Cowell Ranch

The eastern part of southern Concord offers some of the best choices when it comes to neighborhoods. Cowell Ranch is one such neighborhood. It is a neighborhood made up of straight lanes ending in cul-de-sacs, somewhat reminiscent of a backgammon board.

The lanes are wide and the front yards narrow but well decorated with stone steps, bushes and attractive trees. It is just far enough up Ygnacio Valley that you are away from the “less desirable” parts of Concord that most people don’t really like. It is less dense here and more residential in feel. The homes date from the 70’s and 80’s.

Homes here sell for between $315 K and $500 K, with the median being around $400 K. As the housing crisis abates these prices may start to rise since 85% of homes for sale in Cowell Ranch are on the market due to foreclosure.

There is a Cowell Community Homeowner’s Association which regulates maintenance and architectural choices in the neighborhood in order to maintain consistency that you find in this neighborhood. If you are a bit of free spirit, who say wants to paint a mural on your garage door, you will likely find these rules oppressive. If you don’t mind having some rules to maintain housing prices, you may find this comforting.

At the center of the neighborhood is the Walnut Country Clubhouse. It offers tennis courts and pools to the Walnut Country community—which basically means the local homes here. So it is sort of like a tennis club. They also have a pre-school here and a building where community meetings can take place. (This month, for example, local candidates are coming into woo potential voters.)

If I understand my school zones correctly (which I am not at all sure that I do) the local schools for this neighborhood are the ones in Concord, which are just okay in this area.

This is also a great spot for those going to the CSU Hayward extension which is just over the hill a little bit farther. (The campus is little more than a half dozen office buildings spread around atop an empty hill, but there is plenty of room for expansion and the classes are as solid as those on the main campus—with the same teachers, etc. It is a great resource for working adults.)

A pretty good place to have a house.