Halloween is not far away, and Piedmont families are making plans to attend two upcoming events which promise lots of fun, and a huge variety of things to do while waiting for the "big night" on the 31st.  The appealing "Haunted Halloween Bash" is first on their list. Scheduled for Friday, October 25th, from 6:30-9:30 p.m., it is designed to attract K-5th grade children to attend a super party filled with games with a Halloween theme, a dance party, a magic show and the thrills of a mini haunted house.  If they get hungry while enjoying all this activity, snacks and treats are available. Costumes are encouraged to stay with the theme of the activities, and add to the fun. They should meet at the Buzz Redford Gym at Piedmont Middle School, 740 Magnolia…

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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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Here is a chance for Piedmont residents to support Piedmont High School, and have a pleasant time doing so!  On Monday, October 11th, the Piedmont High School Boosters will be presenting its 2013 Highlander Classic Golf and Tennis Tournament.  It will be held at the Claremont Country Club in Oakland, beginning at 11:00 a.m.. This event offers  a great opportunity to play golf or tennis with your friends and neighbors, and, at the same time, provide important funding for PHS athletic programs as well as the PHS Study Hall Program.

You can choose to participate in the sports events by purchasing a ticket to play either golf or tennis. Your purchased ticket includes golf or tennis, lunch, and a cocktail party, plus awards, raffle, and a silent…

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Tomorrow, September 29th, is a big day for Piedmont families and their friends.  It is the date of the annual Harvest Festival, and is held right in the center of town, and an easy walk or bike ride for most of those attending. It is packed with events from morning to afternoon designed to appeal to all ages and interests. 

Starting bright and early are the growing and cooking contests, where residents are encouraged to compete by entering items that were home grown within the boundaries of Piedmont, and another contest to present recipes based around foods that can be grown, or were grown, within Piedmont. For those who are interested in these wonderful foods, there will also be a Farmers Market with all kinds of choices starting at 10:30 a.m.. 

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Tomorrow morning, September 28th, many Piedmont families and their friends will be participating in the 2013 PUSD Wellness Center Fall Fest 5k Run.  This "just right" sized run is ideal for children as well as seniors. Additionally, participants can run or walk the route.

 To encourage a wide range of entrants, the top 3 male and female finishers in each age category will be receiving medals, and additionally, there will be prizes for overall first 3 male and first 3 female finishers.  There are a broad range of categories, beginning with age 8 and under, and moving on up to runners 60+years old. 

Starting at 8:30 a.m. from Piedmont Community Center, the route of the race is designed to take runners along streets that feature some of the most…

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When Piedmont homeowners drive by Piedmont City Hall during their daily family activities, they may not realize the source of this very unique, and handsome building with its lovely fountain, and appealing and gracious Spanish Mission style influence. Designed by famous architect Albert Farr, it's original design was a combined city hall and fire department with a bell tower (which cleverly doubled as a hose drying tower). Built in 1908, it was the beginning of the circle of creativity in the area.  One of the most famous downtown landmarks, the Exedra Arch, was designed by Farr in 1916, and has become an iconic symbol of the city. 

Just across from the Arch, at 400 Highland Avenue, is the Piedmont Community Church.  This was part of the original…

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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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The recent Bay Area Market Report for the first quarter of 2013 has just been released, and the results are very exciting for Oakland homeowners, and Piedmont home sellers who have been considering putting their home on the market.  Right now, there is a drastic shortage of homes for sale on the market.  As of March 31, 2013, there are only 4098 existing single-family detached homes were listed for sale in the entire nine-county Bay area.  While this is an improvement from the 3.370 homes available as of 12/2012, it is still down 55 % from the 10,282 homes available a year ago to date. 

While home sales have fallen to their lowest level in five years in the Bay Area, once homes are placed on the market, all nine Bay Area counties reported…

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For those Piedmont and Oakland area residents who treasure the stunning historical and architecturally varied homes in the area, an opportunity arrives each year to tour some of the most amazing ones.  This year, the annual Heart of Home Tour celebrates its 25th year of providing just such an opportunity. 

This week, on April 26th and 27th, four Piedmont homes, and one Oakland home, are on the schedule.  The tour is sponsored by the Children's Support League of the East Bay, who, since its founding in 1986 have given $2.9 million in grants.  One of the homes featured as the designer showcase home is a Georgian Colonial Revival home . The owners of this home have generously allowed local designers to come in and redesign some of their rooms for…

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The busiest home buying season of the year is about to arrive, and it has just developed into one of the best times for sellers in years.  A lot is going on, in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, that affects the value of a Piedmont or Oakland home.  Here are some of the elements at work:

1. Lack of Available Homes On the Market--Throughout the Bay Area, the inventory of available homes is extremely low.  This means that motivated buyers are competing against each other for fewer homes. Additionally, it means that home prices are rising dramatically, as buyers compete fiercely against each other to purchase the limited home stock.  An indication is that last year's February's median single family home price in the immediate nine bay area…

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