East Bay
"Rich-people views" for a fifth of the price
Yesterday's post on Belvedere prompted some interesting responses. ExFedExKeith said Belvedere was always a favorite place to drive through, "taking in the views and the beautiful architecture of the homes -- and the residents were always so nice and congenial". Rather worryingly, however, Furbaby noted that "driving on the island with the ongoing construction and medicated housewives and nannies is a deathtrap".
Millstein Real Estate
Three bedrooms and Bay views at this $699K Berkeley home.
But it was Lookmanohands who got us wondering. He (or she) reckoned that "Berkeley and Oakland have comparable views for a fifth the price".
Is this true? Those Belvedere vistas are pretty spectacular. Still, the average home price on the island is $3.4m, not exactly accessible for the vast majority of us, so we decided to take up the challenge. Could we find a nice home with Bay views for around $680,000, a fifth of that average price, in the East Bay.
The answer is yes we can. In the Berkeley hills the recently listed 3-bedroom home at 1075 Sterling Avenue comes with lots of original details such as stained glass, custom tile and wood-beamed ceilings. It also has a separate artist's studio, a "deep" yard with several fruit trees, and what look like very pleasing Bay views from its front deck. Price: $699,000.
EBRDI 2009
Also $699K for this townhome with views in Oakland.
In Oakland panoramic vistas are to be had from every room at 15 Hillcrest Ct, a 3-bedroom townhome with hardwood floors, a grand fireplace, large master suite and a 2-car garage. Price: also $699,000, reduced from $729,000.
Belvedere it ain't. But, hey, not all of us have $3m cash to spare.
| June 11 2009 at 11:37 AM
Price cuts rife in select Bay Area markets
A new survey released last week shows the extent home prices are being reduced across the country. Nationwide, almost a quarter of homes on the market (23.6%) have experienced at least one price cut, totaling $27.4 billion in reductions.
We asked Trulia.com, who crunched the data, to drill down and produce the numbers for a selection of Bay Area markets, namely the North Bay, East Bay as well as San Francisco.
The data snapshot revealed that on a given day -- June 4 -- Berkeley was holding out best in terms of price reductions. The university city boasts the lowest number of listings being cut -- at 21%. The average listed price right now in Berkeley is almost exactly $1m and it's showing an average 9% reduction to $906,638.
The costly neighborhoods are seeing more price chops and the biggest cuts. For instance, 28% of listed homes in Tiburon were showing price reduction on June 4 and the average reduction is 19% of asking prices. Because we're talking homes that start out with an average $2.5m price ticket, that translates as an average $481K discount.
NORCAL MLS
The price of this Sausalito condo at 103 Lincoln Dr has been cut by 8% -- the current average for the area.
Sausalito and Mill Valley show considerably lower average reductions -- at 8% each -- but the number of homes with price cuts is still high, at 29% and 34% respectively. An example is the 3/2.5 Sausalito condo with harbor views at 103 Lincoln Dr whose price has been cut 8%, from $799,000 to $739,000.
The average reduction on a listed Oakland home (whose average price is $624,331) is $65,801, or 11%, and 27% of homes are currently reduced.
Finally, 28% of San Francisco listings are recording price chops with trimmings averaging 11% of the original price.
| June 08 2009 at 10:19 AM
Oakland architect with vision forced to shutter shop
Talk to most architects today and you'll hear a similar story: clients have pulled the plug on projects or put them on indefinite hold and on-the-board jobs have all but disappeared. It's a question of tightening belts, they say, and scraping by until those elusive green shoots become something more than theoretical.
For one Oakland architect firm, though, the housing downturn has proven even more serious than that: MK Designs, run by the Bay Area prefab guru Michelle Kaufmann, has been forced to shut up shop.
www.mkd-arc.com
Michelle Kaufmann's Glidehouse: prefab, sustainable and cute.
On her blog, Kaufmann writes: "Despite our best efforts, the financial meltdown and plunging home values have caught up with us. The recent closing of a factory partner as well as the gridlocked lending faced by homeowners, has proved more than our small company can bear."
The reason this is particular sad news is that Kaufmann seemed to be doing all the right things -- at least in terms of her vision for the future of housing.
Her expertise was in building sustainable, affordable prefabricated homes. The fact that they were also extremely beautiful helped. She was lauded in the media -- she created the Breezehouse in conjunction with Sunset Magazine -- won all sorts of awards for her green building credentials, was working with developers to create sustainable multi-unit communities, and was active in the industry lobbying for more environmentally responsible building practices.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had their eye on one of Kaufmann's home designs as a future retirement or vacation home once my winning lottery number was called.
| May 29 2009 at 09:36 AM
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Gas station with a difference
Bay Area residents have a new type of gas station at their disposal -- and it's certainly a different proposition than the average Shell or Chevron offering.
www.biofueloasis.com
A new gas station for Bay Area residents: Biofuels Oasis in Berkeley.
Biofuels Oasis, a woman only-run cooperative that sells recycled cooking oil, has been operating from a West Berkeley location for years, but it has just opened a new premises in a more central part of the city.
The corner site at Ashby and Sacramento was originally a conventional gas station and more recently a car wash. Now, following an eco-makeover, the biodiesel station sports architect-designed canopies, a freshly painted office and planters -- with all its energy needs covered by solar power.
Business is steady with up to 60 customers a day coming from across the Bay Area and more than 2,000 signed-up members.
The station is the only one of its kind in the East Bay. But it may be a harbinger of things to come: Safeway recently started selling B5 -- a 5% biodiesel 95% fuel mix -- at its Towne Center gas station in Alameda.
| May 28 2009 at 12:16 PM
High-end East Bay homes see significant price chops
There are some major price cuts going on around the East Bay, particularly among the top-dollar homes for which, let's face it, the market has pretty much evaporated.
Take 2970 Avalon Ave in Berkeley. This five-bedroom English Tudor style home in the Claremont Court neighborhood was listed on April 17 at $2,950,000. A reality check has now seen a not insignificant $400,000 lopped off its price tag. It is now asking $2,595,000.
EBRDI 2009
This Claremont Court home in Berkeley has just had $400K chopped off its original $2.95m asking price.
Over in north Berkeley, the recently built home at 65 Southampton Rd, which the Chronicle profiled here, has also had a significant price reduction. It went on the market in January for $1,980,000 and is now down to $1,595,000.
The "executive-style" home at 60 Wildwood Ave in Piedmont has recently submitted to its third price cut. It's now going for $1,475,000 having started in March at $1,825,000.
Also in Piedmont, the restored Tudor at 35 Muir Ave is slicing its price. Having listed in March for $3,500,000, it is now down to $3,150,000.
For a while there it looked like "premium" neighborhoods, such as parts of Berkeley and Piedmont, might be immune to the housing meltdown. These forced reductions would seem to quash that theory pretty conclusively.
| May 27 2009 at 09:37 AM
No shortage of top-dollar homes in Lamorinda
Yesterday I looked at East Bay homes at the pinnacle of the property market in terms of price. But I reserved a foray into the really wealthy enclaves of the East Bay for today with a trip through the Caldecott tunnel into Lamorinda.
CCAR 2009
Top dollar in Orinda: this Sandhill Rd estate asking $7.5m.
This is where the well-to-do who favor a more suburban vibe can be found, living a more secluded, but no less luxurious, life than their city counterparts.
First up is the newly listed 5/4.5, 6,000 sq ft home at 92 Sandhill Rd described as "one of the best estates in Orinda" and going for $7,500,000. It boasts great views, marble floors galore and a pool.
Next, in Lafayette, is a recently listed gated estate on Happy Valley Rd. First time on the market since 1947, the $6,750,000 price-tag secures you 32 acres with orchards and lawns, a 4/4, 5,000 sq ft home, a pool, tennis court and cottage. The property represents a "once-in-a-life-time opportunity to recreate a masterpiece", apparently.
CCAR 2009
Top price in Lafayette: this $6.75m, 32-acre estate on Happy Valley Rd.
CCAR 2009
This "French country ranch" in Moraga is going for $2.9m.
Also newly listed in Moraga is a $2,999,000 "fully rebuilt French country ranch" at 90 Valley Hill Rd with gourmet kitchen, infinity pool and five-stall barn. It should appeal to the rurally inclined, as there's also a chicken coop and aviary. This property is recorded as having last changed hands two years ago for $650,000.
Phew. We haven't even started on Walnut Creek, but I think that's as many stratospherically priced homes we can deal with in one day.
| May 22 2009 at 10:11 AM
Oblivious to the downturn? The East Bay's most expensive homes
It's all about bargains these days right? At least that's what we're told if we keep up with real-estate news: it's a buyers' market and only a fool would pay the asking price for a home they covet.
But some people evidently didn't get the memo. For in a parallel universe, multi-million dollar homes glide onto the market, their price tags barely acknowledging our straitened economic times.
EBRDI 2009
Piedmont's most expensive home: this $6.8m English-style home.
True, those prices may have been even more generously proportioned a couple of years ago -- but if there's one thing the most expensive homes in the East Bay have in common, it's that they're out of range for the vast majority of prospective homebuyers -- bargain hunters or not.
Piedmont, of course, takes the prize for top-price home: 33 Tyson Circle is an 8,000 sq ft (yes, 8,000) "English-style" home with views, a pool, full-size tennis court and "many outdoor entertainment areas" including a patio and waterfall. Set on 1.25 acres, the home has six bedrooms and six bathrooms and has been listed for 20 days, price: $6,800,000 ($849/sq ft).
EBRDI 2009
Oakland's most expensive home: 7080 Kenilworth Rd at $3.9m.
In second place: an Oakland hills home that has been on the market for 120 days and has seen a $260,000 price chop. 7080 Kenilworth Rd, a 5/4.5, 5,000 sq ft "minimalist contemporary", started out in January with an asking price of $4,250,000 and is now going for $3,999,000.
EBRDI 2009
And Berkeley's top-price home: 2970 Avalon Rd at $2.9m.
Which all makes $2,950,000 seem eminently reasonable. This is what is being asked for 2970 Avalon Rd in Berkeley's Claremont Court neighborhood -- an English Tudor and "proud representation of beauty, character and craftsmanship". There are five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, a pretty garden -- and the new owner will enjoy a "complete array of state-of-the-art conveniences". It's been listed for 34 days.
Tomorrow we'll skip through the tunnel to see what Lamorinda has on offer for the gilded set.
| May 21 2009 at 10:16 AM
Home sellers and home buyers don't see eye to eye on pricing
The troubling housing market doesn't seem to have helped align the opinions of home sellers and home buyers when it comes to pricing. Although people putting their home on the market today are more realistic about what it might fetch, especially compared to the "good old days", buyers still tend to think homes are overpriced and want to see more bargains.
And, perhaps unsurprisingly given their propensity to always see a silver lining, Realtors are generally expressing optimism about the housing market -- all this according to a second-quarter nationwide survey of 1,150 Realtors conducted by the Emeryville-based home values website HomeGain.
The survey shows that 36% of homeowners think their homes should be listed 10-20% higher than the price their Realtors are recommending, down from 45% in the first quarter. Conversely, 64% of homebuyers think that homes are overpriced (versus 59% who believed the same in the first quarter).
"The results ... indicate that home sellers seem to be getting the message that perhaps their homes are not worth as much as they thought they were, while buyers are expecting to find a bargain on every corner, " said Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.
BayEast 2009
From $660K to $500K for this 3-bed home on Carson St in Oakland: perhaps a case of sellers and buyers having different price expectations.
The disparity could explain, at least in part, the steady stream of homes seeing price reductions -- such as this three-bedroom home at 4461 Carson St in Oakland's Redwood Heights neighborhood which has seen its price drop from $660,000 to $500,000; or this 3-bedroom contemporary on Santa Barbara Rd in north Berkeley which has just seen $100K knocked off its original $1,099,000 asking price.
The Realtors surveyed expressed more optimism on the direction of home prices in the second quarter survey than in the first quarter with 22% thinking that home values will rise in the next six months compared to just 11% who believed that three months ago. And 29% believe that home prices will fall in the next six months versus 53% who believed the same in the first quarter survey.
It's interesting to compare the results of this survey with one conducted recently by Zillow which showed that 60% of homeowners believed their properties had lost value over the last twelve months.
The complete survey results, including regional breakdown and real estate agent commentary, can be found here.
| May 18 2009 at 10:07 AM
Hoping for a first: an East Bay community that would do without cars
Peculiar perhaps, but sometimes it takes reading the New York Times to discover what's going on in your own backyard.
You may have spotted a story on the front page of The Gray Lady on Monday about a town in Germany that does without cars. You may also have noticed a passing reference to a proposal to develop a similar, largely car-free community "on the outskirts of Oakland".
Google Maps
This abandoned quarry in the heart of Hayward could one day be a bustling, largely car-free neighborhood.
A little investigation reveals the development in question would actually be in the heart of Hayward, on the site of an abandoned quarry and to be named, appropriately enough, Quarry Village.
The concept, which was conceived about nine years ago, calls for 950 modular housing units built on a 30-acre site which offers both Bay views and extreme convenience. The homes would be about a mile from Hayward BART and very close to the Cal State Hayward campus. The community would have its own bus service and cars would be kept to a minimum.
Sherman Lewis, chair of the Quarry Village organization, and also president of the Hayward Area Planning Association, says more than 100 people have so far expressed serious interest in living in the proposed community and the next step is to find investors.
Sherman says he hasn't seen a model that replicates precisely what Quarry Village hopes to achieve. "People have done this in little pieces but no-one has yet put all the pieces together," he says. He points out that many non-car dependent neighborhoods, such as the German town of Vauban profiled in the Times, are set apart from existing communities. "This would have very tight connections to the community and be ultra convenient."
Full information about Quarry Village can be found on its website.
| May 14 2009 at 11:28 AM
When your mega-home just won't sell: try a raffle
For the mega-homes that can't find buyers, it seems a raffle is increasingly seen as a solution.
The latest home to get the raffle treatment is 4616 Rockingham Ct in the Oakland hills. This seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 9,000 square foot contemporary home hit the market in June 2007 for $6,388,000. It went on to be marked down by $2 million, so that its last asking price was $4,388,000.
www.4616rockingham.com
A $175 raffle ticket could win you this $4.3m home in the Oakland hills.
Now the Neighborhood House of North Richmond (NHNR), a California nonprofit, is offering the home -- with its five-bridge view, sport court and home theater -- as the grand prize in its "Dream Big Raffle 2009". If you don't fancy the real estate, you can select to take $2 million cash instead.
Raffle tickets are priced at $175 each, with some early-bird discounts until the end of May. See full details here.
| May 11 2009 at 10:00 AM
