Places Of Note

When Will House Values Dive?

The short answer is…we don’t know.  Lately we have been reading about the major declines in overall house values, so we dug into what’s been happening for the 94611 zip code.  Prices are not dropping here yet.

Let’s began by checking out values right now.  AOL Real Estate reports $939,185 average and $850,500 median house values in December, which still seem pretty high.

The heated market becomes quite clear when you see the three-year trends from Cyberhomes, comparing our zip, city and state.  Prices in 94611 jumped at the beginning of 2008, dropped down quickly and have held steady for the past nine months.  Meanwhile, Oakland and overall California median prices have slowly declined since 2006.

Median-Home-Values

Home sales have bounced around, and Cyberhomes even shows a slight upward price trend since last summer.  Of course, what’s really happening is the number of 94611 properties for sale has dropped considerably between 2008 and 2007.  There are fewer buyers and sellers out there, period.

Median-Sales-Price-Volume

Because the housing numbers still remain high, we wanted to look beyond medians.  During 2007, City Data shows that 69% of our homes were worth more than $1 million, 17% between $750k-$999k, and 7% from $500k-$749k.  So perhaps there will be some downshifting among these buckets this year, while the medians hold steady.

2007-House-Values

At least for now, we’re still watching the real estate market plummet all around the Bay Area.  Just like when we looked into local foreclosures, things are sort of steady around here – as long as folks meet those mortgage payments.

Private Yoga Class, Unintended

There’s a first for everything.  Tonight I showed up for a yoga class, and was the only one present and accounted for.

My instructor soundly rejected my offer to leave and seemed happy to lead a private class.  It turns out that Mountain Yoga (map) sticks to scheduled practices, very nice!

Anjas-Art

Usually I’m one of the crowd, trying hard to relax and not stick out.  So having a private class – really a one-on-one session – made me nervous.  Of course, that anxiety vanished about five minutes into the 1.5 hour class.

Okay, I think that I may be hooked here.  Was this because of the attention or due to Anja Borgstrom’s approach?  She leads pre/post natal classes, as well as other relaxing practices for folks who want some of that yoga bliss.  All I can say is this feeling was delivered in spades tonight.

After class, I decided to check out Anja’s website and discovered her artwork too.  It’s time to repay the kindness by sharing the yoga poses above – or click here to see a more complete art gallery.  Namaste and all that stuff.

Last Day For Dunsmuir Xmas

Around the East Bay, Dunsmuir Mansion is really the “go to” spot for holiday cheer.  For the past 38 years, this has been the ideal time to check out the place – filled with 35 rooms of decorations.

Now there’s just one day left to visit, Sunday from 11 am – 5 pm.  The mansion’s located at 2960 Peralta Oaks Ct. (map, directions), and worth a quick trip down Rt. 580 tomorrow.

Dunsmuir Xmas

Of course, volunteers began the decorations in October because there’s so much work involved.  This is a mansion from another era, and worth the loving efforts by these decorators.  According to the Tribune, it takes 5,000 hours to get ready.  Kind of amazing!

Since the weather’s supposed to turn frightful on Sunday, this should be your indoors destination of choice.  Edwardian-dressed docents lead tours through the mansion all day long, and expect to be serenaded by live music too.

Other things going on at Dunsmuir?  You can sign up for a formal tea-time, served at 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm for teens/adults (14+).   There’s holiday gifts for sale in the carriage house.  And if the weather’s not too bad, there will be a trolley ride through the estate grounds.

While tickets are pricey, this is the prime fundraiser for maintaining the mansion.  Admission runs $17/adult, $16/seniors (62+), $13/junior (6-13), and free/tots (under 6) at the gate.   If you buy online today, then you incur a $7 order fee but save $5 per ticket.  High teas cost another $25/person, and require advanced reservations.

Huh, Foreclosures Up And Down

Despite the recession, our distressed property counts have decreased lately!  Realty Trac reveals that properties in the 94611 zip code are actually down over the past two months, by nearly six percent.  That’s doesn’t make much sense, right?

Dig a little deeper for the real news, though.  Among all homes headed to or legally foreclosed, some 576 are currently owned by banks.  Two months ago only 519 were bank-owned properties, which means 11 percent more are in trouble.  There’s the foreclosure news we were looking for.

Foreclosure Stats Dec 9

In the chart above, let’s take a look at how Oakland and Alameda County are doing these days.  The picture isn’t pretty, as overall distressed properties have shot up nearly 10 percent at the city level and four percent for the the county.

While our zip’s distressed property levels are lower, nearly six percent of total housing units are distressed.  That level, based on 2000 census data, is likely due to higher overall home ownership in 94611 versus the city and county overall.

For residents of Montclair and Piedmont, the situation seems to be a gradual and slightly hidden creep for now.  If more folks lose jobs and can ill-afford their mortgages, we’ll surely see the grim reaper appear over the coming months.

Nice Montclair Photo Tour, Peter

Montclair Village may look like nothing special to outsiders, but it’s ours.  Photographer Peter Henderson recently decided to share his Montclair snapshots.  What I really like is that you see the stores and streets without special adornment or emotion.

Let’s start with the core showing Peet’s in the frame, and food row on the right.  Nearby you see folks milling around, which always happens because there are a few open chairs and tables right here.  It’s a bit empty and must be a weekday.

The Peets View

The rest of the shots are different views around two blocks, hitting LaSalle, Mountain and Antioch.  Starting on the left, you can see the classic clock on the intersection of LaSalle and Mountain.  How long has this feature been around, can someone tell us?

Moving clockwise, notice the plain building with Mountain Yoga on the left and Grinder’s Subs on the right.  Even photographer Pete points them out as “the signs of happiness for us both.”  Personally I like to combine the experiences, by taking a late weekend class and picking up a big sandwich as a quick reward.

Montclair Street Shots

The street view on lower LaSalle includes Montclair Pharmacy, one of the oldest businesses which also sits right on the Hayward fault line running through the store.  This is book row, with The Book Tree located on the left side of the pharmacy and A Great Good Place for Books across the street.

Finally we end this quick tour back at the LaSalle and Mountain intersection, this time looking towards Mountain.  The all-important Le Bon Bon chocolates is under the green awning, followed by the barber shop and Glamour Paws.  There are a few spots changing hands, notably the new cafe which will occupy the defunct Royal Ground soon.

You weren’t expecting anything surprising, right?  We’re just a settled place and prefer things that way.  Of course, things will be bustling Thursday night – remember to drop by for the Holiday stroll and festivities.