January 2012 - Krista and Rosie

Jan

Prices Drop Nationwide, Not Necessarily the Case in Berkeley and the Surrounding Areas

Posted In: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, General Real Estate News, Local Market Statistics

Case-Shiller Records 3.7% Annual Drop in Home Prices Data released this morning by Standard & Poor’s showed an annual decline of 3.7 percent in November for the 20-city composite reading of its S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Analysts were expecting a year-over-year drop in the range of 3.2 to 3.4 percent. Eighteen cities were in negative territory. Detroit and Washington, D.C. [...]

Jan

Whole Foods Plan for Albany is Moving Forward

Posted In: Albany, Neighborhood Businesses

I am thrilled to report that, 4 years after its introduction, the plan to open a Whole Foods near University Village is making progress. This is great news considering the Oct. 2011 meeting was pretty intense and compromises could not be made. The project will also include a senior housing complex and a public art project.

Jan

Northbrae Neighborhood in Berkeley Ranks Top 10 Places To Live

Posted In: Alameda County, Berkeley, Places

The American Planning Association’s “Great Places In America” has voted our own Northbrae neighborhood in their top 10 places in 2011. Most people associate Northbrae with Monterey Market, Berkeley Horticultural Nursery, and Marin Circle Fountain. Me being me must associate it with food and coffee, so after I grab a latte from Espresso Roma Cafe and a [...]

Jan

What’s New!

Posted In: Architecture

Maya Trilling just listed this wonderful new Bernard Maybeck home located in N. Berkeley at 1476 Greenwood Terrace. The “Frances Gregory House” features 3+ beds, 2 baths, with a large, redwood-clad living room and bay views. It will be open this Sunday. A sweet location, and a sweet price. $925,000.

Jan

Lot for Sale in Berkeley w/Preliminary Approval for 8 Condos

Posted In: Berkeley, Lots and Land, New Developments

Mahmood Mokhtari has a fantastic lot for sale in Berkeley. He describes it as “A very rare find in a fabulously diverse & bustling business district of Berkeley. Zoned R3 high density multi-family. Preliminary approval for 8 condos was obtained approximately in 07 for 4 2bd/2ba, 2 1bd/1.5ba & 2 3bd/2.5ba on 3 levels. Close to public transp., [...]

Jan

Best Pictures of the Week

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Good ol' Fashion Humor, Uncategorized

1) Zoom in, you will see the wooden dinosaur sticking his head out of the window (spotted in North Oakland) 2) Mobile Offices at their best! (spotted outside of Whole Foods in Berkeley) 3) Talk about vintage! (spotted on Euclid in Berkeley)

Jan

Philz Coffee in Berkeley

Posted In: Berkeley, Community, Food and Dining

Philz Coffee in Berkeley is da bomb. Just sayin’. http://www.philzcoffee.com/Customer-Service/Store-Locations And for you Oakland peeps, did you know Philz is working on getting you a location by the end of the year?

Jan

Albany Market Snapshot

Posted In: Albany, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Local Market Statistics

Albany Market Snap Shot The Albany market is getting hotter now that the New Year is underway. Based on current levels of supply and demand I don’t see the trend in price increasing much, if at all. I can’t believe that last month the Average Sales Price for Albany was in the mid-$350k range. But with a large amount of [...]

Jan

Selling Your House? Don’t Do This To Your Yard

Posted In: For Sellers, Good ol' Fashion Humor, Oakland

Note to sellers: if you are selling, either sod the entire yard, or don’t put it in at all. This was just silly. And it WASN’T a work in progress. (Discovered yesterday while showing clients houses in Rockridge)

Jan

Oakland Makes it in the top 5 of the New York Times Best Places to Visit in 2012

Posted In: Alameda County, Good Eats, Oakland

Sweet! The New York Times ranked Oakland among the top 45 places to visit in 2012, earning the number 5 spot just after London, and before Tokyo. ” 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 [...]