Lamorinda Real Estate

Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, Real Estate Broker's Tour 11-13

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.

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Todays Broker Tour Winners

Tour inventory numbers were higher today than the last couple of weeks. Total inventory for Lamorinda stands at 189 units on the market. This is about the same as last year at this time, but the market feels different. The obvious difference is the tighter lending policies. This should have a downward influence on prices. Generally speaking, today’s tour prices were a little lower than we have seen for a while. The prices seemed to be more realistic. You can tell the sellers who are really intent on selling.

Today’s Tour Winner’s, as chosen by me, are at opposite ends of the price spectrum. At the lower end, albeit what I believe is a false lower end, is 241 Tharp in Moraga; I say false lower end because it is way below market. It is offered at $799,000. I think the strategy is to create a bidding war. Tough strategy for these times. We’ll see how it plays out. It has been on the market for 7 days as of today. My opinion says $925,000 would be a reasonable list price. $899,00 would garner a lot of attention. It is a cosmetic fixer with good bones in a great location.

The other winner is 3 Canyon View in Orinda. This is a beautiful property, inside and out. It is a Contemporary style home which is great visually, but the majority of buyers will not see themselves actually living in the space. It has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths with 3,872 square feet of living space, sitting on a 1.36 acre lot. This property is offered at $2,345,000.

Of course there were the requisite number of over-priced homes that will sit on the market for a while. But these two were special and deserve to be the co-winners of today’s broker’s tour.

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.

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/

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