What a difference a week makes!! Take a look at the picture from the previous post just 1 week ago.
If you are looking to buy or sell Real Estate in Orinda, or any of the surrounding communities, take a look at the MLS yourself by going to www.orindahomesearch.com
This week’s Broker’s Tour Winner is an Orinda Downs property located at 45 Singingwood Ln. This is the first time on the market for this 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom that was built in 1971. Opportunity abounds to make this a beautiful home. It has 3,207 square feet of living space on a .49 acre lot with a swimming pool. It is in great condition, but with some updating and remodeling, it could be a gem! I have my ideas on how to remodel the master and backyard, do you?
I have declared my winner for the Lamorinda Broker’s Tour this past Tuesday, January 29th. The property is located in Moraga, but not in a prime location.
The address is 620 Rheem Blvd. It’s a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house built in 1971, sitting on a nice .35 acre lot. The listing agent claims, “1ST TIME ON THE MARKET!! WONDERFUL 1 STORY TRADITIONAL!! COSMETIC FIXER WITH LOTS OF UPSIDE POTENTIAL!! PRIVATE WOODED & SERENE BACKYARD SETTING! LIGHT, AIRY, OPEN & FLEXIBLE FLOOR PLAN WITH ROOM TO ROAM. FANTASTIC BARGAIN!”
The problem is that it sits right on Rheem Blvd. I feel the appropriate discount for the location has been taken, but when all is said and done, you are still on Rheem Blvd.
The asking price is $799,000. The square footage is 1936, which gives it a $413 per square foot cost.
Considering it is a cosmetic fixer on Rheem, this is a pretty fair asking price, if you are up for the project and can live with the location.
What makes it a winner is it’s fixed up value. 2,000+ updated square feet in Moraga has appeal. A contractor who fixes this place up while living in it for a while will enjoy a pretty decent return.
One thing to keep in mind, the tough locations are harder to sell in a shaky housing market. If this house were on the market when the market was hot, it would sell no problem. Let’s see what happens.
If you are thinking about buying or selling in the Lamorinda area and would like information on your specific price range, call or email me.
The market is quiet for the holidays. There were only 4 properties listed for tour yesterday and two of them were repeats. It is that time of year. Total inventory is down around 123 for Lamorinda. Happy Holidays everyone!
Here are the final sales numbers for Orinda. These are sales that closed in November. Most of the contracts would have been finalized in October. Feel free to call with any questions.
RESIDENTIAL - Sold
Price SqFt DOM LP $/SqFt SP $/SqFt
$645,000 1200 68 $619,999 $516.67 $645,000 $537.50 $1,085,000 1692 8 $1,099,950 $650.09 $1,085,000 $641.25
$1,100,000 2177 150 $1,100,000 $505.28 $1,100,000 $505.28
$1,110,000 2000 17 $1,100,000 $550.00 $1,110,000 $555.00
$1,143,000 3275 125 $1,189,000 $363.05 $1,143,000 $349.01
$1,250,000 2602 47 $1,350,000 $518.83 $1,250,000 $480.40
$1,296,000 2463 9 $1,198,000 $486.40 $1,296,000 $526.19
$2,300,000 3669 71 $2,450,000 $667.76 $2,300,000 $626.87
Avg Avg Avg Avg Avg
61 $1,263,368 $532 $1,241,125 $527
RESIDENTIAL Summary Statistics
High Low Average Median
LP: $2,450,000 $619,999 $1,263,368 $1,144,500
SP: $2,300,000 $645,000 $1,241,125 $1,126,500
Here’s your update for the Broker’s Tour Winners from the September 18th tour. My “Winners” for the day were 156 Calle La Montana in Moraga, and 516 Mcbride Dr. in Lafayette.
156 Calle La Montana in Moraga 
was originally listed at $1,095,000. It went pending in just 14 days, supporting my thoughts about this one being a winner. But then it came back on the market just 9 days later. Most likely there was a discovery in the inspection period that scared away the buyers. It went pending again right away and then back on the market just 6 days later. More discovery I suppose. This time, when the property came back on, the price was reduced to $895,000. Whatever issue was uncovered during inspections was valued at $200,000 by the sellers and their agent. 6 days later it went pending yet again. It closed on November 15th at $875,000. This points out the value of quality inspections before you market your property. Everything is upfront, no surprises during the buyer’s inspections that will drive down the price.
516 Mcbride 
was quick and easy compared to Calle La Montana. Mcbride sold in just 7 days. The asking price was $997,000 and the actual selling price was $1,000,000. Usually a quick offer, less than 10 days on the market, is made at a higher than asking price. The reason for this is the sellers and their agent would like to expose the property to as many potential buyers as possible before taking an offer. This is accomplished with at least 2 weekend open houses and a Brokers tour, about 10 days. But if an offer comes in before 10 days at over the asking price, it tends to get the seller’s attention, especially with the current market conditions.
The Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette real estate Broker’s tour for the week was weak! I like to give you a winner each week, but I am finding difficulty choosing an actual “Winner”. I’ll force myself and choose a Lafayette house at the high end of the market.
30 Sanford Ln. located in the new Hidden Oaks development of Lafayette is my choice by force. It is beautifully finished and is everything you would expect a new build of this quality to be on the inside.
There are two reasons this property does not jump out as a clear “Winner”. First, it sits on just under a half an acre and is bordered by other homes. At this price I would expect at least an acre of usable lot, room for a pool AND tennis court. Second, it is priced about 10% too high. Of course, if someone in this price range really takes a liking to this property, that 10% might not be a factor. I’ve witnessed this to be true in the past.
That’s it for tour this weak, I mean week.
What’s happened to the properties I picked as “Winners” two months ago when they first came on the market? Let’s take a look back to the beginning of September. The school year was just getting going and the news was largely doom and gloom for the real estate market. Inventory was at about 189 units in Lamorinda compared to 173 today. I chose two “Winners” that Tuesday.
The first was 241 Tharp in Moraga (See my September 11th post for details). This property ended up selling in 21 days for over the asking price. The final sales price was $820,000. I still feel the list price should have been $899,000. My guess is that the sellers would have realized more if they opened with their asking price at $899,000. But of course, we will never know.
The next winner was 3 Canyon View Dr. in Orinda. I stated in my original review that Contemporary Styles have a reduced buyer pool. People generally prefer a more traditional style for themselves, but can appreciate the style of a contemporary home as artful. This price range also has a smaller pool of buyers. As you may have guessed by now, 3 Canyon View is still on the market. It is listed on the MLS as 62 days on the market.
There’s your update. If you ever have any questions about what happened with a property you saw on the market, contact me and I will let you know the latest.
Inventory for Lamorinda real estate (Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda) is showing the usual seasonal drop. Today’s count was 169 properties. The Broker’s tour was small as well. But, there were 4 properties that were worth our while.
First up is a “Lafayette fixer”. 
3364 Mildred Lane in the Burton Valley area of Lafayette is prime for fixing. The house sits on a 10,880 square foot lot that provides plenty of room for expansion. The current structure is a 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house with 1,365 square feet of living space. There were some bad choices made by the previous owner, such as vinyl siding, tar & gravel roof, and some funky wall-paper inside. The neighborhood can support a fix-up to a 4/2 of around 2000’ no problem. Priced at $749,000, this is not a fix and flip. This is one for somebody to live in for a while to realize some appreciation support. If you are up for a fixer project, this is a good choice.
Next up we have two Orinda properties that are fairly close in price, 13 La Sombra Ct. and 27 La Cresta Rd. 13 La Sombra 
has an incredible setting. If you value the outdoors, you would be hard pressed to find a better lot. The house is a 3 bed, 2 and a ½ bath with 2,072 square feet of living space. Some features include; showplace eat-in kitchen with granite counters and state-of-the-art stainless appliances, new baths with tumbled marble, and red oak hardwood floors. The lot is 32,620 square feet or .75 acres of mostly flat, fully fenced and usable cul-du-sac location The asking price is $1,369,000.
27 La Cresta has different appeal. 
This home features the same 3 bed 2 ½ bath setup, but it has close to 500 more square feet of living space. The inside is very nicely laid out. It is open but traditional. There is a fantastic Chef’s kitchen with all amenities with an adjoining family room plus a bonus office. It is hillside living, so there is a big deck, very nicely done. The lot is big, 23,520 or .54 acres, so there is privacy as well. This property is offered at $1,175,000, a great price for the footage. It is interesting to compare these two Orinda properties.
Lastly, at the high end of the price range is 60 Terra Teresa in Lafayette. 
This home is a 5 bedroom, 4 ½ bath house with 5,008 square feet. It is a brand new build that sits on a .64 acre lot. This house was beautifully done with top grade materials and attention to detail. It is offered at $2,595,000, which is a great price considering the footage, new construction, attention to detail and good materials. What drives the price down is the location. This area is considered a “B” Lafayette location. Without knowing, one might consider this Pleasant Hill. It is located between Taylor Blvd. and Reliz Valley. If you are headed north on Taylor, there is a divider which does not allow you to turn into the neighborhood. Instead, you must use Withers to get over to Reliz and roundabout your way into the neighborhood. Having said that, this house is still beautiful and high quality.
Today’s tour winner is an Orinda property located in the Sleepy Hollow area. But there is a twist to this one. The price was set as if there is the possibility of splitting this 1.32 acre lot. There are many variables used by the City of Orinda to determine if it is O.K. to split a lot. Some of the variables include zoning, width and length in relation to the zoning, and also the slope density. Outside of these variables, some people have successfully split lots if the original plans showed 2 lots but only 1 house was built on the 2 lots.
21 Snowberry Lane in Orinda is a cosmetic fixer. It’s in good condition considering it was originally built in 1949 and is composed of materials that are at the latest, 70’s vintage. The location is excellent, on a court. The listing agent describes the property on the MLS, “Classic Old Orinda ranch home on spectacular 1.32 acre lot. Huge level backyard with ancient oaks. Custom built in 1949 clear Douglas fir ceiling and woodwork, tons of storage, 3 car garage, detached garage work-shop. Do not miss studio apartment below the main level”.
What makes this a winner is if in fact you can split the lot. A trip to the City Planning office will give the answer. Give me a call Thursday afternoon and I’ll give you the answer.
If the lot cannot be split, it is my opinion that the $2,150,000 asking price is a bit high for a house in this condition, even if it sits on 1.32 useable acres.
