A successful artist based in Los Angeles contacted me with thoughts of moving to the Bay Area. Specifically the East Bay.
Helping home buyers who are not familiar with towns like Berkeley, Oakland and El Cerrito and the specific neighborhoods, is a passion of mine! Because I know the character and features of each neighborhood, once I know what a buyer wants, I get to work.
I love being a real estate detective. After a conversation to gather a short list of criteria, here's what I shared with the buyers:
Important things when house hunting in the Bay Area:
- Berkeley and Oakland famously have list prices that are 10-25% lower than the agent expects the house will receive as offer prices. So if you see a 4 bedroom under $1 million it's either a fixer or is a "teaser" price. I will help you figure out for each property what the pricing situation is.
- Nice houses tend to have 2 weeks of showings then the third week they take offers. These days sometimes it's 3 or 4 weeks.
The parameters of the search: They were looking for a property that could accomodate 2 studios, so finding a house that would normally be perfect for 4 people was the strategy.
Garage is a must: I wondered if this would be for 2 cars and were any of them a large SUV? Or would a smaller garage with a driveway for off-street parking be OK?
Outdoors: Cats, no need for outdoor area for dogs. (Not needing a fenced yard opened up more possibility for steep hillside homes.)
Style: They had a passion for Midcentury Modern houses. Also open to 1930s and 1920s. However it could be a newer house as long as it's unique and interesting.
What is the ideal East Bay location based on these criteria?
- Close to nature and places for outdoor exercise.
- Quiet with views of city lights in the distance is ideal.
- Wider streets preferably. (There are some places right by Tilden park that have this as well as views.)
- Doesn't have to be Berkeley per se but cooler weather is better.
This checklist was very exciting to me as there are so many options along the hills in the East Bay. Limiting options for possible locations makes a successful home search so much more attainable!
Condition: Not afraid of a fixer.
Examples of houses that fit with the criteria got the search started:
First I sent a couple of out-of-the-box houses to get the conversation started. A comprehensive report of properties would follow:
- A 90s-style wonder in Montclair (an area of Oakland) which has a village below and is close to Rockridge and Berkeley. There is great hiking / running trails in the redwoods just up the hill. My colleague at Compass had this home listed, and I held an open house there. For various reasons, it took a while to sell but was a great option that checked the boxes.
- Next I sent probably the quirkiest property on the market. This artist's creation had been for sale for many months and you can see why.
This simple list of what the couple saw as "must haves" and "nice to haves" as well as "don't wants" was just enough for them to start getting to know neighborhoods and to pinpoint potential home to buy.
In conclusion, being flexible as a house hunter, espeically when on a budget, opens up so many possibilities!
What are your home search criteria? Send me your top 5 must haves, and get closer to your 2026 home goals.
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