Bay Area California Real Estate Blog and News

In the last three and a half years, Oakland rents have skyrocketed by 71%! Much of this is undoubtedly due to the migration of San Franciscans who have decided to make the move to the East Bay because of the even higher rents in San Francisco. However, there is more to it than just this. Oakland has been experiencing a bit of a Renaisance in the past few years. I'm sure many of you have heard the analogy by now that San Francisco is Manhattan and Oakland is the new Brooklyn. There is some real truth to this and it's not just a result of booming real estate value, but more of a causality of this actually.

As more and more people are leaving the ridiculousness of the San Francisco market, they are making the move to Oakland and with them have come new restaurants, beer...

This just in. The City of Oakland currently has just announced that there are funds available for the Mortgage Assistance Program. This program is designed to assist low and moderate income first time home buyers with the purchase of a home in the City of Oakland, CA.  Depending on household income, the mortgage assistance program may assist with 20-30% of the mortgage. That's pretty huge. There is a limited amount of funds available so you have to act now if you are interested. Could be a great time to make a move! Read more about the program here. 

I've lived in Emeryville for 5 years and even though I am aware that it is located right by the bay, I did not expect to see what I saw on the 7^th floor deck of the Emerson: breath taking views! The Oakland harbor with its creature like cranes, the San Francisco hills, the Bay Bridge, with skyline of San Francisco, the Golden Gate bridge and the Marin headlands. Literally: views for days. The roof deck of this building is what got me sold. I started day dreaming of super bowl parties, brunches, romantic sunsets with wine and early morning mediation while watching the sunrise. Being a realtor, I see a lot of beautiful buildings, but this one made me want...

Libraries are now so much more than loaning books. Ever expanding the Marin County libraries are also education centers:

• Homework HelpNow! is a program that provides online homework help from 1:00pm - 10:00 pm Monday through Friday. This help is available in English and Spanish.

• Live Tutoring: Join the online classroom and receive help from a ...

Is The Bay Area Real Estate Market Starting To Change?

After years of record growth it looks like the Bay Area Real Estate market is finally starting to change, especially when it comes to homes priced at $2 million dollars or more. The days of bidding wars like those that were common during the last 4 years are slowly becoming a thing of the past, or at least decreasing. This is true for Marin County as well. Buyers are acting with less sense of urgency and are taking their time to find their dream homes. Sellers are reluctantly adjusting to this "new" trend. My advise to selling clients is to "under price" their homes to ensure a lot of buzz. This strategy often leads to more than one offer, which is all it takes to drive up the price. 

Time for Buyers to Get Off the Fence

With incomes rising across the Bay Area, falling home prices, and historically low mortgage interest rates now is the perfect...

This conforming loan product is specially tailored to support young doctors who've recently entered the work force and who are looking to purchase a new home. As you know, one common thread linking most fledgling doctors is a mountain of student debt. This debt is often on deferment for a number of years in order to help newly employed doctors establish their careers. Unfortunately, standard conforming guidelines mandate that even future, deferred payments be included in all debt ratios.  If documentation is not available to outline what the future payment will be, standard guidelines hit the borrower with a monthly payment equal to 1% of the outstanding student loan balance. On $200,000 of student loans, this would amount to an additional $2000 monthly payment being factored into the borrower's debt payments, making it extremely difficult...

It's almost Halloween.  Do you know what/who you will be? 

As you may suspect, the East Bay real estate market is getting a bit spooky. Berkeley is not an exception.

Though median sold price in September is 5% higher than that of last year, the percentage increase is a lot smaller than many of the previous months. 

Whether this trend continues or not, we will find out when the October numbers are available.

If you are looking to buy or sell in Berkeley, please contact me anytime! - Hiroko
 

What do Dixie Elementary, Kentfield, Larkspur-Corte Madera, Novato Unified, Ross Elementary, San Rafael City, and Tamalpais Union High School Districts all have in common? They are the elite few school districts in California to have some of their schools presented with Gold Ribbon Awards.

Marin County is home to many extraordinary schools - public, charter and private, but few public schools in California meet the requirements to be honored with the Gold Ribbon Schools Award (currently taking the place of the California Distinguished Schools Program).

Gold Ribbon Awards are presented to schools by the Department of Education that have implemented academic content and performance standards approved by the...