Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hot off the press...The New Chef at TOAST Rocks!

Several people have now told me that the new chef at TOAST in Oakland is off the hook - aka exceptional! Her food is "divine", "really good", "I'm going back", are just a few descriptions. Toast has always been one of my favorite places because of their incredible and consistent service and their ever changing wine menu. And, they are baby and dog friendly. What else could you want! Oh that's right, amazing food. Well, they now have that too. Check it out:  http://www.toastoakland.com/ And if your a dog lover, they have a special evening set aside called the Dog Days of Summer. Super fun. 

By, Gina Odom

pic taken from insidescoopsf.sfgate.com

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

2012 Q1 Sales for Berkeley, CA.

*2012-Q1 Sales for Single Family Homes in Berkeley, CA. (based on 2-3 bed/1-3 bath)



Address List Price Sale Price SqFt bedroom bath
1221 RUSSELL ST $239,950 $250,000 1055 2 1
1011 JONES ST $254,900 $254,900 713 2 1
3104 Acton $259,600 $259,000 883 2 1
1414 7TH ST $269,900 $242,200 816 2 1
3108 DEAKIN ST $270,000 $270,000 1355 3 1
1459 Kains Ave $295,000 $307,000 1408 2 2
2803 Dohr Street $299,000 $305,000 1839 3 3
1925 HARMON ST. $299,000 $343,000 1617 2 2
3010 CALIFORNIA ST $299,900 $265,000 1210 3 1
1739 Dwight Way $320,000 $320,000 700 2 1
828 channing way $324,900 $334,000 856 3 1
2030 6TH ST $324,900 $359,000 1104 2 1
2332 10TH ST $325,000 $250,000 1420 2 1
1248 Haskell $339,000 $320,000 1068 2 1
1614 9TH ST $350,000 $350,000 1093 3 2
2111 7TH ST $355,000 $392,000 1156 2 1
1412 STANNAGE AVE $359,000 $349,000 840 2 1
1310 QUEENS RD $365,000 $405,000 1465 3 2
2410 BYRON ST $369,900 $357,000 949 2 1
1121 BLAKE ST $375,000 $362,000 1267 3 2
1207 BANCROFT WAY $380,000 $380,000 1105 3 1
5 OAK STREET PATH $399,000 $405,000 903 2 1
1004 ADDISON ST $409,000 $405,000 1253 3 2
1108 DWIGHT WAY $424,000 $427,700 1059 2 2
1235 Talbot $425,000 $450,000 884 2 1
2771 ACTON ST $425,000 $410,000 1468 3 1
1605 Stannage $438,000 $440,000 1052 2 2
1061 CRAGMONT AVE $450,000 $420,000 1649 3 1
2138 7th Street $450,000 $448,655 854 2 1
709 PERALTA AVE $475,000 $485,000 878 2 1
540 Colusa $479,000 $428,000 1388 2 1
1247 HEARST AVE $485,000 $520,000 1059 2 1
1527 TYLER ST $489,000 $510,000 1453 3 1
1345 FRANCISCO ST $490,000 $500,000 1304 3 2
1236 CORNELL AVE $495,000 $450,000 1457 3 1
2135 9TH ST $499,950 $515,000 1245 3 2
2445 ASHBY AVE $500,000 $502,000 2006 3 1
1705 DELAWARE ST $525,000 $550,000 1056 2 1
2205 Derby St $525,000 $515,000 906 2 1
1834 63rd $525,000 $510,000 1325 3 1
1330 Grizzly Peak $549,000 $613,000 1094 2 2
1349 CURTIS ST $549,000 $543,000 2 1
1744 MCGEE AVE $549,000 $600,000 1236 3 1
1429 HOPKINS ST $549,000 $538,000 1890 3 3
1518 Carleton Street $564,000 $565,000 1548 3 2
1516 GRIZZLY PEAK BLVD $579,000 $579,000 2126 3 2
1628 WARD ST $579,000 $591,000 1286 3 2
678 GRIZZLY PEAK BLVD $580,000 $600,000 1301 2 1
941 Hilldale Ave $595,000 $700,000 1597 2 3
1621 Buena Avenue $600,000 $694,000 1108 2 1
1757 MARIN AVE $610,000 $631,000 1271 2 2
1624 ACTON ST $615,000 $606,000 1223 3 2
1616 MARTIN LUTHER KING  $629,900 $593,082 1426 3 1
1344 HOPKINS ST $649,000 $625,000 1487 2 2
1309 GLENDALE AVE $650,000 $752,000 1005 2 1
2160 OREGON ST $659,900 $685,000 1268 3 1
10 NORTHGATE AVE $675,000 $680,000 1853 2 2
923 CRESTON RD $685,000 $730,000 1332 3 1
2928 PINE AVE $685,000 $767,000 1224 2 2
6937 BRISTOL DR $695,000 $750,000 2543 3 2
598 CRAGMONT AVE $715,000 $650,000 1752 3 2
1343 LA LOMA AVENUE $725,000 $852,000 1917 3 2
1064 MONTEREY AVE $725,000 $735,000 1514 3 1
1222 CARLOTTA AVE $748,000 $788,000 1300 3 1
948 THE ALAMEDA $749,000 $749,000 1630 3 1
29 LATHAM LN $755,000 $805,000 1664 3 2
763 ALVARADO RD $775,000 $745,000 1886 3 2
1719 SAN LORENZO AVE $799,000 $885,000 1540 3 2
659 ENSENADA AVE $829,000 $830,000 1564 3 2
2626 REGENT ST $850,000 $850,000 3034 3 2
354 PANORAMIC WAY $875,000 $890,000 2488 3 2
919 SHATTUCK AVE $875,000 $825,000 1702 3 3
1476 GREENWOOD TER $925,000 $1,175,000 1967 3 2
690 PANORAMIC WAY $975,000 $950,000 2391 3 3
2828 WEBSTER $1,296,500 $1,120,000 2500 3 3

*based on sales from the MLS;
 by Gina Odom, Realtor

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Yosemite National Park..so close yet so far away!



I have decided to start writing a series of blogs near and dear to my heart - ROAD TRIPS! You gotta love a good old fashion road trip. And living in the Bay Area supplies you with endless journeys that can be a 2 hour drive to an 8 hour drive. One of my favorite destination points is Yosemite and living in the East Bay I can get there in about 4 hours. You seriously go in any season and have the time of your life. The last time we went there was for our 'baby moon." You know the last trip you take with your partner before you have a baby which becomes your following years of lack of sleep and lack of free time! THAT TRIP. It was awesome and just another reminder what the Bay Area has to offer and WHY you justify the cost of living here.

Yosemite offers a little something for everyone. You can camp, stay in a hotel or a cabin. You can drive around Yosemite, bike or hike. It's a great place to rock climb. Many moons ago (way before baby) I had one of the best climbing trips of my life in Yosemite. A three-pitched climb that got my adrenaline juices so jacked that I felt like I was floating for days afterwards. It was incredible. The hiking is off the hook and Yosemite is home to Half Dome which is the logo for North Face. It's a must do and not that hard in my opinion but you will feel so accomplished after the hike and the scenery all around you is georgeoso!

Here is the website with a ton of pics and information to help you plan your trip. Book early though as it is a popular destination site!

http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

written by, Gina Odom

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Another cool joint in West Oakland!

Here is reason #549 to LOVE the East Bay and especially OAKLAND - B Side BBQ! They've got tasty eats on their menu like hot links, brown sugar brisket, pulled-pork and they even have BBQ braised tofu for all the veg-heads. Located in West Oakland (Yup, that's right in "the hood"),  Chef-Extraordinaire Tanya Holland, who also owns Brown Sugar Kitchen has just recently opened this cool, new joint.

What style BBQ is it? Well, I don't know but it's good and it even impressed my hubby the BBQ-snob from Texas. Of course, my daughter devoured the mac-n-cheese and sweet potato fries. Way to go West Oakland! Go check them out at 3303 San Pablo.

(*pic copied from Yelp) written by, Gina Odom

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

What is going on in our market?

The answer seems to be the same in the whole Bay Area - little inventory and mass buyers which equals crazy competition. We've coined it as a mini-micro bubble similar to what happened in 2005. 20 offers, contingency-free offers, offers over $100K. Insanity. Several agents in the South Bay, the Peninsula and SF have all told me it's happening in their areas as well.

I'm still in shock over a sales price of a "flipped house" in the VERY-lower part of Rockridge, a popular district in Oakland,  for $926K. I guess the person really wanted the house and would literally pay any price to obtain it.

In addition, I know a Realtor who really wanted to be in a certain area and to beat out the competition submitted an offer way over asking and contingency-free. It came back to bite her in the you-know-what when about $50K+ worth of issues popped up in the first 6 months of owning. But, for her it was worth it.

So, is it a good time to buy? It truly depends on the buyer's situation and motivation. For some of my buyers I have suggested holding off and for others I suggest jumping in. It all depends. As for writing a contingency-free offer, I recommend doing pre-inspections beforehand. You don't want to "beat out the competition" by over paying and then find out there are thousands of dollars worth of repairs after moving in. Yikes.

So, sellers - the plea goes out again...if you are thinking of selling. The time is now!! We NEED inventory!

written by, Gina Odom, Realtor