Lamorinda Real Estate

Orinda Idol Finals

The second annual Orinda Idol Competition was held at the Orinda Theater yesterday afternoon with much fanfare. 35 finalists graced the stage throughout the afternoon. 4 winners were announced in a special ceremony beginning at 5:15 pm.

The competition began with the youngsters, Kindergartners through Second graders, beginning at 11:00 am.  Jocelyn Purcell was announced the winner ahead of 8 others in her age group.

Next up was the Third through Fifth graders at 12:30. 10 kids competed for the cash prize with Amrita Newton declared the winner. Beautifully done Amrita!

The Middle-Schoolers took the stage next at about 2:00. I was most interested in this age group because my daughter Sophie was a finalist in this division. It amazes me the depth of talent this little community produces. This same feeling was expressed exactly by one of the judges, Matthias Montgomery, Drummer & Vocalist of the SPAZMATICS. This is not San Francisco or Los Angeles. This is little old Orinda, population 18,000. Neris Newton, yes the big sister of  the 3rd – 5th grade division winner, Amrita, was named the Orinda Idol for the middle school age group. She did an amazing rendition of  the Song “Good Morning Baltimore”, from “Hairspray”. Judge  Cesar Cancino, Musical Director, Palazzo & Formerly of Teatro Zinzanni, said during his remarks following Neris’ performance, “I can see you on Broadway.” High praise from someone “In the business”.

The High School division got under way at about 3:45pm with 6 finalists. In the end it was Ben Freeman that stood above the rest as the Orinda Idol.

The Orinda Arts Council does a wonderful job of organizing this event. My daughter Sophie is already looking forward to participating in next years Orinda Idol. The Performance Group, comprised of some of the Middle School and High School finalists, will perform one more time at The Lafayette Art and Wine Festival  They will take the KIdzone Stage from 12:30 – 1:30.

Two other judges gave their time generously, San Francisco Opera singer Svetlana Niketenko,  and Amy Potozkin, Casting Director, Berkeley Rep Theatre.

Orinda – Orinda Real Estate – MLS Search Links

Here it is, the quickest, easiest to bookmark or permalink, link to the MLS, covering Orinda, and the entire Contra Costa County and Alameda County areas.

First Day of School in Orinda

After dropping my son off at his 5th grade classroom, my wife and I went to the “Coffee Connection” held by the parents club at Wagner Ranch. It was nice to see the parents we hadn’t seen over the summer. We actually see most of the people we know over the summer, if not planned, just out and about around this small town. The number one question I am constantly asked is “How is the market?” My answer to “Joe’s” question this morning was, “It’s quiet time right now for a couple of weeks. Once everybody gets settled into school and past Labor Day, the market will heat up again.”
    I answered “Tony” by telling him that Lamorinda has about the same inventory as it did this time last year. Your  “Standard 4/2” homes or even 3/2’s on nice lots are still attracting multiple, over asking offers if they are priced right. The fact is, Orinda is one of the most desirable places to live in the Bay Area. Moraga and Lafayette can be lumped in that category as well. I then drew imaginary rings around Lamorinda, and said that the further out you go, the worse it gets. Antioch, for example, is a disaster. Of course, this is where a lot of the sub-prime lending took place. Now there are desperate sellers flooding the market, along with a glut of foreclosures.
    Once again, further proof that real estate is local. Sure you can get a national or statewide picture of “The market” in the papers every morning (doom & gloom), but realize that each local market differs. Talk to an agent that is familiar with the area you are curious about. Or, talk to an agent you trust can get you the correct information on the area in question. Personally, I have worked far beyond the Lamorinda area very successfully.
    Yes, it is still exciting, that first day of school. Even the parents had that little extra energy the first morning. I can’t wait to hear about the first day with the new teachers.

Lafayette House Wins Broker’s Tour

Today’s Lamorinda broker’s tour was on the small side, with only 5 new properties to see. It’s that time of year again. Tomorrow is the first day of school in our districts. I know I’m excited!

    I’m declaring the winner of today’s tour 17 Fallen Leaf Court located in the Reliez Valley area of Lafayette. This property actually sold last year on September 15th as a fixer, 1897 square feet, 3 bedroom, 2 ½ bath on a half acre lot for $1,275,000.

    Today it is a beautiful 5 bedroom, 3 ½ bath with 4,515 square feet of beautiful attention to detail. You can view this property for yourself at My Website by typing in mls#40293479 in the mls search. Of course the price has gone up a bit from the ’06 sales price. It is currently listed at $3,510,000. More Photos of this house can be seen at the listing agents site.

    Since January 1st, 2006, there have been 12 sales in Lafayette above the $3M mark. Of those 12 sales, only 1 property had a smaller lot, and 3 had less square footage, 2 were built in ’06 and 2 were built in ’07. The average square foot price for these four recent builds was $665/sq. ft., with 17 Fallen Leaf coming in at $777/sq. ft. Square footage price is not the best way to value a house, but it is commonly listed and observed.

There are currently 3 other Lafayette properties on the market asking over $3M. The MLS #’s are 40285360, 40265096, 40283184. This Link will take you to my website where you can type these mls #’s and compare for yourself.

    17 Fallen Leaf Court is a BEAUTIFUL property! It is definitely worth seeing for yourself if this catches your eye.

Lamorinda Schools (Orinda Schools, Moraga Schools, Lafayette Schools)

The Lamorinda area is known for its excellent school system. Many parents decide to buy their primary residence in the Lamorinda area and raise their children here mainly for the schools. We see a lot of families moving “Through the tunnel” for this very reason.

I gathered together the links for the area’s schools all in one place for quick reference. If you are trying to pick the very best school out of all of these, forget about it. They are all excellent!

API STATEWIDE DISTRICT RANKING  

#1 Las Gatos-Saratoga (Los Gatos) API: 872
#2 Acalanes (Lamorinda/Walnut Creek) API: 842
#3 San Dieguito (Encinitas) API: 838
#4 Fremont (Sunnyvale) API: 823
#5 Tamalpais (Larkspur) API: 812

What do the API numbers represent?
Each year, every California school and district receives an API (Academic Performance Index) score ranging from 200 to 1000 points with 800 considered "excellent." Scores are based on annual achievement texts in language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, as well as the high school exit exam. New California standards are considered the most rigorous in the nation.

Laffayette Schools

Lafayette School District
http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/

Happy Valley Elementary
http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/happy_valley/index.html

Lafayette Elementary School

http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us./lafayette/index.html

Springhill Elementary School
http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/springhill/index.html

Burton Valley Elementary
http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/burton_valley/index.html

Stanley Middle School
http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/stanley/

Moraga Schools

Moraga School District
http://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/

Los Perales Elementary School
http://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/LP/index.htm

Camino Pablo Elementary School
http://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/CP/cp2/index.htm

Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School
http://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/JM/index.html

Orinda Schools

Orinda Union School District Web Site
http://www.orinda.k12.ca.us/

Glorietta School
http://ousd.schoolwires.com/glorietta/site/default.asp

Del Rey School
http://www.orinda.k12.ca.us/delrey/default.htm

Sleepy Hollow School
http://www.orinda.k12.ca.us/sleepyhollow/index.html

Wagner Ranch Elementary School
http://www.orinda.k12.ca.us/wagnerranch/

Orinda Intermediate School
http://www.orindaschool.org/ois

Acalanes Union High School District
http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/

High Schools

Acalanes High School
http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/ahs/

Campolindo High School
http://campolindo.acalanes.k12.ca.us/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp

Miramonte High School
http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/miramonte/

Awesome Real Estate

I spent last week in southern California celebrating my Nieces wedding. We spent the first couple of days staying with friends in Manhattan Beach, riding the waves and eating fish tacos.
The wedding took place poolside at the top of the Hyatt on Sunset Blvd. in west Hollywood. What a scene that area offers. From the pool we looked to the hillside and saw Leonardo DiCaprio's House (Pictured).

We saw Snoop Dogg’s house, Pauley Shore’s house, and 

Paris Hilton’s House. Interesting real estate for sure.
But the best piece of real estate for the week, I actually had a chance to tour, just like my weekly local touring. Well, almost. It was

Hearst Castle. The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. It boasts a mere 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, and an airfield, all on about 40,000 acres overlooking miles of Pacific coastline. My favorite feature is the indoor swimming pool, The Roman Pool. It is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1" square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect, along with eight statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes.

Truely amazing!

MLS Search

Search the MLS easily by clicking on the MLS Link located in the Real Estate Links section, just under my picture to the right. Try the Market Snapshot while you are at it. You can find that link in the post titled, "Market Snapshot Link".

Market Snapshot Link

Here is the link to the latest, up to the minute market information direct from the MLS. You can customize the parameters to fit your needs specifically.

Market Snapshot

Here We Go!

Loads of useful information soon to come.