Oakland Ca Real Estate's Blog: All Categories

 Just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy New Year! Cheers to Making 2008 Great! I'm optimistic about this year, I'm looking forward to making strides in my business and personal life, and this is what the new year is all about!

We have been warned several times during the year that the Bay Area hasn't been getting enough rain and snow to fill our reservoirs past the 3/4 level. There has been talk that some parts of northern California would be put under water rationing ordinances to conserve water, unless our reservoir levels rise.

Luckily, the past couple of weeks have brought a series of storms, and the forecast is that we will be getting rain for most of the week. Two to three inches of rain and several feet of snowfall will help a lot, because we rely heavily on the melting snow pack to fill the reservoirs when they melt. It's easy to take water for granted, but every now and then we are reminded of how our water supply is not "guaranteed". Over the coming years, we will…

One of the largest and most vibrant famers markets in Oakland in the one near Lake Merritt at the Grand Lake theatre. Every Saturday you can get fresh organic fruits and vegetables, nuts, cooked foods and specialty items. Several food venders serve ethnic food and sweets, and there are also art vendors who sell hand made art pieces. Oakland has had much success implementing farmers markets, having one in downtown Oakland and one near Lake Merritt.

The move towards organic produce and other products is being fully embraced by Oakland, evidenced by the recent opening of a huge Whole Foods market as well as the first Trader Joes in Oakland.

The A's are going to Fremont, the 49ers suck, and the Oakland Raiders suck as well, so the only glimmer of hope is the Golden State Warriors! The season started off shaky for the Warriors, but since Steve Jackson has come back they have been playing much better. Whether they go to the playoffs or not, the Warriors are THE most entertaining team to watch at the time. They have a very fast paced offense, and they shoot three pointers like they are layups! Baron Davis is a seriously talendted individual, and combined with Monte Ellis, Jackson and Harrington they make a solid squad.

San Francisco has just rolled out a new energy conservation program which rebates home and business owners for installing solar panels on their real estate. Home owners can get $3000-$5000 off the cost of the installation, and business owners can get up to $10,000. Combined with rebates from the state of California, homeowners can potentially get up to $15,000 of the cost of solar panels rebated to them.

This is a great program, and I have a feeling Oakland will be following suit in the near future.

The residential area in Oakland near the Coliseum has been in decline for years. The blocks surrounding the Coiseum BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)  station are a somewhat rougher area of Oakland, with no new construction in years and higher crime rates.  Certain Oakland City leaders are trying to revitalize the area, and the start is a several-hundred unit condo development near the Coliseum BART station, and plans for retail development as well.

This is part of a greater vision to give Oakland a new image, and in conjunction with the other large development projects such as the one in Jack London Square, Oakland is on track to have it's image somewhat redefined in coming years. Mayor Ron Dellums ran on a platform of change, proposing to merge private…

I've had some interesting interactions with buyers over the past couple of months, it seems that the media has some people believing that because it's a so-called "buyers market' , they can basically ask for anything they want. Of course this is far from the truth, and buyers who are unrealistic about how much negotiating power they have can end up dissapointed.

If a property has been on the marke for over two months, then many feel that the seller will automatically be willing to take 30-50k under asking price. What many buyers don't realize is that every seller has different motivations, and not everyone is "desperate" to sell. There are people who can hold off on selling if they don't get what they wan't, although they are the minority.

Another aspect…

There is a glut of Bank Owned Properties in Oakland surrounding areas. It's interesting to see how almost every single bank-owned home is in need of some serious cosmetic TLC. I've seen some the weirdest paint colors, mysterious holes and missing appliances in Bank Owned homes. However if the buyer doesn't mind giving the place a little tlc then there are definitely some decent deals out there. It's not that every Bank Owned property is in disrepair, but I guess I've just seen a lot of them recently. Many times the Banks will have the buyer sign separate addendum forms to make sure the buyer knows that the Bank will not pay for any work that is needed and that it is an "as-is" sale.