(Discovered yesterday while showing clients houses in Rockridge)

” New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit.”  Despite the Occupy protests, Oakland is getting pretty good reviews. Oakland has some phenomenal restaurants- Commis, Dona Tomas and Plum are some favorite restaurants.  The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area’s top music venues, although Yoshi’s will always be my top spot.  Although I have not personally been a part of Oakland’s night scene since having kids (I know, it stinks!), I hear it is still alive and kicking.  Another reason Oakland hit the top 5.

Funny note: this morning, while listening to Sarah and Vinnie on Alice, one caller said “Oakland is San Francisco’s worst neighborhood.” Clearly they won’t be visiting anytime soon.

Maybe once they realize Umami Burger is coming to Oakland they will change their mind.

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/13/in-law-units-east-bay/

Fruitvale BART
South Parking Lot
3401 East 12th St.
Oakland, CA

Both Alameda County and Contra Costa County have a county transfer tax of $1.10/$1,000.

Example: If the sales price of a house in Berkeley is $500,000 then the seller can expect to pay $500 for the county transfer tax and both the buyer and seller can expect to split the city transfer tax of $7,500.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Bay Area locales where homes sell the most above asking price tend to be relatively affordable, according to a report from ZipRealty released Friday.

That underscores the sway that investors and first-time home buyers hold in today’s real estate market, where bargain homes bring out multiple bids that drive up the price.

The highest offers (measured by sales price-to-list price ratio) were clocked in the East Bay’s 94608 ZIP code, which includes Emeryville and part of Oakland. Homes there on average sold for 105.65 percent of the asking price in the third quarter, said ZipRealty, a national real estate brokerage with headquarters in Emeryville.

That ZIP stood out as one of the top 10 “hottest” U.S. areas in terms of offers exceeding asking price, Zip said.

“The housing stock there is single-story Craftsmen style two-bedroom one-bathroom homes built in the 1920s through 1940s,” said David Kerr, a Zip Realtor who specializes in the East Bay. “The homes are in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. I’ve been writing offers there like nobody’s business and getting beat out, often by cash offers.”

All-cash offers are the telltale mark of investors. Kerr said a fair number of homes on the market in Oakland were foreclosures that investors bought, fixed up and flipped. “I’ve seen the same house picked up at a (foreclosure) auction go back on the market and sell higher than the highest comparable sale in that area because it’s been rehabbed,” he said.

The third “hottest” Bay Area ZIP code, 94606 in central Oakland, is similarly affordable with a median price of $279,000, he said.

Of both ZIP codes, Kerr said: “Homes here were selling in the $400,000s and $500,000s at the height of the market and now you’re picking them up in the $200,000s and $300,000s.”

The second hottest Bay Area ZIP, 95122 in South San Jose, is one of the region’s foreclosure hot spots, where bargain-priced bank repossessed homes are readily available.

On the other side of the spectrum, the “coldest” ZIP code in the Bay Area, where homes sold for the most below asking price, was Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, where the average list price is currently $2.5 million, according to Movoto.com. Homes there on average sold for 92.26 percent of their asking price in the third quarter, Zip said.

The sales ratio was also low in the much more affordable Rio Vista, a troubled town in Solano County, where homes sold for 93.47 percent of their asking price, according to the report.

Nationwide, the hottest ZIP code was in the Rancho Bernardo community of San Diego, where homes sold for 125 percent of list price in the third quarter, Zip said. The coldest ZIP was Denton, Texas, where homes went for 30 percent of their asking price.

Hot ZIPs
These are the Bay Area ZIP codes where houses sold for the highest ratio to their asking price in the third quarter.

City ZIP Ratio
Emeryville        94608          105.65%
San Jose           95122          105.22
Oakland           94606          105.06
Berkeley           94703          104.78
San Lorenzo     94580          104.45

Cold ZIPs
These are the Bay Area ZIP codes where houses sold for the lowest ratio to their asking price in the third quarter.

City ZIP Ratio
Rio Vista          94571          93.47%
Napa                94558          93.45
Alamo              94507          93.07
Half Moon Bay 94019           92.94
Los Gatos/ Monte Sereno      95030     92.26

Source: ZipRealty

Number 1: San Francisco

The San Francisco metro area has seen its home values drop by a quarter, and the city still has some pain to work through. The city’s median home price is expected fall another 8.3% by June 2010.

After that, however, the market there may come roaring back: Fiserv predicts a 14.3% gain between June 2010 and June 2011. Averaged out, that means a 4.8% gain over the next two years.

One reason for the sharp comeback is that much of the area’s excess inventory will have been sold. It’s already dropped by nearly in half over the past year.

The recovery will be delayed, though, as the area — particularly Oakland and the East Bay — works through its foreclosure problems. During the first six months of 2009, one of every 52 homes had at least one foreclosure filing.

The good news, according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic, is that core city neighborhoods don’t have nearly as many foreclosures as those out on the fringe. The steady demand in those communities will serve as a base as other neighborhoods rebuild.

Number 6: Oakland

Looming over Oakland’s metro area is the exotic mortgage, such as option ARMs, which will start to reset to higher rates over the next few months. It’s feared that could fuel another severe wave of foreclosures.

Still, the foreclosure problem of Oakland pales in comparison with those of inland California cities. Plus, the city also has a lot going for it, including many communities that are “highly sought after by homebuyers,” according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic. That should buoy home prices once the economy recovers.

Before that happens, Oakland will have to work through some significant economic problems. Unemployment, at 10.7% in the metro area, exceeds the national average, although it pales in comparison to some of the inland California metro areas. Yuba City, for example, has hit 16.1%, and El Centro is at a whopping 28.7%.
With the prospect of continued job losses, it’s no surprise that Fiserv is predicting an 11.7% drop in home prices by June 2010. After that, however, Fiserv expects Oakland to take off again thanks to its strong and varied businesses, such as health insurer Kaiser Permanente, Clorox and retailer Dreyer’s.

Its position across the Bay from San Francisco and its great educational institutions, led by the University of California, provide a further base for the economy. Fiserv forecasts that home prices will return to double digit growth starting next June and produce gains of 13.7% in the following year. Averaging out the drop and the gain, Fiserv expects a 0.4% rise over the next two years*.

Other cities on the list: Seattle, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Memphis, Birmingham

Click here to read the original article from cnnmoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0910/gallery.housing_price_forecast/index.html

One of the biggest questions I get lately is “how much have prices goine down?”  This is pretty easy to answer.  If you look at the statistical date from the height of the market (2006 – 2007) and compare it to today’s numbers you will see that Richmond has taken the biggest hit, primarily because of foreclosures.  Because of the decline in luxury sales (houses over $1 million) even cities like Rockridge, which historically holds stable, has seen a decline. 

Cities like Berkeley are starting to see more and more foreclosures and short sales, but less and less inventory.  In fact, most areas are seeing the same.  One reason for lower inventory is that sellers who are able are holding onto their property and trying to wait out the storm.  The downside in this is that buyers have less inventory to choose from so it is creating a multiple offer frenzy in many areas, which is ultimately increasing prices.  But this is exactly what sellers are hoping for, prices to go up. 

Buyers are trying to take advantage of this wave before rates creep up and the tax credit expires.  Speaking from the buyers perspective, “Sellers, bring on your house!”

As I was sitting in traffic I noticed 3 airplanes clogging up the skyway.  They all appeared to be heading towards the airport, and it occurred to me that the sky must also have a rush hour. 

Check out this website:

http://oak.webtrak-lochard.com/template/index.html  

Here you can see the flight path at any given time as airplanes are heading into and out of the airport.  At the time of this post (which was written during rush hour) I counted 11 airplanes on the screen.  I will have to check back tomorrow morning to see if it changed.

Need road conditions?  Go here.    http://511.org/ 

I’m heading home.  Don’t watch, you might just catch me washing my face, changing my shirt, or eating a piece of chicken (all things I have seen.)

EL CERRITO
El Cerrito hosts the 11th Annual WorldOne Festival featuring live reggae, dub and world music. On Saturday from 10am to 6pm there is a family festival with games for children, food, arts and crafts as well as live entertainment on two stages, Circus Imagination will amaze young children with an interactive animal-free circus show and Carnival Rides.  This is one of my FAVORITE festivals in town and I look forward to it each year.  Click here for the line up http://www.el-cerrito.org/recreation/july4lineup.html.

BERKELEY MARINA
It’s a day full of fun starting at noon on the 4th of July. The south shore of the Berkeley Marina at the bottom of University Ave. is filled with great stuff to do all day. Adventure Playground, always a favorite, is open 11am-8pm. Sign up for an old-fashioned sack race or get your face painted. Try the giant slide or splash in the water at the beach!  Plenty of fun stuff for adults, too! No need to cook – lots of international food booths. Live entertainment from noon until 9PM on the main stage. There’s art & craft booths, massages, free sailboat rides from 1-4pm, dragon boat rides from 2-6pm, and much more including the grand fireworks off the end of the Berkeley Pier at 9:30pm.  http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com

JACK LONDON SQUARE
4th of July 2009 Festival with music & fireworks @ Jack London Square (Oakland). Five hours of live music, plus kids entertainment and a 20 minute fireworks show at dusk Saturday, July 4, 2009 4:00 pm to 9:35 pm. The Port of Oakland and the City of Oakland will present a 20 minute fireworks show over the Oakland and Alameda estuary. Jack London Square provides a prime viewing area for watching this spectacular event. The fireworks will begin at 9:15 PM and end at 9:35 PM. Jack London Square will celebrate the holiday with live music beginning at 7:00 PM. Enjoy the big band sounds of the Ben Oni Orchestra and the Rhythm and Blues of the Blues Burners. Free bike valet will be available at 7:00 PM at Jack London Square’s newest shop, Bay Area Bikes. Jack London Square will operate during the day as usual, providing canoe and kayak rentals as well as bike rentals and retail shopping. Cost: FREE -  http://www.jacklondonsquare.com/newscenter/oakland-july-fireworks.html