Thoughts and listings about Oakland Homes and Oakland Condos

No matter where you want to buy a home, be it Piedmont, Montclair, or Oakland, the same basic rules apply once you see a home that you want to purchase.  Although I will be assisting you through all these steps to assure that you present the very best offer, it is helpful to plan ahead, so that when that special event arrives, you will be ready. 

1. One of the buyer's most important considerations is knowledge about the house and the neighborhood. Once you decide on that special home, I will be glad to assist you with market analyses and comparable sales information, so you will have a full sense of the marketplace that you will be working in.  You will then have a sense of what other buyers have paid for similar homes in the area, and how those…

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Families in the Redwood Heights neighborhood can look forward to fun tomorrow night at the Redwood Heights Recreation Center. This Friday, September 13th (weather permitting), the center will be offering a Movie in the Park designed to appeal to all ages.  The movie is held in the park area next to the center, and is free of charge.  Previous movies have included "Spy Kids", "The Princess Bride", Brave, "The Lorax", and many more.  This week they are showing the very popular "Back To The Future".

Nearby Montclair and Oakmore homeowners are encouraged to join in as well.  The advice from the Recreation Center is to plan to dress warmly, bring your own food and lawn chairs, or, if you want to get into the movie mood, popcorn will be available for…

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While long term Montclair homeowners know about this unique structure, and are used to seeing it daily as they drive around the Village, newcomers are often truly surprised by this very unique structure on Moraga Road, adjacent to Montclair Park.  It is in fact, the old Montclair Firehouse, and when built, fit very nicely into the unique "Storybook" or "Hansel and Gretel" style of architecture that was developing in the area.  Built in 1927, by the city of Oakland, it was designed to replicate the German forest of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale.  In fact, the style was so popular, the city developed the same basic look for the Montclair Public Library just around the corner on Mountain Boulevard which still operates today, and is especially…

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Not too long ago, urban residents who wanted a selection of fruits and vegetables or flowers had to rely on their local supermarket as their only resource.  Since the rise of local farmers markets, just about every city in the Bay area has developed their own site for shoppers who appreciate the unique and direct from-the-farm products that are now available. 

Two of the most popular are the Grand Lake Farmers Market in the Lakeshore district, and the Montclair Farmers Market in the Montclair district of Oakland.  The Grand Lake Market is the larger of the two, and is located at the intersection of Grand Lake and Lake Park.  It is held every Saturday morning of the year from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m..  From food trucks to tiny stalls, just about every food…

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High in the hills above Oakland, CA is the quiet and beautiful Joaquin Miller Park.  Many of the park's 500 acres have sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay and adjacent cities.  Located just above one of the largest cities in Northern California, it is home to the only urban second-growth redwood groves in existence, and it offers many picnic areas and trails for families to enjoy.  Adjacent to both the Montclair and Redwood Heights neighborhoods, it is a pleasant respite for bike riding, hiking, or just a quiet time viewing the Bay.  As a result, Oakland homes for sale in this area are always in demand.    

The park is named after eccentric writer and poet Joaquin Miller, who once owned the land.  His home, called "The Abbey" is a California…

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Many new visitors arrive in Oakland daily, and many long term Oakland homeowners have never toured their city, nor discovered it's history.  If you are new to Oakland, or are considering purchasing a home here, the Oakland Walking Tours are a perfect opportunity to get to know the city's past and present downtown area. 

From May to October, these tours offer a free 90 minute walking tour through some of the historic and scenic areas of the Oakland downtown district from Jack London Square out to Lake Merritt.  History is everywhere, as are new and vital businesses awaiting your attention.

An example of the variety of the experience is the "Uptown to the Lake" tour. With the stress on classic Art Deco designs, it encompasses area…

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With the exciting weekly and monthly activities that are scheduled all around Jack London Square and revitalized downtown Oakland there is as great deal of interest among buyers in the outstanding choices of housing in the area.  Jack London condos offer a wide variety of styles, prices and views.  The best part, no matter what home you choose, just about everything that you might need in terms of fun and community is within  walking distance for the busy resident. 

Enjoy the beautiful views as you walk along the waterfront, and make plans to shop at the weekly Farmer's Market in the Square with it's amazing variety of foods, entertainment,and crafts.  Meet with friends, and take a  ride on the nearby ferry vessel to San Francisco,and from there…

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Of interest to local architecture and history buffs is the recent listing of 6401 Castle Dr. in the Piedmont Pines area of Oakland. Built in 1937, for a model home tour that was a part of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, it is on the market for the first time since the mid 1960's. (The Exposition Model Home Tour encompassed twelve homes in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.) With original Art Deco and Art Moderne features still intact, one gets that rare opportunity to seemingly slip into another time and place in history, if only for a moment.  One of the most interesting aspects of the house is the metal Art Deco inspired stairway, with posts of lighted glass blocks, framed by a large vertical leaded glass window, and…

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If you are considering buying or selling an Oakland home or other Alameda county home soon, you might want to consider the conclusions arrived at by an analysis of MLS data done by the research division of Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate. They concluded "a continued shortage of homes for sale combined with a strong demand to drive the median price of a home sharply higher in all 15 Alameda County communities in the second quarter of 2013." 

By way of illustration, with regard to individual homes, or "unit sales", in Alameda County, In 2013, the 2nd quarter median sales price of an existing single family detached home was $593,586 which was up 23 % from $480,812 in the 1st quarter, but more impressively, up 36% from the 2nd…

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Oakland's Trestle Glen area was built around transportation.  Before it was as you see it today, it was the heart of  railroad line which ran along Trestle Glen Creek (mostly underground, now), and was originally named Indian Gulch after the Huchiun Indians who lived in the area. That railroad ran through nearby Montclair, and back through the Oakland hills, carrying freight, passengers and tourists from 1893 to 1906 when it was rerouted and torn down. The next transportation influence to encourage growth and development was the expansion of streetcar lines which allowed homeowners in the neighborhood to travel the short distance from their newly built homes above Lakeshore Avenue to their jobs in downtown Oakland, or across the bay to San Francisco. 

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