Hey FB Millionaires! Here Are The Top Ten Reasons To Move To The East Bay

Posted by dfuller on Feb 22, 2012 in Berkeley, Blog Entries, Emeryville, Oakland, Piedmont | 1 comment

With the IPO of Facebook, the San Francisco Bay Area has a sudden influx of new millionaires. Sure, you can buy a house in Palo Alto, Redwood City or San Jose (after all, you are a millionaire now). But you can have SO much more for your money over here in the Easy Bay! Here are the top ten reasons you should consider buying your home in one of our fine East Bay cities (Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley, Emeryville, Kensington):

Top Ten Reasons You Should Live In The East Bay:

1. Oakland is the center of the Bay Area culinary universe. It’s true! Where once was a wasteland is now a hotbed of yummy delights. Don’t believe me? Clearly the New York Times thinks so. But so does Diablo Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Examiner. With hot new restaurants like Bocanova, Hibiscus, and Wood Tavern, you definitely won’t starve for delicious food. Feeling thirsty instead: Oakland boasts amazing watering holes too. From the sleek Bar Dogwood, to the retro-hip, Bar 355 or grunge art bar, Cafe Van Kleef, you won’t die of thirst either.

2. Have kids? The City of Piedmont School District is consistently rated amongst the top 10 school districts in the state.

3. Need Play Space? The East Bay Regional Park district boasts over 111,000 acres of public land in 65 different parks. There are over 1200 miles of trails in the hills for walking, biking, and horseback riding. If that isn’t enough for you, there are city and county parks here as well.

4. Need a home with some significant square footage? The average price per square foot in Piedmont is $342. In Palo Alto the average price per square foot is $1,128!!! You can definitely make your millions go farther here than there!

5. Its a lot less foggy over here, and warmer in the Summer. It really is (you can still look across the bay, though, at the fog blanketing the West Bay)!

6. Oakland has a thriving art scene. Once a month the enormous Art Murmur takes place in Oakland’s Uptown District. There you can enjoy hundreds of small local galleries, local artisans, food trucks galore, and all of the funky fun that is Oakland’s Uptown District. Want more offbeat art? How about the Albany Bulb? Want to learn to weld, make jewelry, or spin fire? You and your kids can take industrial arts classes at Oakland’s own The Crucible.

7. Oakland has consistently been referred to as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. If you appreciate diversity, diverse opinions and variety all tied up in an air of mutual respect, then the East Bay is for you.

8. How many parking tickets have you gotten in front of your San Francisco flat? Parking over here is almost never an issue. You will gain days of your life back by avoiding the constant need to circle around in search of a parking spot.

9. The locavore movement is alive and well here. There are over 35 Farmer’s Markets to choose from on the weekends- with 12 of those in Oakland alone! My favorites are the market near Lake Merritt on Saturday (includes jumpy castles) and a very groovy version that takes over the DMV parking lot in Temescal on Sundays.

10. Lastly, you will love flying again with the easy navigation, parking and smaller security lines at the Oakland Airport. Tickets are often cheaper than SFO, too!

So, new Facebook millionaires… what are you waiting for? Give me a call and I will be happy to take you on your own private tour of the Bay Area’s best kept secret!

Forty Years of Mortgage Rates

Posted by dfuller on Jan 23, 2012 in Albany, Berkeley, Blog Entries, Emeryville, Oakland, Piedmont | 0 comments

Take a look at this – average mortgage rates for the past 40 years. Just in case you were holding out for rates to drop even further. As you can see, mortgage rates have been below 5% only for the past 1 year. The previous 39 years shows mortgage rates as high as 9% and 10%! Rates are amazing right now. If you are considering searching for a property but still holding out for lower rates, look over the chart again. I suspect these are the lowest rates we will see in our lifetime.

If you get a mortgage below 4% in 2012, how do you think you will feel in 5 or 6 years?

Thanks to Don Gates for this chart!

Holiday Lights In The East Bay

Posted by dfuller on Dec 13, 2011 in Berkeley, Blog Entries, Oakland | 0 comments

When I was younger, my family would always pile into the car and drive to the streets where the residents really went over the top with holiday lights. I remember oooing and ahhing at how far people had gone with lights. If you are in the East Bay and want to know where to go, here are some of my suggestions:

1. Picardy Street in East Oakland. Just about EVERY house on this entire street has lights and each house is connected to each other with a strand of lights as well. Here is where it is.

2. Or you can jump over to Alameda and take a look at “Christmas Tree Lane” - Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside if you want to see the definition of “over the top.”

3. The Oakland Zoo offers Zoolights every holiday season. Check here for the details.

4. Here is a website that gives you some specific addresses in the East Bay to check out.

5. Tilden Park’s Christmas Fantasy - At the Tilden Merry Go Round

6. The Mormon Temple in Oakland always has a spectacular light show.

7. Children’s Fairyland offers Fairy Winterland each December

Whatever you do, enjoy the holiday and have a great new year!