May

23

Sweetest Street in Kensington!

Posted In: Community, For Buyers, Kensington, New Home Sales, Photos, Schools

Great place to call home – come check out 65 Arlington Ct – our new listing on the sweetest street in Kensington! 65 Arlington Ct. has 3 bd/ 1 ba with lots of light, a really friendly floor plan, close to the library, pre-schools, the park, and Kensington shops – what a great community to come home to! Check out [...]

May

12

New Listing in Kensington!

Posted In: Kensington, Listings, New Home Sales

Krista and I  have been working for the last month with a lovely family to get their home ready for the market. This is a really charming 3 bd/2 bath home in Kensington — with beautifully (re)finished floors, great light, spacious rooms, and such a sweet private backyard – perfect for warm weekend BBQ’s!  It’s all one level on a [...]

Mar

18

Harry Potter House and 70’s style Hot tub

Posted In: Berkeley, For the Heck of It, Kensington, Photos

Every Thursday Krista and I get to go out and preview the new homes on the market that week.  And its one of my favorite parts of this job. I’ve always been nosy and there is something so satisfying about getting a sneak peak at what’s about to hit the market. Some weeks there is nothing really of interest but [...]

Feb

12

Country Cheese is coming to Kensington

Posted In: Food and Dining, Kensington, Neighborhood Businesses

Look at what Kensington will be getting…the Country Cheese Company! I was driving my daughter to preschool and passing through the small business district when I saw the sign go up: Country Cheese Company.  Even Kaia noticed it. “What happened to the Arlington General Store?” I said to Kaia.  “They have been there forever.”  Turns out they were there for [...]

May

08

Wanna Know About East Bay Schools?

Posted In: Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Kensington, Richmond, Schools

I am at the Berkeley Board of Realtors and learning about the plans for WCCUSD, AUSD, BUSD. Major topic across the board? How to close the achievement gap. Did you know that… – 92% of Albany High kids go on to college – all 3 districts have “academy” schools which teach vocational skills. WCCUSD has 21! – all 3 districts [...]

Aug

01

Home Sales Up : Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito

Posted In: Alameda, Alameda County, Albany, Berkeley, Contra Costa County, El Cerrito, Kensington, Local Market Statistics, Oakland

Looks like home sales in our area were up the last couple of months, despite the rest of the country seeing a decrease.  The median price in the immediate east bay jumped to its highest level in almost four years.  This is due in part to super-low interest rates, pre-approval guidelines opening up, and no inventory. The median price paid [...]

Jul

27

Benchmark Pizza opens in Kensington

Posted In: Community, Food and Dining, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Kensington

I just love good pizza.  So it is no surprise that I was eagerly counting down the days when Benchmark Pizza, the newest eatery in the Kensington Circle, would open.   We met some friends there for the grand opening celebration on July 20th.  There were tons and tons of people waiting, and it wasn’t long before we were seated. [...]

Feb

29

Kensington Pub Meets New Owners

Posted In: Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Good Eats, Kensington

Ah yes, it is true, I heard it from the horse’s mouth.  On Sunday night we ventured to the Kensington Circus Pub with friends for some good beer, good food, and good fun.  {With young kids, this is the B E S T place to go for dinner}  While there we asked the manager for the scoop, and he said [...]

Feb

25

Days On Market, Last 2 Years: Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Kensington, Richmond and Oakland

Posted In: Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Kensington, Local Market Statistics, Oakland, Richmond

Let’s take a look at what the average days on market has done over the last two years in each of our neighborhoods.  Percentages are from Jan/07 vs. Jan/09. Albany, down 66% Jan 2007  24 Jan 2008  43 Jan 2009  8 Berkeley, all, down 7% Jan 2007  45 Jan 2008  43 Jan 2009  42 Berkeley Hills, up 7% Jan 2007  [...]

Jan

10

Contra Costa County Homeowner Repair Loans

Posted In: El Cerrito, General Real Estate News, Home Improvement, Home Maintenance, Kensington, Mortgage & Finance, Richmond

          Did you know that there are programs out there to help low-income homeowners fix up their homes?  In Contra Costa County there is a program called the Neighborhood Preservation Program which is operated by the CCC Building Inspection Department.  The program, created in 1975, makes loans to very-low and low-income homeowners to help fix up [...]