whip up the above graph for your analyzing pleasure. Of the 70 sales, the vast majority (60%) are under $499k; approximately 12% are in the $500-599k range and 4% are in each range of $600, $700 and $800k respectively. The stats dip to less than 3% of homes selling in the $900-999k range then shoot back up to 11% of homes selling for over $1 million.
So what do you make of this? As is well-known (and widely discussed on the Sweet Digs blog) the housing implosion has caused home prices to radically drop. Although homes at all prices are experiencing foreclosures, the majority of these are on the lower-end of the price range. In this dataset, the majority of homes sold are under $499k, and the largest subset of these are in the under $399k range. My guess is that the large volume of these sales are due to the bank buying them back. The other phenomenon that may be happening is investment. At the very peak of the bubble, home prices were so high that few homes could be bought to either flip or rent out (as occurred in droves during the climb to the peak). Now I’m wondering if the surge in sales under $399k can be attributed to not only bank buy-backs but to investors hoping to flip and/or rent out.
The smaller number of homes sold in the $600-999k ranges says to me that folks in this price range are better able to weather the economic downturn. In general, they are foreclosing less but mainly deciding to stay put and waiting to sell until the market begins to climb again.
Homes in the $1 million and above range continue to sell; a “protected class”? To what degree?
What are your thoughts?
List of Sales (click on “More” to see full list)
2033 101st Avenue
$185,000, sold 05-02-08, 3 bdrms, 1048 sq. ft., 1921
1020 102nd Avenue
$215,000, sold 04-30-08, 2 bdrms, 1012 sq. ft., 1941
2181 103rd Avenue
$145,000, sold 05-02-08, 2 bdrms, 855 sq. ft., 1940
2016 106th Avenue
$213,000, sold 05-06-08, 2 bdrms, 1065 sq. ft., 1938
2369 107th Avenue
$180,000, sold 05-01-08, 2 bdrms, 768 sq. ft., 1926
2728 35th Avenue
$550,000, sold 05-06-08
2309 38th Avenue
$270,000, sold 05-05-08, 2 bdrms, 1000 sq. ft., 1923
288 3rd Street #506
$370,000, sold 05-02-08, 1 bdrms, 866 sq. ft., 2006
1609 51st Avenue
$314,000, sold 05-01-08, 2 bdrms, 831 sq. ft., 1907
1301 52nd Avenue
$190,000, sold 05-01-08, 2 bdrms, 845 sq. ft., 1920
1226 53rd Avenue
$80,000, sold 05-02-08, 3 bdrms, 814 sq. ft., 1905
919 53rd Street
$529,000, sold 04-30-08, 3 bdrms, 1286 sq. ft., 1910
3000 55th Avenue
$355,000, sold 04-30-08, 2 bdrms, 1138 sq. ft., 1925
994 55th Street
$241,500, sold 05-01-08, 2 bdrms, 1006 sq. ft., 1912 |
Read the rest of this entry »
