Jun

03

Transfer Taxes for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties

Posted In: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, For Buyers, For Sellers, Oakland, Richmond, Taxes

Many cities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties impose a point of sale ordinance on real property.  The chart below will show which cities will impose a transfer tax.  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 [...]

Oct

28

Oaklands Zip 94608 one of the hottest

Posted In: Emeryville, General Real Estate News, Local Market Statistics, Oakland

Some ZIPs drawing more bidding wars Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer 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 [...]

Oct

23

Oakland and San Francisco: Top 10 best bets for housing recovery.

Posted In: Economy, Oakland

The average home price is forecast to plummet over the next two years. But these 7 cities are predicted to post gains. Number 1: San Francisco Median home price: $675,000 Value lost since 2006: 25.7% Forecast gain by 2011*: 4.8% The San Francisco metro area has seen its home values drop by a quarter, and the city still has some [...]

Sep

18

How Much Have Prices Dropped?

Posted In: Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, General Real Estate News, Local Market Statistics, Oakland, Richmond

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 [...]

Jul

10

Oakland Sky Traffic

Posted In: Community, Oakland

The traffic on the 80 corridor heading towards the Maze always kills me.  During rush hour (or any hour, really) I have seen the following: a man wearing a suit jacket drinking coffee directly out of the mug with no lid, a professional typing onto a laptop that was sitting in the passenger seat, and a woman curling her hair using a [...]

Jun

27

Fourth of July Happenings

Posted In: Berkeley, Community, El Cerrito, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Oakland

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 [...]

Jun

26

4707 El Centro Avenue, Oakland Open Sunday 6/28 2-4:30

Posted In: Listings, Oakland

  Wow!  Check out this new listing at 4707 El Centro Avenue in Oakland.  This 3 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath home radiates light throughout.  With 1550 square feet of living space this home features a large, formal dining room, a bright kitchen with tile countertops and breakfast nook, and a warm living room, ready for relaxing.  The house also features thermal-paned windows, hardwood [...]

Jun

26

The Cerrito in El Cerrito and The Parkway in Oakland Expected to Reopen

Posted In: Community, El Cerrito, Oakland

A reader tuned me in to this article posted at SFGate on 6/18- looks like The Cerrito and Parkway will reopen! (06-18) 18:55 PDT — Beer, pizza and “Rocky Horror” drag shows are likely to light up the East Bay movie landscape once more, as two shuttered theaters approach resurrection. The Cerrito Theater in El Cerrito and its former sister theater, the [...]

May

26

How To Spot The Crime In Oakland

Posted In: Oakland

Oakland Crimespotting, which is NOT affiliate with OPD or the City of Oakland, allows you to browse crime reports by day and type via user-friendly, interactive maps.  It has a really neat feature on the bottom left corner of the maps page which gives you a total of reported crimes on a daily basis for about the last 30 days.  And [...]

May

18

New Pizzaiolo -esque eatery @ Grand Lake

Posted In: Community, Good Eats, Oakland

This has been on the hush hush for awhile but based on the Craigslist ad it appears it won’t be much longer.  The peeps at the infamous Pizzaiolo on Telegraph in Oakland have released the details for their new pizza joint located near the Grand Lake Theater.  Pizzaiolo’s owner, Charlie Hallowell, has been fairly tight lipped about the sequel restaurant.  As this [...]