This three-bedroom home at 330 Gravatt Dr. in Berkeley is on the market for $1.15 million.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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Homes in East Bay cities are seeing dramatic price gains far greater than homes in San Francisco, according to ZipRealty, an online real estate brokerage.

Oakland’s median home price ballooned 76 percent to $432,000 in August compared with $245,500 in August of 2012. In Hayward, home prices jumped 55 percent to $387,000 in August 2013 compared with $250,000 last year.

Meanwhile, San Francisco’s median went up by 20 percent to $880,000, up from $735,000.

“Oakland and other communities in the East Bay were impacted more severely by the foreclosure crisis, which took a toll on East Bay real estate values while also setting these areas up for the dramatic recovery in prices we are now witnessing,” said Lanny Baker, president and CEO of Emeryville-based ZipRealty.

Prices are up by 36 percent across the nine-country Bay Area with a median of $585,000, so cities like Oakland and Hayward represent a deal in the region.

Nonetheless, prices can vary significantly from ZIP code to ZIP code in the same city. For example, Berkeley, where the median home price jumped by 21 percent during the past year to $737,500, has three ZIP codes where the median is above San Francisco’s median: $955,000 in 94707, $901,000 in 94708 and $1.22 million in 94705, which includes neighborhoods such as Claremont, the Claremont Hills, Elmwood and Panoramic Hill.

In Oakland, the 94610 ZIP code has the highest median home price of $743,000 and encompasses neighborhoods like Grand Lake, Adams Point, Lakeshore, Crocker Highlands and Trestle Glen.

In San Francisco, some of the fastest appreciating neighborhoods include North Beach and Telegraph Hill in the 94133 ZIP code where prices grew by 82 percent during the past year as well as the Marina, Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights in the 94123 ZIP code where prices rose by 68 percent in the past year.

A number of factors influence how much an area’s median home price goes up such as number of homes available. Cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward and San Francisco had less home inventory in 2013 than the year before.

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/09/east-bay-home-prices-san-francisco.html

This one-bedroom home in Berkeley at 1196 Cornell Ave. is on the market for $400,000.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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For all the talk in recent years about more Bay Area residents steering toward a “car-free” lifestyle, it sure is hard to find a place to live that is affordable and pedestrian-friendly once you leave San Francisco’s city limits.

Emeryville-based ZipRealty Inc. ranked the most walkable cities with the most affordable homes near San Francisco and came up with a whopping four cities: Emeryville, downtown San Jose, Albany and Berkeley.

ZipRealty used data from WalkScore.com, which ranks locations with walkability scores of 0 to 100, to come up with its list.

“One of the allures of living in San Francisco is the city’s beautiful and convenient walkability, and that appeal is well-reflected in its lofty real estate prices,” said CEO and President Lanny Baker. “According to our partner Walk Score, San Francisco is the second-most walkable large city in the United States, behind New York City. In the local study we conducted, the most walkable and affordable communities were quite surprising alternatives to the high average price in San Francisco, which currently exceed $1 million.”

Here is a breakdown of the four cities with median home price and Walk Score:

1. Emeryville: $388,888 / 80.
2. Downtown San Jose: $508,450 / 74.
3. Albany: $622,500 / 86.
4. Berkeley: $786,256 / 95.

This list points out some interesting dynamics about Bay Area real estate. It appears living in a city where you can get around without a car will cost you a premium. San Francisco by nature is a dense, walkable city with amenities around the corner in most neighborhoods. In contrast, cities around San Francisco developed with the more suburban model of separating residential and commercial areas, making residents dependent on cars.

Emeryville is a compact, 1 square-mile sized city that has undergone a major transformation during the past few decades from an industrial wasteland to a city with thriving commercial and retail districts. Most of the housing there is either apartments or condos, as is the case with most of the homes for sale that fit ZipRealty’s criteria for affordable and walkable.

Having alternatives to driving is not just better for the environment and buyer’s pocketbooks, but has other benefits, said Josh Herst, CEO of Walk Score.

“The trend in urban areas is moving toward less dependency on cars and a greater commitment to live more sustainably,” Herst said. “People in walkable neighborhoods weigh six to 10 pounds less than those who don’t. Walk Score has also done extensive research showing that walkable places make people happier and healthier. Finally, short commutes reduce stress levels and give people more free time to be involved in their communities.”

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/08/top-bay-area-cities-where-you-can-buy.html?page=all

This home at 6905 Norfolk Road in Berkeley boasts four bedrooms and three bathrooms for $1,095,000 or $322 per square foot. See listing here.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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The median price for a single family home in San Francisco hit $1 million in April — the highest level since 2007.

The new median price is a 32 percent jump from $760,000 last year.

Got a cool $1 million to spend on a home? Click on the slideshow to the right for a virtual tour of $1 million homes in Bay Area cities.

“Shrinking inventory combined with low interest rates and motivated buyers has resulted in historically high sales prices,” said Christine Dwiggins, president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

Inventory levels are significantly low with only 1.1 months of inventory available — that means the amount of time it would take to sell off all the homes on the market if no new supply came on — in April whereas five to seven months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

Single-family homes in San Francisco are selling in an average of 28 days, down about 44 percent from an average of 49 days a year ago.

Meanwhile, the median price for a condo in San Francisco reached $850,000 in April — the highest level in the last two years.

Home prices have ballooned in the past year in San Francisco, but it’s not the only Bay Area city enjoying price gains.

See our slideshow for examples of what $1 million can get you in the Bay Area these days courtesy of ZipRealty.

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/05/median-home-price-hits-1-million-in.html

Neighborhoods around the Bay Area, from Silicon Valley to the East Bay, are seeing home values near their pre-crash levels, according to the real estate site Zillow.com.

The Mercury News reports that 34 of 185 ZIP codes in the region have reached or come near their bubble-era peak home values and another 49 are within 15 percent.

The recovery is being felt in many parts of the East Bay, as well, though areas of Contra Costa and Alameda counties where subprime lending was heavy are still struggling.

But home values in some parts of Berkeley, Pleasanton, Oakland and Orinda have risen to 10 percent or less below their earlier peaks, the report notes.

Read more at the Mercury News.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2013/04/housing-recovery-spreading-in-bay-area.html

VALLEJO (KPIX 5) – Earlier this month, KPIX 5 reported about leaders of a Bay Area church embroiled in an alleged illegal real estate scheme. The victims: all parishioners, who said they were brainwashed into investing their life savings.

Since the story aired, we heard from other former members, some who admit they took part in the alleged scheme.

Robert Clark still remembers his first day at General Assembly’s former church in Berkeley 26 years ago. The building now belongs to a different congregation. “It was 1986 and I was 12 years old,” he said.

Clark said as General Assembly grew its leaders Lacy Hawkins and later on Michael Parker became more controlling. “It was a subtle stroking of your conscience until you bend,” said Clark.

Related Coverage:
Ex-Members Recall Lives Under Total Control
Church Leaders Under Investigation For Alleged Scheme

Clark said he was talked into leaving his successful real estate job to use his skills in a new church venture, called Stellar Enterprise, run by Parker. “It was extremely secretive,” he said.

Meetings were held after church services and behind closed doors. Clark says his job was to buy and flip properties.

The money came from hundreds of parishioners, who mortgaged homes and drained retirement accounts on the promise of generous returns and even salvation.

Clark admits at first, he profited. “I began to make money, and lots of money,” he said.

But he believes when Parker realized how much the commissions were, he changed the rules and put Clark on salary. “I went from receiving an average of $20,000 a month in commissions to $1,600 every two weeks, in the form of a paycheck,” he said.

Clark admits he was suspicious but kept quiet. Other employees also grew suspicious.

“The books were only open to a select group,” said Stanley White, also a former church member.

White was hired to pump up business in the congregation. But White said even he could never get details on investment properties, such as the so-called Woodlands of Ascension project in Louisiana. “It was nothing saying ok here is the address you can take a look at it,” he said.

According to White, construction work on the mystery development never started. In an earlier interview with KPIX 5, church elder and stellar CEO Michael Parker said, “Hurricane Katrina happened.”

But the Army Corps of Engineers said part of the Louisiana property was a swamp even before Katrina. Parker said he paid close to $3 million for the property.

Former employees said that failed investment was Stellar’s last. In 2006, the company suddenly shut down, leaving investors with nothing.

“Eventually the gimmick of shuffling real estate and receiving new investments to pay your old investments, the game stops,” said Clark.

He left General Assembly in 2007. “I felt angry, I felt unclean,” he said.

In a twist of fate, Clark has discovered he is a victim as well. He owes close to $1 million in taxes on real estate commissions that he said church leaders pocketed in his name.

“I really feel taken,” he said.

Attorneys for the church leaders confirm they switched Robert Clark from getting real estate commissions to getting a salary, but they claim he was being paid at competitive rates.

Whatever their explanations, state investigators have been looking into their finances: A judge has issued a ruling on the case and we could hear the results any day now.

Sources also told KPIX 5 the state Attorney General is also looking at possible criminal violations, something the AG’s office has neither confirmed nor denied.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Article source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/03/15/ex-bay-area-church-members-describe-alleged-real-estate-scheme/

Have you always been in the real estate industry or did you have a different career before entering brokerdom? I am a recovering lawyer of 6 years. Let me put it this way: it’s more satisfying when people come together to make a deal (real estate) than it is to be coming together after a lawsuit has started (law). One friend asked me at my first listing in Mission Dolores why I was in the Mission selling a small TIC when I had went to Berkeley for law school. I answered him it was because I went to Berkeley and am smart enough to get into something that fits my personality and skill set a lot better.

What’s the best part about selling real estate in San Francisco? Access and getting to see how people really live. Of course it’s great meeting new people all the time without having to depose them for a trial. And it’s wonderful getting to see all the pretty houses and realizing opportunity when others don’t see it. But what is far more interesting is seeing high-power lawyers, CEOs, start-up gurus throw their laundry on the floor just like anyone else — it’s seeing people’s dirty laundry, literally.

What do you like to do when you’re not selling real estate? Is there such a time? Well, I like taking my former seeing eye dog trainee to Duboce Park. I love biking with all the good folks with the AIDS LifeCycle and I love to shop and to eat…locally sourced, fair trade of course.

What separates you from the others in this competition? I am me and they are them. But in all honesty, I’m pretty “on” all the time and I get pretty intensely involved with taking care of my clients. I give broad, lawyer-informed advice and I like to take pictures and YouTube videos that I send to my clients in the moment so we can get going and fast. For example, I get use technology not just as a novelty to play Angry Birds, but my latest escrow only happened after I broadcast/Skyped an open house walk-through to a client based in Seattle for a great place in NoPa that was on the market for about 48 hours. That’s what I do differently I suppose.

Everyone give it up for Kevin!

On the right: Sheldon Rilliet of Alain Pinel Realtors

Funniest anecdote from life as a broker: You never know what you’re going to walk into, every open house, lock box showing, it’s always different? you simply can’t be shocked as a broker? There is always the potential to walk into any of the following: sexy time, hoarding, explicit drug use, grow rooms, every possible pet in the book – snakes, chickens (indoors), mice, rats, pygmy goats, pigs – all in The City. This Incredible City.

What’s the best part about selling real estate in San Francisco? San Francisco is such a diverse world renowned city, the people that come here are fascinating, knowledgeable all have such interesting back stories. The City has so many distinct neighborhoods and it’s great to narrow down the “right” location for clients. Listing in The City also provides such great opportunities to showcase the differences that every home possesses be it view, history, neighborhood etc?

What do you like to do when you’re not selling real estate? I enjoy friends and family. My Wife Lauren, Daughter Sloane Son Jake; to cook, create art design (home, furniture, etc.). Admittedly, I enjoy television and spend a fair amount of time on the internet.

What separates you from the others in this competition? I’m a considerate, unpretentious guy I don’t drive a Mercedes.

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Article source: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2012/08/13/curbeds_real_estate_hotties_contest_begins_right_now.php