StBloomSF

Just down the street from the Painted Ladies (on Steiner) is Fulton Street, the lane that marks the northern end of Alamo Square. The four blocks that make up Fulton Street in Alamo Square are also filled with fine examples of stick style Victorians. These 19th Century constructions are characterized by bay windows and cornices and look out onto Alamo Park.

You definitely can’t beat this location. Fulton is right on the northern border of Alamo Park and right in the middle of the action in terms of all the San Francisco fun that is nearby. Not that you have to leave Alamo Square to find great restaurants. There are a ton of tourists that come by here--especially in the summer, but they are mostly focused on Steiner and the Painted Ladies that they know so well from Tales from the City and Full House.

The typical home along Fulton sells for between $500K and $1 mil. A 2-bedroom around here goes for about $3500 and a 1 for about $2500. In other words, this is pretty typical for SF generally though it would be expensive for most of the rest of the Bay Area.

Part of the reason for the “moderate” prices is the relatively high crime in the area. Though there haven’t been any murders recently in Alamo Square, there have been nearly a half dozen assaults every month and well over 200 burglaries and robberies in the last six months. Basically these are happening on the daily here, and Fulton gets its fair share.

Schools are a mixed bag with good nearby choices on the north and not quite so good choices to the south. There are also a number of private school choices around here.

Overall, this seems like a pretty good place to live if you are single and willing to share it with one or two other people. Or if you are a young couple with high income jobs.

Running parallel to Arlington Avenue on the east, Amherst Avenue is a narrow leafy street that happens to be home to the most expensive home in all of Kensington. The home--a beautiful terra-cotta roofed Med style home built in 1925 though clearly renovated--is a 4 bed, 4 bath 3000 ft. beauty with a wonderful airy feel to it. It sold for $1.2 mil at the end of November.

Most homes along Amherst are not quite this expensive. A home across the street, for example, sold for almost half the price despite being larger and younger (built in 1947). This other home also has a beautiful view of the bay.

So what accounts for the differences in price?

The more expensive home had clearly been renovated recently and simply had a newer, more luxurious look to it. There was nothing wrong with the other home with its classic cozy look.

The schools here are solid with Kensington Elementary, Portola Middle and El Cerrito High having APIs of 10, 6 and 6 respectively. Not amazing on the higher end but perfectly workable.

Overall a pretty nice neighborhood, great for professors with families who want a little bit of distance from Cal but still to be able to be there in 10 minutes.

For those singles and young couples who have the wherewithal to aspire to such things, Russian Hill is one of the most desirable locations in all of SF. And of the streets in this highly affluent area, one of the most attractive to residents is Chestnut, where you will find one of the very most expensive home sales in the entire city in the past year--a 3-story Victorian that went for nearly $5 mil.

One of the attractions of Chestnut is its variety. On the far western end is Van Ness Avenue, Chestnut Avenue climbs up from that busy avenue, crowded on either side with the 3-story Victorians that are so attractive and so typical of SF. Bay windows and first floor garage doors are the rule of the day here.

After two blocks however, Chestnut gives way to the Chestnut Street Steps which climb up through a small woody area. (This is, of course, just one of several such steps in SF, with the Vallejo Steps perhaps being one of the most famous.)

On the other side of the steps, Chestnut picks up again, though the character of the street has somewhat changed just on the other side. The feel on this first block is much more like what you find in Nob Hill to the south. There are tall residential buildings of the kind you find in metropolitan centers like New York, but that are less typical of SF. This section of Chestnut has a very European feel to it, with buildings being recessed behind high walls with gated entrances and having private green spaces also enclosed within; or, varying the 3-story structures with balconies and cornices rather than bay windows. You are just one block north of the famous Crookedest Street in the World at this point and there is in fact a set of stairs that will lead you right to the street. (Which also makes this a very highly frequented section of Chestnut.)

You also start getting some amazing views of the waters just beyond the Golden Gate. As Chestnut starts making its descent that is where you find what appears to be a mission or church but is actually San Francisco Art Institute. Designed by the same architect who designed Coit Tower, the SFAI facilities are beautiful replica of the kind of architecture the Spanish brought here. They also have a mural by Diego Rivera here.

At the eastern end of Chestnut Street it crosses over Columbus. This is where you find Bimbos, the classic music venue made famous in the 60’s. It is just a very cool set-up inside. To give you a flavor of the kind of acts that perform at Bimbos, here is what is coming up next for them: they have a couple of nights with Sandra Bernhardt if you are into a night of amusing talk; if you prefer to rock like it is the Reagan Era, then come on one of the Tainted Love nights such as on the Stung night when they do all Police tribute songs.

Put simply, this is a pretty amazing run of blocks.

What does it cost to live here?


The average condo in and around Chestnut Street goes for around $1 million. As far as renting goes, 2 and 3 bedrooms run in the $5000 to $6000 range. A studio might go for $2500.

The schools in the area are also strong, with famous schools like the Yick Wo Alternative Elementary making its home here.

Crime is a little bit of a mixed bag. Although on Chestnut Street and in the immediate surroundings it is relatively quiet with only about a dozen burglaries and half a robberies in six months, the area is surrounded by high traffic, high crime areas where burglaries, assaults and robberies abound. Overall, however, you should be okay while on Chestnut itself so long as you use common sense. (No late night walks by yourself, or staring at your phone instead of being aware of your surroundings.)

You can’t beat this location however. You are right in the center of the best part of the city and within minutes of everything from a cool North Beach bar to a live theater event. It is one of the best places to live in the world if you aren’t quite ready to completely settle down yet and have a high powered (and high salaried) job.

Acacia Avenue in the Claremont Pines neighborhood has this distinction: it is the location of the most expensive single family home sale in all of Oakland in the last year. A large beautiful 1995 home sold here for $2.4 mil at the beginning of last month. Trulia believes the new owners overpaid estimating the value of the home at $1.8 mil. I am not so sure however. This really is an aesthetically stunning home--from its amazing bay views to its sunny interiors and marble countertops. It has 3 bedroom and 5 baths and more than 5000 ft of interior space on ¾ of an acre. It really is a mini-mansion in an amazing location.

Acacia is actually packed with large beautiful million dollar plus homes like this. Since most homes date from the mid-90’s, it is likely the case that most of the homes here were built following the destruction of the 1992 Oakland Firestorm. These homes are large, often in that attractive Mediterranean style with adobe toned walls and red-tiled roofs and seem to all have pretty amazing East Bay views.

Most people that live in this area can afford to send their kids to private schools, but the local schools are mostly alright as well, with Hillcrest Elementary having an API of 10 and Oakland Tech being a solid 6.

The area is about as safe as it gets as well with just a handful of burglaries and a couple of assaults in the last six months.

With Rockridge and Berkeley nearby and easy access to the city by car or BART, this is one of the best locations in all of the Bay Area. If you can afford it, of course.

Broderick Street in the Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco is best known for the Kaiser buildings that bookmark it on both sides. In fact, one of the tall Kaiser facilities interrupts Broderick at about the level of Geary.

Most of the rest of Broderick, however, is a largely residential street perfectly situated for doctors and nurses. You get a number of attractive 3-story Victorians along the street which, not surprising sell for some of the highest prices in all of Anza Vista, small as it is. Actually, the highest priced home sale in Anza Vista was here. A two-story Pink Lady with a drive down sub street level garage sold for $1.4 mil in the last quarter of 2012. (Rents are very high in Anza Vista and the surrounding areas as well, with the average 1 and 2 bedroom running around $3500/month.)

Though many of the buildings here date from the first quarter of the 20th Century, there are some newer, unusual looking buildings. One particularly unusual one, has garages on street level and then high second floors.

The barred doors and windows on street level are clues to the crime worries in the area given its proximity to the crime ridden Tenderloin. Although there is a moderate level of crime in the area, however most of Broderick and Anza Vista are spared the worst of it. There were only about three dozen burglaries and robberies and a handful of assaults in the vicinity of Broderick in the last six months. (Very moderate for the city and a world away from the level of crime just to east of here.)

Schools in the Anza Vista area are a bit of a mixed bag with those on the northern end being strong and those on the southern end weak.

Overall, a pretty nice spot if you happen to be a doctor or have the salary of one.

Lyon Street in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco runs down south just off the end of the Presidio right on the border between Presidio Heights and Pacific Heights. Obviously that means that this is some pretty high priced real estate.

One of the most expensive homes to sell in the area sold here on Lyons. It is a large 1902 home with with more than 3000 ft of space, 5-bedrooms, and 4 baths. The home sold for $4.6 million last August--a 3-fold increase from its 1996 price tag of $1.4 million.

In general, Lyon Street homes are big and old, dating in many cases to before the big 1906 Quake like this one does. They were then at the western edge of the city, the Quake being to impetus for the westwards expansion into what are now the Richmond and Sunset Districts.

The location can’t be beat offering access to the best of what SF has to offer, from the Presidio on the north, to the North Beach and Civic Center areas to the west, to Golden Gate Park on the south.

The schools here--both public and private--are also excellent. And crime, which is of course a worry in any big city, is relatively low with only an occasional nearby assault to worry about and the usual burglaries that are commonplace throughout the nicer areas in SF.

Overall, this is a pretty good street if you happen to have a large family and the money to afford living here. You would, of course, have to be the CEO or CFO of your company to manage it.

Ordway Street is on the eastern half of Albany where the bay city starts pushing up against the Berkeley Hills. Although Ordway is on the part of Albany that does begin to make its ascent up into the hills, this is not one of those winding hillside roads where you are guaranteed a stunning bay view from your back deck. You won’t find many decks here and I doubt many of them have much of a view.

Most of the homes on Ordway date to the Jazz Age. These are very nice bungalow walk-ups, one of which holds the distinction of being the highest priced home sale in Albany in the last year. A rather shabby looking bungalow here sold for $1.2 million in March--definitely a good sign for the housing market given that less than a decade ago the same home sold for half a million. In my opinion this isn’t even the best home on this block, much less in Albany.

Most homes along Ordway don’t quite reach this level. A couple of other very attractive bungalow style homes sold for $684K and $745K respectively.

It is the location that people really like about Ordway. It is in a thoroughly residential area but you are relatively close to Solano Avenue--a great Sunday morning brunch site and to Berkeley, so if you are a professor or just like to have a nice time every so often you are well situated for it.

Another draw to Albany is the amazing schools that serve the area. From Marin Elementary and Cornell Elementary to Albany Middle School and Albany High, all the schools on this eastern half of Albany have APIs of 10.

As to crime, it is really low on Ordway and the surrounding area. All you really get is 3 or 4 burglaries per month--not much of anything really.

Overall, however, I would say that although I like this area, I do not think of it as million dollar territory.

Green Street is a residential street that crosses Cow Hollow east to west--basically from Van Ness to the Presidio. My favorite part of Green is probably the section farthest to the west, near the Presidio. There are lots of really beautifully maintained older buildings here on this end. That and the combination of the tree-lined street gives this a very cozy sort of residential feel that makes it feel less like a harsh city than a tightly knit community. You can imagine that it looked much like this nearly a century ago.

The houses here are an interesting mix. There are, of course, the three-story Victorians that are a mainstay of northern SF. But there are also homes in what I think is the classic Italianate style--at least as far as I can tell with my very basic architectural knowledge. These are really attractive homes with cute European style balconies and top floor terraces that offer views and fresh air opportunities.

It is right around this location, just as Green starts descending down towards the North Beach area that you get the most expensive home to have sold in this area, a 3-story 1922 home that sold for $4.2 million. Most homes along Green do not sell for that much but a $1-million dollar home or even studio is not at all uncommon around here. This is not surprising since Green is the border between Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights.

And then you will also find large 6-story brick buildings like the one near the western end that is the home of the Russian Consulate (only slightly northeast of the Little Russia area of the Richmond District). There are a few buildings like this that look more like old fashioned office buildings or maybe slightly more unusual apartments.

Green flattens out to the east of Pierce. This is where you will find the Catholic St. Vincent de Paul Church and Gym. This is also where you start to find a lot more 3-story Victorians very much in the style of North Beach and where you get a lot of older pre-World War II apartment buildings (kind of like the San Francisco of Hitchcock). By the time you reach Van Ness it pretty much feels indistinguishable from North Beach.

There aren’t a lot of stores or restaurants on this section of Green, but with Union just to the south and Van Ness on the eastern end you should be well within walking distance of a number of restaurants and stores, no matter where on Green you find yourself.

Green Street and the Cow Hollow/Pacific Heights is a relatively safe point in northern SF, which does have some rough spots. Though there is a ring of violence that surrounds the area, roughly overlapping with high traffic areas, Green Street itself has only had one assault in six months. Unfortunately the neighborhood is not immune to crime altogether. Burglaries are commonplace all along Green and throughout the entirety of both Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights. This is basically the price of living in the city.

One of the big benefits of living in this section is that you have a number of very good schools, so if you happen to have kids and don’t want to raise them in the boredom of the suburbs, this area is one of the better options the city has to offer--especially if you are willing to shell out the big bucks for a private school.

Overall, I would say this is great spot to live in the city. A little oasis of charm and relative safety.

Alvarado Road is probably the most expensive real estate in Berkeley, boasting not just the highest price home sale in the past year, but the top 2 highest priced home sales of the past year. Alvarado slips off of Highway 13 as it makes its way up towards the Caldecott Tunnel. This is a very leafy European looking area right by the section of the Berkeley hills where the Firestorm of 1991 started.

In fact the second of these homes--which sold for $2.3 million--was built in 1998, probably on the ground of a home that did not make it through the fire. In fact, Trulia estimates this 5000 ft. home at $2.8 million and given that is both newer and has the better view, I would have to agree. It is an amazing home.

But really most of the homes along the zig zag stretch of Alvarado are pretty worthy of the props I am giving them. These are large mansion like homes with half timbering and amazing yards.

This is a favorite area for super successful intellectual types, such as those who create computer languages or start environmental movements. The hills of Berkeley are filled with famous authors and Nobel prize winners.

This is a great location if you are associated with Cal or if for commuting into the city and or throughout the Bay. Overall, I would love to live here.

Bay Street runs intermittently right through the heart of the Marina in San Francisco. It is home to the most expensive home to sell in the Marina and is filled with pretty amazing older homes and apartments on its western end by the Palace of the Fine Arts.

In fact, one block of Bay Street borders the southern end of the Palace. The homes that look out onto the artificial lagoon and the swans are slightly unusual for Bay--they are old neoclassical looking homes dating from a century ago, during the period just after the Great Quake of 1906. It is on this stretch, looking out over the lagoon that you will find the highest priced home to sell here in the past year. A nearly 3000 ft. 4-bedroom 3-bath dating from 1929 sold here for $4.3 million in November. (It has last sold in the late 90’s for under $1 million. Quite an appreciation.)

The rest of Bay along this western section of the Marina is made up of three and four story buildings not altogether unlike similar buildings that you find in North Beach and other sections of San Francisco, with street level garages underneath attractive bay windows. There are actually a fair number of apartments along this stretch, which is perhaps a touch surprising for the Marina which is mainly known as a swanky family area.

Bay dead ends at Scott St. and then picks up again at Fillmore St. where it has a fairly different feel having Marina Middle School on its southern end and then Fort Mason on its northern end about midway through. Along this section it is mostly apartments and as you get near Fort Mason they are actually of a newer variety, the 3-story Victorians giving way to modern looking redwood shingled buildings on the western end of the fort.

Fort Mason, like the Presidio on the western end of Bay, is no longer used for military purposes and now is home to some private enterprises, including the classy vegetarian restaurant, Green’s.

What will renting one of these condos on Bay cost? Prices run from $6000 to $20,000 per month for a two bedroom. (That is right--I didn’t put in an extra zero on one of those.) I even saw a 5-bedroom going for $45,000/month here. That is more than half a million dollars a year for a home you won’t even come to own. You can however find a one-bedroom for just under $3000--a steal, I guess.

Unfortunately, the Marina really isn’t so safe of an area to live. In the last six months there has been one murder and more than 150 assaults in the Marina. There have also been nearly 300 burglaries and robberies. Given how much people pay to live here, it is a little surprising that crime should be this high here, even with the high density.

Overall, I think the price and crime worries make the Marina not the best value. Even though you are right by the Presidio and have tons of other nearby entertainments, I can’t really recommend this as the ideal location for setting down roots.

The tiny Tamarack neighborhood in Hayward basically has two different things that characterize it: it is home to Mission Hills Middle School, and it has a small residential area. Mission Hills Middle School is a private middle school with extended day care. Because it is a private school, I really don’t know how good it is on an objective level. (No APIs and all the rest of it.)

The rest of the neighborhood--basically just a handful of square blocks--is also not very distinctive. It is made up 1950’s style Ranch style homes of the kind that is pretty typical of Union City. They look fairly run down and the streets have that flat unappealing looking that so many neighborhoods in this area of the East Bay do. In the last year, the four homes that have sold in this neighborhood have sold for $265K, $271K, $355K, $356K respectively--also pretty typical for this location.

Though there have been about a half dozen nearby assaults and maybe a dozen robberies, the neighborhood is relatively safe. It is an okay area as far as commuting goes, being situated in a location that gets you to virtually anywhere in the Bay Area in a relatively manageable amount of time.

Overall a pretty average neighborhood.

Forest Hill Extension is exactly what it sounds like, an extension of the fairly prestigious SF neighborhood just to the southeast of the Taraval/Montalvo turnabout.

It has very attractive architecture but it is not quite on a level with what you find in Forest Hill. In fact, it feels to me a lot more like the adjacent Sherwood Forest neighborhood or maybe even the Twin Peaks area. The homes here are smaller and more modest--relatively speaking anyway--but they are still very beautiful. Actually, it is only because I am comparing it to Forest Hill that this neighborhood requires qualification.

The homes here are probably about a century old and tightly packed along softly curving streets with very squat front yards. These homes are squarish sometimes Bungalow style homes with large paned windows some with views down towards Daly City. On the north eastern end of Forest Hill Extension you can see the towers of the La Honda medical facilities.

The median home here is selling for about $1.1 million currently. In the past year homes have sold from between $450 K and $1.7 million--though the vast majority were in the $800K to $1.5 million range.

All the other benefits of living here in the West Portal area hold true for Forest Hill Extension. The schools are just as strong: West Portal Elementary, Hoover Middle and Lincoln High have API’s of 9, 7 and 7 respectively, and this is also one of the safest and most quiet areas in the city.

Overall a pretty great place for young families, if you can afford it.

Hidden away on the western end of San Francisco right at the edge of the Sunset District, Forest Hill is just far enough away from the more hectic locations in San Francisco to give residents a certain feeling of tranquility and security, yet not so far away that you can easily be at a 5-star restaurants within 15 minutes.

There is nothing modest or muted about these homes however. The neighborhood is just a beautiful architectural tour-de-force; the kind of place that is like a architecture student’s dream neighborhood. Every home is unique and deserves an hour’s attention at least by those who love to study residential architecture. There are story book style cottage homes with curved faux rustic style roofs and perfectly selected multicolored brickwork. There are large mansion style homes fronted by giant redwood trees with eye lines that stretch out over the Sunset to the sea. There are even cozy half timbered French style cottages with attractively shaped topiary in the front yards.

The median selling price for a home here in Forest Hill in the past year was $1.4 million. Homes here barely hit the $2 million range on the high end so it is far from being in the same league as its western neighbor, Saint Francis Wood.

What accounts for this discrepancy? As far as I can tell, the main reason for this has to do with location. Forest Hill though it is nicely tucked away is a little bit outside of the prime areas where the filthy rich want to be. You have Golden Gate Park just to the north but you are not quite as conveniently located for getting to the northern part of San Francisco, which is the truly posh area.

At least, this is what I can make of it. The other thing too is that since Forest Hill has an ordinance against commercial offerings, schools and other businesses require you to leave the neighborhood. That is a bit of a drawback.

That said, the schools that are in the area are some of the strongest in San Francisco. Crime is very low and the public transportation system that can take you all over the city is more than adequate: you can get from here to the Financial District via public transportation in about a half hour.

Definitely not too shabby.

You will find not just one $4.5 million home on Cherry Street, but two. What makes this such a high cost area?

Partly it is, of course, the big old historic homes that are right here. This is a neighborhood that got built out in the decade after the Great Quake of 1906, and those that came here were largely the really well off. It has remained an area for those to this day.

That is why you will find large mansions occupying Cherry Street. From the Presidio to California Street, that is what you will find. These are those large beautiful imposing structures that feel like they could equally house offices as they could a rich family. As far as I know most of them here are residential rather than commercial.

This would actually be a good place for doctors who have made it and are teaching at one of the many medical facilities that are just at the southern end of this location.

Overall with the great schools and proximity to Presidio and Golden Gate Park, this is a great place to raise a family if you can afford it.

If you know anything about Presidio Heights, you know that it is one of those neighborhoods in San Francisco like Sea Cliff and Saint Francis Wood where the creme-de-la-creme, the richest of the rich, live. Presidio Heights in general and Washington St. in specific, does not have the amazing Golden Gate Bridge views of Sea Cliff, nor does is it tucked away quite in the way that Saint Francis Wood is--but what it does have going for it is truly historic homes largely built in the decade or so after the Great 1906 Quake, which brought many San Franciscans out to these then “peripheral” areas.

When a resident of Washington Street steps out of his or her house in the morning they find a lane that except for the modern cars and other modern additions looks much like it a may have a century ago. These are grand old manors with short front yards and beautiful walk-up entry ways. Some are quite ostentatious, with Doric or Corinthian columns book-ending the entrance, and palladian windows giving way onto tiny Romeo and Juliet style balconies. Some make use of the top floors (most of these are three story structures) to create open air verandas, perfect for sunbathing on that one day per year that the weather is clear and warm enough. Other buildings along Washington Street are a touch more modest, and look much more like the older buildings that you might find throughout the city.

Nevertheless, the wealth in the area raises all home prices. The most expensive homes to sell in the last year in Presidio Heights have been within a block or so of the corner of Washington Street and Cherry Street. The one on Washington Street is a 1927 3-story home with more 3500 ft. of space and a beautiful back yard. It really is an amazing structure. I personally however much prefer the Mediterranean style home a house or two away that recently sold for $3.5 million. It was built in 1924 and has a really attractive open air deck on the top floor. The style also is much more modern in feel--very European in a good way.

That gives you a sense however of the the kind of neighborhood this is: multi-million dollar homes with luxury cars parked out front. You can’t beat this location either. You are a block away from the Presidio on the north and within walking distance of Golden Gate park on the south. The schools are also some of the best in the city and the commute to most other parts of the city is pretty good.

Overall it is great area to live if you are a CEO or CFO with a family who hates commuting or needs to be somewhat near the action of the city.

This tiny square to the north of where Decoto Road and Alvarado Niles Blvd. meet is barely what can be called a neighborhood at all. The majority of this location is taken up by a strip mall with a big parking lot. You will find a Marina Foods which is a great Asian foods market and a Pho Thanh Long, a Vietnamese restaurant, and a handful of other East Asian places--which tells you about the diversity of the residents that make up Union City.

There is a also a Burger King, and an O’Relly Auto Parts.

Behind this strip mall is an apartment complex which makes up the rest of El Mercado. These are pretty typical apartments with carports and boxy looking two story structures arranged around the grounds. It isn’t wonderful and feels slightly overcrowded but I have seen far worse. A one bedroom here will run you around $1500 and two bedroom about $1700. (Which I think is expensive for a one-bedroom but about right for a 2-bedroom.)

As to schools, they are unfortunately average to below average in this section of Union City, with Searles Elementary, Chavez Middle School and Logan High having API’s of 4, 3 and 6 respectively.

As to crime it is fairly low with only a half dozen robberies reported in the last 4 months.

Overall I would say that if you have kids, this place is overpriced, but if you are single this place might be okay especially since the BART is pretty close by. Might be ideal for a couple that works in different parts of the Bay Area and needs a pad that is in between these.

10th Avenue is where you will find the highest priced home sales in all of Inner Richmond in the last year. In fact, the two highest home sales happened here. (There were a couple of properties that sold for more, but they were multi-family homes, not single family homes the way these are.)

10th Avenue is a great Inner Richmond street running north south from Golden Gate Park in the south to Mountain Lake Park in the Presidio on the north. On the southern end of 19th Avenue where the mostly highly priced homes are is where the neighborhood also happens to be oldest. The old homes here are a century old, dating from the period after the Great SF Quake of 1906 which brought residents farther west and coincided with the SF World’s Fair of 1912.

That’s the period these most expensive homes date to. A couple of these homes along 10th sold last year for about $2.2 million. They are attractive older homes that stand alone (as opposed to being pushed up close to one another as many homes are here). These homes are usually two-story walk-ups but they have walkways in between them and generally feel more like individual homes than apartments.

Much of the rest of the street, however, is pretty typical of the Inner Richmond and much of the rest of northern San Francisco. It is basically filled with three story walk-up Victorians.

One of the advantages of living in the Richmond District are the strong public schools. McCoppin Elementary, Roosevelt Middle School and Washington High have APIs of 7, 8 and 7 respectively, pretty strong for any city really.

As to crime, 10th Avenue is a relatively safe area for SF. The 2 dozen assaults that have taken place within half a mile of 10th in the last 6 months have taken place to the east of here and mostly along Geary. Burglary and robbery are more evenly spread with the 5 dozen burglaries happening throughout the neighborhood and the dozen robberies mostly taking place on Geary.

Given the great transportation system, the relatively lower rents of Inner Richmond (you can find a one-bedroom for $1800 and a two-bedroom for $2400), I would actually say that when you put it all together 10th Avenue in specific and Inner Richmond in general is one of the sweet spots in San Francisco where it is relatively affordable and actually livable for families.

The appropriately named Union District is the Union City neighborhood where you will find the Union City BART station. It is shaped somewhat like a right triangle with the majority of the neighborhood taken up by the BART station, its parking lot and a shopping plaza. The shopping plaza has a Safeway supermarket and the usual set of stores you expect to find in a suburban shopping plaza.

Just to south of this area, in the middle section of Union District are a grouping of apartment complexes. These are mostly made up of newer units in 4-story buildings decorated in dark beiges and browns and muddy reds. A one-bedroom in one of these apartment buildings will run you around $1600; a two, $2000; and a three, $2500.

On the far southern end of the neighborhood where it narrows to a point, Union District is made up of townhomes. These are also those newer kinds of townhomes made in the Spanish mediterranean style with adobe walls and tiled roofs.

The median price for one of these townhomes is $450K with prices ranging from $188K to $617K. Though most are in the $300K to $500K range.

Schools in the area are about average (except for the Chavez Middle School which is below) and crime is relatively moderate.

Overall, this is not too bad a place to live and relatively affordable.

The most expensive single family home to sell in the last year in the Central Richmond neighborhood is right here on 17th Avenue. 17th Avenue is a pretty typical Central Richmond street. The home itself is pretty nice. It is in one of those walk-ups that usually gets converted into separate condos. In this case it has been kept together as one home, which would be ideal for a family with kids. This home was built in 1912, but it has clearly been renovated since then to make it look new. Very nice.

17th Avenue stretches from Golden Gate Park (by Snow Lake) to the Presidio, three blocks west of Park Presidio Blvd. (Highway 1). Home prices for other homes on or near 17th Avenue range from $850 to $1.5 mil, so the property that sold for the most is not way above the range that most homes sell for in this area.

The entire neighborhood here seems to date from about 100 years ago, probably part of the post 1906 Earthquake building boom and exactly matching up with the World’s Fair that built the nearby Legion of Honor and Palace of Fine Arts.

There is a strong Russian presence in this area--so much so that the northern end of Central Richmond is known as Little Russia.

Closer to the southern end of 17th Avenue, however, you get more multi-family homes--buildings divided up into condos--which tend to sell for more due to their rental value. South of Geary, much of the neighborhood dates from the 1920’s and is not quite as elegant as those to the north--these are the more typical 3-story walk-ups that are the default structure in places like North Beach.

Btw, if you are curious, a 2 bedroom in and near 17th will run you between $2200 and $3000. (I also saw a 3-bedroom listed for $5000/month. At the price you can buy a house in the burbs and commute in and have something to show for it at the end of the day.)

There are several benefits to living in the Central Richmond District. First, the schools here are some of the best in the city. Not only are there several private schools that are set-up to cater to the affluent residents of nearby Sea Cliff and Pacific Heights, but the public schools are equally strong with APIs of 7 and above.

This is also a much quieter area. Though there are some restaurants here, most of them are not the destination for tourists or foodies (though many will drive through here on their way to the Cliff House or the Legion of Honor).

Now, as far as crime goes, this is not the suburbs. You are definitely much safer than in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin or the Mission, but within a half mile radius of 17th Avenue in the last 6 months there have been 2 dozen assaults, 1 sexual assault, 1 solicitation, 6 dozen indecent exposure citations, 50 burglaries and another nearly 20 robberies (mostly along Geary--the main drag here).

Overall, however, this is a pretty good place for families who hate the burbs and must live in the city. So long as you can afford it, of course.

Where was the most expensive home sale in Outer Richmond in the last year?

Right here on 48th Ave., that’s where. The home, a 1951 single family home with 8 rooms and 4 baths sold for $1.65 mil last summer. It is a very attractive 3-story home with a ground floor garage and front door and large sleekly square 2nd and 3rd floor windows that look out over the Monterey Bay cypresses to the Pacific breakers. It has clearly been renovated recently.

Given the location and the fact that it is one of the largest homes along 48th, it should be quite obvious why this home should be the most expensive in Outer Richmond. Imagine waking up to these amazing views every morning and being just across the street from the beach side trails on the northern end of Ocean Beach and within walking distance Sutro Heights Park and Cliff House. With Golden Gate Park to the south and Lands End and the Legion of Honor to the north, you certainly can’t beat this location for natural wonder.

Not all of 48th Avenue gets these kinds of views however. South of Balboa Street, although you can still hear the breakers and smell the nearby ocean, your views are blocked out by bungalows built on the western side of 48th. Prices drop somewhat here as well. You are still however well within walking distance of the beach and there is a supermarket and restaurants which make it so you don’t have to get into your car for basic necessities.

Another big draw to area are the great schools. From Lafayette Elementary and Presidio Middle School to Washington High, all of the local public schools are solidly above average. The proximity of Sea Cliff, also means you have a number of private choices so long as you are willing to pay the high tuition rates.

There are, of course, some drawbacks to living so close to the far western end of the city. First, is that you will have a bit of a commute into work whether you choose the very solid public transportation system or to drive. Second, you better be okay with fog, since being this close to the ocean means you will have to live in it for probably 10 months out of the year. This section of Outer Richmond is first to get overcast and last to get sun, so be aware.

There is also a bit of crime. In the last six month there have been about 20 assaults within a block or two of 48th Avenue--mostly by the parks. There have also been about the same number of burglaries, most of them along 48th itself.

Overall, however, this is a great place to live if you love being near the beach, the parks, the museum and a bit removed from most of the city craziness.

Glen Park is an often overlooked neighborhood just to the west of Bernal Heights on the southern end of SF. For those that aren’t actually residents of Glen Park, if you have heard of Glen Park, it is probably due to presence of the Glen Park BART station.

Glen Park is mostly a residential neighborhood made up of older houses, about half of which date from the 1920’s or before. That means lots of bungalow style walk-ups along the hills, although newer homes tend to be the ones that are farthest up into the hills of Glen Park. Newer, for Glen Park means homes from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The typical Jazz era home here is a walk-up bungalow on a narrow street with a first floor garage. A nice little hovel. The typical post War home is farther up on the hill with a street level parking space and hillside home with large panoramic windows pointing south towards the hills of Mission Terrace and the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood.

The median home price here is $1 mil, with prices ranging from $650 K to $2 million on the high end. (There was also one home that was listed as having sold for $2.65 million--but something doesn’t seem quite right about the listing; it sold for $300 K back in 2009. I will have to look into it further at a later date.)

Glen Park is a cute little main street area with a pub, laundry ,corner market and a couple of restaurants--nothing outstanding but everything that you need within walking distance so you can pop off the BART, get what you need and head on home. You can leave your car parked in your personal first floor garage which most of these homes have. With the BART station on the southern end of the neighborhood, commuting could not be easier.

The public schools are about average here, with Glen Park Elementary and James Lick Middle School both having APIs of 4. I’m not sure which high school serves Glen Park but if it is Balboa, you get more of the same. There are private alternatives nearby that serve the affluent families of Saint Francis Wood, but you will of course have to pay their high tuition fees.

As to crime, there are the typical city worries that you face on this side of the hills. In the last 6 months there have been 17 assaults, 68 burglaries and 19 robberies. Most of the assaults were down by Arlington St., but both burglaries and robberies were pretty spread out across the neighborhood. These are not as high as the city average, but they are not exactly in keeping with suburban rates either.

Overall, I would say that home prices are high enough here that you might be better off buying something a bit farther to the west in the Sunset District, where you get a bit more value for your buy: better schools, safer and less expensive in terms of living overall.

What was the most expensive residential sale in San Francisco in the last year?

It was right here on Sacramento Street in Pacific Heights--just by a whisker. The 2-story, 2-unit walk-up sold for $5 million last month. It barely beat out a Russian Hill property by about $20K. Whoever sold this unit, got a huge profit. The public record shows that the same property sold for $719K on Valentine’s Day last year. (And had sold 2 years prior to that for $1.4 mil--also on Valentine’s Day.) Unless the units were sold separately, that is more than a 500% profit.

Clearly things are looking up for the housing market if people are starting to make these kinds of profits.

As you may know, Pacific Heights is known as the place where affluent families move in the city. It has great schools and as much of a family feel as you ever get in a big city. There are not quite as many restaurants and bars as places like North Beach, which keeps things a little bit more manageable for families. You are right at the heart of the northern city, however, and can be to virtually anywhere within minutes.

The Sacramento Street property that sold is also just a block south of Alta Plaza Park, so you are in a great spot for kids. Actually most all of Sacramento in Pacific Heights is well situated in this way, having Lafayette Park just a bit farther on its eastern span.

Other condos along the stretch of Sacramento tend to sell for around $1 million, while those larger Victorians go for closer to $3 million. Put simply, this is basically million dollar home territory.

You have a bit of everything along or near Sacramento Street in Pacific Heights.

The California Pacific Medical Center is on Sacramento Street as well, so this is the perfect spot for docs who like to be within walking distance of their jobs. And University of the Pacific also has a campus here.

For shopping there is Fillmore Street with all its boutiques and restaurants.

As you get closer to Van Ness, right by Lafayette Park you get several older apartment buildings and it feels more like a city like New York.

You also get some really great views from Lafayette Park.

As you may know, Pacific Heights is known as the place where affluent families move in the city. So although you don’t get the larger Victorians that a lot of people look for in Pacific Heights, this is still a pretty great older area of the city--if you can afford it, which most of us can’t, of course.

The Seven Hills neighborhood of Union City is hardly filled with Roman villas, as you might expect given the name. It is, however, in one of nicer parts of Union City, nestled up against the hillside. The neighborhood is predominantly made up of Ranch homes with a smattering of newer contemporary style homes mixed in for good measure.

Despite the relatively nice views out over Union City to the bay, most homes remain solidly in the $325K to $450K range. (The median home price here is $425K.) The most expensive home to have sold here in the last year was renovated 3000 ft 1979 home that has last sold in 2002 for $250K. It sold in last month for $782 K and change. Yet another sign that the Bay Area housing market is heating up.

Despite the hilly views and the Mediterranean theme to the street naming that suggests this was meant as a posh neighborhood (streets have names like Monaco, Riviera etc.), the Seven Hills neighborhood is pretty uneven, with some pretty unkept homes next to homes that could be in the burbs to the east of here.

There are also a ton of condos that have recently sold along Veneto Street down by Mission Blvd. (The median price is $200K.) These are Reagan Era deals, which sort of look their age to me. The low price is tempting but the I’m not sure they will hold their value. They really do feel more like apartments than condos--more places to rent than place to buy.

The schools here are slightly a mixed bag too. Both the elementary school, Guy Emanuele and the high school, Logan, are solidly average. Unfortunately the middle school, Cesar Chavez, is solidly below average.

Despite this however, this is pretty good spot for commuters into San Jose or even the Peninsula or SF--an especially good spot for couples whose jobs are in disparate parts of the Bay Area. One of the few affordable places that is still within reach of the more expensive areas.

Want another sign that the housing market is picking up?

Well here is one. The most expensive home sale in the past year took place here on Belvedere Island. It is the most expensive sale not only in the past year, or since the beginning of this year. It took place at the beginning of this month and the home went for $6.5 million, twice its estimated home value.

The home which is on Pelican Point Road is a 5000 ft. 4 bed, 5.5 bath little pad built in 2011. It last sold in April 2011 just after being built for $1.8 million. So somebody has tripled their investment.

If you haven’t heard of Belvedere in Tiburon, it is one of the most expensive places to live in all of the country. In fact, for places where the population is at least 1000, Belvedere has the highest per capita income bar none (at $113 K). So it should come as no surprise that this is where you might find the most expensive home sale in all of Marin County.

And you can’t beat the location. Belvedere Island is across the bay from Sausalito and just to the north of Angel Island. It basically has amazing schools and a crime rate of virtually zero (you get about a half dozen burglaries and maybe one or two auto thefts reported per year).

The median family home on Belvedere Island is $2 mil. Homes here are a mix of ages, some dating from the beginning of the 20th Century, others built within the last couple of years. They are basically of all ages and sell for prices that vary a great deal.

Drawbacks of living here beyond the obvious high cost of living? It is a bit of a commute into the city. You are also in a hilly island area where erosion and maintenance problems are an issue.

Overall, however, this is one of the best places to live in California for the ultra rich.

Tamarack Drive is located in the Dry Creek neighborhood is nestled right up against the hills of the Garin Pioneer Regional Park (where I think they have hiking trails for those outdoorsy types). Usually when neighborhoods are nestled up against the hills of any neighborhood you can expect the prices to climb proportionally as well. That is not so much the case here in the Dry Creek neighborhood however.

Part of the reason why the prices don’t go higher here is because of the age of the neighborhood. The neighborhood dates from the early 50’s, which means you get a lot of Ranch style homes of the smaller variety. These are fairly well-kept, but home buyers associate these homes with less luxurious neighborhoods.

The other reason has to do with the neighborhood being located in Union City, which is also considered to be middle-class; that is also a damper on prices.

Other problems people consider are the schools, which are mostly middle of the road and crime, which though not high, is still higher than most people want when buying more expensive properties.

In my opinion, however, the Dry Creek neighborhood is underrated--especially on its higher elevations where the homes stare down onto the bay. This is especially true when you consider the fact that the location is well-situated for most Bay Area commutes. From here you can pretty much make it to anywhere from San Jose to San Francisco in a reasonable amount of time. This is true of the east west commuting destinations as well: not only can you make it to anywhere in the Peninsula, but you are even well-situated to head over to the Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon area as well--even Walnut Creek.

Now, I am not saying this neighborhood is Heaven on Earth, just that at $325K per home, it might actually be a more viable option than most people give it credit for.

So what is highest price that a home has sold for in Santa Clara County in the last year and where is it?

Well, in Los Altos Hills, of course, well known as being one of the most expensive places to live in all of the United States. To be more specific, right here on Mulberry Lane, where a home sold for $11 million in the last year.

So what is the big deal about this home that it would fetch such a high price?

You get a 3300 foot 6 bedroom 2½ half bath beauty with its own tennis court on a cul-de-sac. It is a beautiful high ceilinged home with chandeliers, a wine cellar, and even a private movie theater space. Put simply, this is pretty much a small mansion, perfectly suited to the needs of a Silicon Valley CEO.

From here you are perfectly situated for the commute to anywhere in the Peninsula, whether it is Palo Alto or San Jose. In addition, you will be close neighbors with those who also share your tax bracket--maybe even your competitors.

And, of course, the schools are great, the weather is warmer than SF, and there is virtually no crime. Overall this is a pretty nice place.

Green Street runs roughly east-west on the northern end of Martinez--just to south of the Martinez Court House. Like most streets in northern Martinez, it is has a number of pre-WWII homes along it.

On the far eastern end of Green, however, you definitely feel as if you are close to the courthouse: you have older office type buildings and open air parking lots. There are auto repair shops and an open field or two as well. It is not the most attractive of streets here and you get a lot of traffic as well from people headed to the downtown or the Amtrak station.

As you head west past Berrellesa Street, Green becomes almost exclusively residential with a number of older homes dating from the early 20th Century as far as I can tell. You find a number of older, squarish apartment buildings and walk-up bungalows here. Green gets progressively nicer as it begins sloping up into the hills. These homes are large and many of them have been renovated to the point they look fairly new. The adobe wall and red-tiled roofs show little sign of wear and the yards have been fashionably redecorated. (I believe the mayor of Martinez lives up here in one of these nicer homes.)

I came here to look at an apartment right on the corner with Berrellesa which I really liked. But the real draw of the street is up on the hill. (I believe the neighborhood here is known as the Pill Hill neighborhood and is definitely one of the nicest in Martinez--especially if like older historic neighborhoods.)

Homes around Green, btw, tend to sell for around $300K--though no home has sold on Green in at least a year. The benefit of the location is that you are within walking distance of Main Street, which is great if you want to get some morning coffee, work at the courthouse or want to hop on the Amtrak to head to Sacramento or the Richmond BART on the commuter. The drawback is that there is a bit of a homeless wino problem in Martinez that is a bit more prevalent at nighttime.

Overall, this is pretty nice area and pretty affordable. A pretty good deal if you can get it to work for you in terms of commute times and housing needs.

Estudillo Street is a mostly residential street that runs south to north from Soto to the Amtrak Station (with a break at Ward and then picking up again at Main Street). I was drawn here to take a look at a cottage that is up for rent. (It turned out to be too small for my needs.)

Estudillo is on the northern end of Martinez--which means that there are a lot of older homes, many in the Mission Revival style or with wood-paneling. Estudillo is a narrow street and the small homes that line it have only the most minimal of front yards (created more for impression than for a full front lawn). The homes here also seem a bit worn with faded white picket fences and weather aged adobe walls. Don’t get me wrong, many of these little homes--especially the bungalows--are just beautiful examples of a style that was popular before WWII. If you like these kinds of old neighborhoods, you are likely to love the homes here. (Also, despite the limited front yard space, many of the bungalow owners go all out on shrubbery--a little like the Bungalow City area of Pasadena.)

Homes on Estudillo sell for around $225K, which is about as low as it gets without abandoning quality of schools and life.

Estudillo also has a nice shady park (of the kind you might imagine in say Mayberry), a beautiful old church and a Montessori school--all conveniently located within a block of each other. The church is St. Catherine’s of Siena’s.

North of St. Catherine’s (which is on the corner of Mellus), Estudillo becomes progressively less residential and starts feeling more the like the urban downtown area. When Estudillo picks up on Main Street after the break you pretty much have no more residences. The next 3 blocks to the Amtrak Station are pretty much all businesses and warehouses. There is Starbucks right there on Main (a nice leafy park area just outside which is great to sit and have breakfast).

When I was in graduate school at UC Davis I used to get a coffee here while waiting for the train. The town really does have an old timey feel to it. You also get a lot of lawyer and law enforcement types getting coffee here, since the Martinez Court House and holding center is just down the street. If you don’t like a corporate coffee house, you might try Victoria’s Cafe just across the street from Starbucks.

The other stores on Estudillo are a bit of a mixed bag, having stores such as a Peaches (a yarn store?), The Bow Rack (an archery store), and some repair shops and yards.

Overall, this is an okay place on the southern end but perhaps a bit too close to the Main Street area for real comfort.

The 511 neighborhood, located at the far western end of Union City, shouldering the marshy wetlands that separate it from the bay, is without a doubt one of the nicest (perhaps even ‘the’ nicest) neighborhoods in Union City. It is one of the newest areas in Union City and has a very suburban feel to it. The homes here are Contemporary Style homes with green lawns and red-tiled roofs. The streets are wide and quiet and the homes are sunny and high ceilinged for the most part--the kind of homes with that airy feel that came into vogue in the 1980’s. Most of these homes date from around 2000.

The median home price here is $675K. Prices range from around $500K (for some of the 90’s homes on the northern end) to as much as $850K for some of the large 5-bedroom homes on the southern end of the neighborhood. (There are also some really old leftovers on the far northern end of the neighborhood that run below $350K.)

The schools are also a lot stronger in the 511 neighborhood--mainly because of the strong elementary school: Delain Eastin. Alvarado Middle School and Logan High School are also solidly average, which is good for Union City, where the schools sometimes leave more than a little bit to be wished for.

This is also a good area for commuters--especially for those headed down to San Jose or over to the Peninsula. It’s okay for SF and the Pleasanton area as well--with the BART lines being a convenient means of transportation across the East Bay.

Overall, a very nice area, though with some of the prices here many might choose to live closer to their target destinations.

What is the most expensive home sold in all of San Mateo County in the last year?

Well here it is, right on Barry Lane. (It may in fact be the most expensive home sold in the entirety of the Bay Area--not sure. Can’t imagine there are many that are more expensive.) The home sold for a whopping $18 million and change. (Who pays attention to thousands once your are into 8 figures really?)

Where was this home? In Atherton, of course. West Atherton to be specific. Some might be surprised that Hillsborough did not have a more expensive home. Hillsborough certainly had a home or two that aspired to beat that amount and they have blown Atherton out of the water in previous years, but this year the best they could muster was a 7-bedroom home that sold for $13 million. (That home is currently only valued at an estimated $7 million.)

So what is so great about this Barry Lane home?

Well, though this home was built in 1963, the owners have renovated it to the point that it is basically a wholly new home. It has 3 bedrooms and 4 baths, 3500 ft and a pool. Because this is Atherton, one of the most expensive cities in one of the most expensive counties in all of the United States, this is enough to make prices soar. That said, I have seen estimates that put the price of this home at a much lower $5.5 million. (In 2009, before the renovations, it sold for $4.5 million.)

What about the rest of the homes on Barry Lane?

Barry Lane is a pretty typical Atherton Street, very woody feeling and with a ton of gorgeous homes. (You wouldn’t expect any less, would you?) It connects Atherton Ave. to Faxon Rd. and maybe has 2 dozen homes along its stretch and appending cul-de-sacs.

Other homes recently sold along Barry Lane and within a block or so have sold for $4 to $5 million--more typical of Atherton prices even in this market. These are the kinds of big homes that are well screened by shrubbery and high walls so you don’t get too much of a view of most of them. When you do you find large attractive homes that clearly don’t mind flaunting their beauty. This is, without a doubt, the stomping grounds of the 1%.

And, of course, you get the great Atherton Schools and relative proximity to Silicon Valley. A great place to live if you own your own company and make the big bucks.

Where are the lowest home prices in Union City?

Here in the Decoto neighborhood. Which is not to say that you will find the lowest priced home in all of Union City here. There were a couple of foreclosed homes that sold for less than $100K in other Union City neighborhoods in the last year. (Though these homes are actually valued higher and sold so low because the homeowners were underwater.) You won’t find any single family homes that have sold for less than $100K here in Decoto.

You will however, find five homes that have sold for under $250K in the last year. (No other neighborhood in Union City has more than one.)

So what is this neighborhood like? Why are the homes here so inexpensive?

Decoto is an older neighborhood with lots of the smaller, less appealing looking Ranch style homes. These are the smaller kinds of Ranch homes that are fairly common in this area of the East Bay. The streets have an older feel to them and you will see a fair number of bushy, unkept lawns (which have their own appeal, I suppose)--not terrible or without character, but not terribly attractive.

The median home price here is actually $300K, but the ceiling for home sales is only $400K. The only exception to this is along a row of newer homes that were built on the northwestern end of the neighborhood on Calle de la Mirada Common--in a gated community of the kind that you might associate with the OC.

You might expect that crime would be high in such a neighborhood given the low cost of living, but as far as I can tell it is relatively moderate with very few assaults and just a handful of break-ins and robberies each month.

As to schools, it is a bit of a mixed bag. The elementary schools that serve Decoto--Searles, Hillview Crest and Guy Emanuele--vary from API’s of 3 to 5. (Basically average or slightly below average.) The middle school, Cesar Chavez is solidly below average, but the high school, James Logan, is solidly average (maybe even slightly above average). So though none of the schools here are great, none of them are absolutely terrible.

Union City’s location is also pretty good for commuters. If you are looking for a good spot from which to commute into San Francisco, San Jose, Pleasanton or the Peninsula, this is not a bad starting point.

I also hear there is a whiskey bar at the edge of this neighborhood, though I have not been there myself to check it out.

Overall, I would say this is a pretty good value as far as the Bay Area is concerned. There are few places in the Bay Area where you get low home prices, moderately low crime, and passable schools.

So what brings me out here to the boonies of Alamo? The answer to the question, what is the most expensive home to have sold in Contra Costa County in the last year, that’s what.

The home in question sits atop a hill, all by itself at the end of Via Romero. It sold last year for $3.5 mil. Built in 1991, the public records show that this is the first time since 2000 that this home has sold for more than it was bought. (It has been sold 5 times since then and 3 times since 2011.)

What is so special about this 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath home? The main thing seems to be its hillside location. I also suspect there may have been a bidding war. Trulia estimates the value of the home at $2.2 mil.

It actually does not look like the most expensive home on Via Romero. This climbing street actually has several large mansions on it. In fact I would say that of the homes on the cul-de-sac where the aforementioned home is located, that most expensive of homes is maybe the fourth best imo. There is, for example, a palm encircled pink mansion of the squarish kind that you typically find in the nicer parts of Miami. There is also a nice big home with a veranda, French windows, and a hedged lined front walkway. The main thing it has going for it is that it is up on a hill just about by itself.

The rest of Via Romero is no slouch either. It is a nice wide lane with a gentle curve and long flat homes (I think they are Ranch homes, but I’m not completely sure--maybe a Ranchy variety of Contemporary style home).

Of course, you also get all the other benefits of living in Alamo: no crime, great schools, clean and green and close enough to Walnut Creek to satisfy both commuters and shoppers.

Although I am not sure that particular home deserves to be the most expensive home sale in Contra Costa County, I do think that most of these homes are probably worth around their million dollar price tags. If you are secure in your finances and in a family way, anyway.

Ever wondered where you can find the most expensive properties in Union City?

Well wonder no more. The R&D neighborhood has the distinction of being home to both the #1 and #2 most expensive home sales in Union City in the past year. In fact of the 5 or 6 homes which sold for more than $800K (the most expensive sold for $885K) in Union City, 4 are located in R&D.

What do these $800K+ homes have in common and what is so great about R&D that homeowners are willing to pay the big bucks?

First, these homes are all very new, having been built this millenium, and they are very big (over 6000 feet and with 5 bedrooms for the most part). They are also very luxurious looking (mostly in the Mediterranean style) that is so popular right now.

Of course, not all homes are this expensive here. At $600K, however, the median price here is still far higher than virtually anywhere else in Union City.

Even on the low end when it comes to homes here, however, you get a pretty good value. The cheapest single family home to sell here, for example, sold for $380K. It is a 4-bedroom with 7000 ft of space, pretty comparable to the top homes that sold for twice as much. What’s the difference? Mostly age. The less expensive homes date from the Reagan Era rather than W’s terms.

The neighborhood overall is pretty great as well. It pretty much feels like a suburban neighborhood of the kind you find to the east of here in Pleasanton or Dublin.

Schools here are pretty strong, crime is low and you are comparatively close to San Jose and the Peninsula, so you can look forward to shorter commutes.

And as I mentioned in other reviews, Union City is well situated for working couples who head in different directions when they set off for their workdays.

Overall, this has to be the best residential neighborhood in Union City.

Hall Ranch is the pizza shaped neighborhood on the far western end of Union City.

The western section of Hall Ranch is made up of townhomes. These date from the early 70’s and run between $150k and $300k roughly, with the median being around $250K.

On the eastern end of Hall Ranch is where you find the single family homes. They are mostly Ranch homes from the mid-70’s and sell for around $500K. From what I remember of them these are pastel colored homes with red or brown tiled roofs. This is a flat neighborhood with sidewalks which makes it perfect for kids for biking and that sort of thing--one of the great benefits of neighborhoods from the Disco Era.

Hall Ranch also has a number of other amenities for residents. It has, for example, a couple of churches (St. Anne’s, a Catholic Church; and GRX-Fremont, an exchange faith church?) and a pretty good park with tennis courts and a day care center attached (Kidango). To the northeast you have the Alvarado Mall with its East Asian restaurants and misc. stores, so your shopping needs are totally covered.

Although Union City schools are not consistently strong across the board, the schools that serve this neighborhood--Alvarado Elementary, Alvarado Middle School, and James Logan High School-- are on the high end of that standard with API’s of 7, 6, and 5 respectively.

Crime is pretty low here as well.

This is also a pretty great spot for commuters whether they have to go to San Jose, SF, or virtually anywhere in the East Bay.

My final assessment: a pretty solid neighborhood, especially for two income earners who work in separate parts of the Bay Area and for those whose jobs take them all over.

Piedmont is known for being the home of millionaires. It should come as no surprise that the most expensive home sold in Alameda County in the last year should be here. Lincoln Avenue is the street where this nearly $7 million dollar mansion is located. it is a 1920’s Albert Farr creation with 6 bedrooms and 8 baths and has a backyard fit for the Great Gatsby--or almost anyway.

It is not quite as impressive from the street, but the broker photos that linger on the internet reveal the beauty of this home.

The rest of the street is pretty typical of the Piedmont Estates neighborhood as well, having a leafy staid quality all the way up its three block length and lots of older manors and Tudor cottages. If you are an architecture buff who likes seeing examples of styles from yesteryear there is a lot to see here. From neo-classical palladian windows and doric columns to bay windows and dormers, you will find a virtual encyclopedia of examples of what was popular among the elites in the Swinging Twenties. (And, by all accounts, still remain popular with today’s 1%.)

Albert Farr, btw, was a famous early 20th Century architect who worked mainly in the Craftsman and Georgian styles. His most famous house was Jack London’s Wolf House. You can see examples of his homes throughout the Bay Area, especially in St. Francis Wood and Russian Hill in SF.

Other than the beautiful old homes what is great about living on Lincoln Ave in Piedmont?

Great schools. Though residents could afford to send their kids anywhere, the public schools in Piedmont like Piedmont High are as strong as it gets.

Virtually no crime. Great bay weather and a very manageable city commute. Piedmont also has a ton of stores and just a great vibe on its flat areas, so you will not be bored.

Put simply, it is probably the best little city in all of the East Bay and this is probably one of its best streets--if you happen to be rolling in the dough.

Toyon Drive is short residential street in the Ellis Lake neighborhood. I came here to look at a 3-bedroom house with a friend of mine. This neighborhood is pretty much all Ranch homes. The yards are somewhat untended in this section of this neighborhood and you can see a lot of dead lawns. The rent was about $1700 which is not too bad for a 3-bedroom generally but feels overpriced on this street.

Most of the homes here date from the 1950’s and the median price for the 3 that have sold on Toyon recently is around $300K--about average for Concord I would say. These houses could look better. They have a bit of run down look to them which is also generally true of the surrounding streets to the south. (There are some nice apartments to the north and south however.)

Overall this is at best a mediocre spot. The schools are pretty bad as well. I like the nearby apartments but these homes are overpriced for the neighborhood in my opinion. Just not very well-kept. And not a great spot for families generally.

It is called Old Alvarado but that name is a bit outdated--as you will notice if you drop by for a visit here. You can roughly divide Old Alvarado into three sections.

The first section, and by far the newest looking is on the northwest segment north of Horner and west of Union City Blvd. These newer Contemporary style homes (mostly tan with grayish tiled roofs--pretty homogenous looking overall) sell for a median price of about $600K. There are also some condos on the eastern portion of this neighborhood which are even newer--dating from just before the Real Estate Crisis--they sell for around $200K.

There is nothing “old” about this neighborhood.

The section to the southeast (north of Alvarado and east of Union City Blvd.) is a bit older, being mostly made up of slightly older homes dating to about 1980--sort of an older version of the northwest section. Given however that most of the neighborhoods here date to the 1950s, this is still hardly a neighborhood that you would call old. Homes here have been going for about $300K.

The final neighborhood is to the north and is by far the most expensive area, with homes selling for around $700K. These are large luxurious looking homes with high roofs and curving staircases dating from the mid to late 1990’s--probably built for the would be dot millionaires of that era.

There is nothing “old” about these neighborhoods taken together or individually. As to the other aspects of neighborhood such as schools, crime and amenities? Shopping and the usual amenities are definitely not missing here with Dyer Triangle just to the northeast.

As to schools, they are solid as well with Alvarado Elementary and Middle School both have solid if not spectacular test score ratings.


Crime is relatively low as far as I can tell as well.

Overall, maybe one of the best spots in this section of the East Bay.

Pine Street in Downtown Concord is basically a long block filled with apartments. It breaks off from Willow Pass Road just after that boulevard crosses Highway 242. These apartments come in a wide variety of styles from newer boxy looking apartments with stucco walls to older looking boxy apartments--it is a little like what Henry Ford said about the Model-T, except in this case it is about apartments: You can have your boxy apartment in whatever shape you like, so long as they are boxy.

Prices vary, but you can find some pretty good deals here simply because this is Concord. I came here to see if we could find a 3-bedroom for my friend. There was one here for $1500 which is great for a 3-bedroom in Nor Cal. My friend was still worried about it being Concord, but it looked pretty nice.

It’s location is also great for singles or childless couples. You are right in Downtown Concord so you have lots of places to shop and a fair amount to do. (Though this is not, of course, the same as Walnut Creek.)

This is also a good spot from which to begin your commute to and from work. Since you are pretty close to Highway 680, you are in pretty good shape for heading down towards Walnut Creek and out towards Oakland.

Unfortunately, the poorly rated schools make this a less than ideal location for parents. Overall, however, an okay spot for singles.

For fun and shopping, Downtown is the destination in Concord, CA. Let’s just take an overview of some of the things that you can do in Downtown Concord:

Need a car?

You can find it along Concord Avenue. That is where you will find the VW, Ford, Chevy, Saturn, Honda and Acura dealers. (There is also a MINI dealership down on Market.)

It is also where you will find various automobile related businesses like autobody and auto glass companies as well.

And it is not just automobile shops. There are companies as diverse as a dialysis provider, a legal document recorder, and home-study course for those in the medical professions.

Need some pet supplies or electronics?

Downtown Concord is also home to a number of retailers from Petsmart and Fry’s Electronics to Burlington Coat Factory and T-Mobile. There are multiple strip malls that run along Willow Pass Road through the heart of Downtown.

Want to catch a flick?

The Brendan Theaters multiplex is right at the corner of Willow Pass and Concord Ave.

Want to go out for a bite?

Try the Elephant Bar, Swagat’s Indian Cuisine or DJ’s German Bistro.

Want to have some kid friendly fun on a hot summer day?

Well, then Waterworld might be just the destination for you and the family.

There are even some moderately priced apartments at the edges of this neighborhood. Here you can find apartments for between $900 and $1300. (There are a fewer newer and bigger ones that go for more.)

Put simply, this is the place to go for shopping and fun.

Alvarado Industrial West is, as the name indicates, pretty much just an extension of Alvarado Industrial which is to the northeast. Like that area, Alvarado Industrial West is the home of several companies, including LA Specialty--a speciality food supplier that provides food for California restaurants; Pacific Material Handling, a fleet management company that specializes in forklifts; and Finelite, an office lighting company.

These companies provide the backbone for Bay Area businesses. The actual appearance of the place is not much to look at, being mostly made up of squat office buildings and warehouses. It is clean and there are trees to help humanize the location.

To the west of this neighborhood there is the Alameda Creek and the marshlands that extend to the bay.

Overall this is a good place to work, but not for anything else.

As the name indicates, this section of Union City on its far northwestern end is dedicated to warehouses and industrial pursuits. Companies that have facilities here include WHCI Plumbing Supply (which specializes in water heaters), SigmaTron (an electronics manufacturers), J & K Cabinetry, Ariat International (an equestrian footwear maker), and Max Speed Performance (an auto parts seller).

As you have no doubt noticed these are not exactly household names. Just to the north in Hayward you have a Pepsi bottling facility and one of Macy’s logistics hq’s. In this section of Union City, however, you mostly find the kind of companies that provide services for other companies. These B2B’s are by nature smaller and focused on a niche, but they are the kinds of mid-sized businesses that create the Bay Area’s thriving and dynamic economy.

Alvarado Industrial also has some client facing businesses however such as the Dragons Den Mixed Martial Arts Studio, Cricket Strike Zone (an indoor hitting range for baseball and cricket), Pump-It-Up (a kid’s party facility chain) and an elementary school.

Although you would definitely not want to live here, I think given the economy, there are lots of folks who would love to have a job here--even with the unappealing industrial look of this place.

I usually don’t make it up to this neck of the woods, but I came up here with a friend to try to help her find a place big enough for her and her kids. What little I have heard about Concord has been bad, and looking at the run down feel of some of the nearby streets I can see why a lot of people are turned off by it. However, Nicholas Drive and some of its surrounding streets look okay.

In fact, I would say that Nicholas Drive has a pretty middle-class suburban feel. The houses are a bit on the older side--1960’s Ranch style homes--but the lawns are relatively well-kept and the street looks pretty quiet. There were no obvious signs of gang activity or anything like that.

Unfortunately, I could not find any online crime reports for this neighborhood to verify my sense that it is okay. Concord as whole has an average crime rate with only a handful of murders on any given year (though last year they hit a new high with 7 murders). That is not too bad for a city with 120,000 people.

You also can’t beat the rent, with a 4-bedroom going for under $2000. That is for a 2000 foot home. About as good as it gets in the Bay Area. (Without getting really high crime rates anyway.)

The other drawback of the location, and what might be the deciding factor for my friend, however, are the schools. From Cambridge Elementary through Oak Grove Middle School and up to Olympic High, the local public schools are all fairly dismal by objective standards, with API’s of 4, 2 and 2 respectively. Unless my friend could finagle a way of getting her kids into the nearby Pleasant Hill schools she doesn’t think she can manage to live here.

Which is too bad, because it doesn’t feel like there is anything otherwise wrong with this neighborhood.

The Dyer Triangle is the location of the Union Landing Shopping Center. Basically this is a big mall of the 1980’s variety. Here you will find all the usual mall suspects from T.G.I. Fridays, In-N-Out Burger and Togos to Chevy’s, Applebee’s and Fudruckers. You also have some newer places like Gerry’s and Texas Roadhouse. In terms of shopping the big draws are Borders, Lowes and Babies-R-Us.

Many people come here however to catch a flick at the Century 25. They definitely have enough screens for everyone, though their selections are pretty middle of the road. Right now, for example they are showing Hansel and Gretel, Django Unchained, Identity Thief, Gangster Squad and The Hobbit. Pretty much standard fare though they also have a screen devoted to Argo (because of the Oscar buzz).

There are also a couple of hotels here: the Holiday Inn Express and the Extended Stay America.

This is not where you will find a ton of unique, eccentric stuff, but if you are just into mall shopping or want an okay place to catch a movie and grab a bite, you have definitely found it.

The Dry Creek neighborhood in Union City is just to the south of the Fairway Park neighborhood in Hayward. The neighborhood is just to the south of the Chapel of the Chimes cemetery.

Although like in much of Hayward, the homes in this Union City neighborhood seem to date back to the 1950’s, the homes here seem nicer and better kept than in many other neighborhoods dating from the same time period. The lanes feel wider and the trees leafier than in those other neighborhoods.

Home here run around $300K.

This is a pretty safe neighborhood. It gets only about one burglary per month and is free of most other kinds of serious crime.

Schools are a little bit of a mixed bag here, with the high school and elementary being solid, but he middle school, Cesar Chavez, being well below average.

Came here over the weekend to take a look at a apartment for a friend. She’s got 3 kids so she has been looking for an affordable 3 bedroom--not so easy in the Bay Area--especially if you still want good schools and relative safety.

Laurel Avenue, which also gives this section of the Dimond District its name, is a relatively quiet streets that stretches over MacArthur and disappears into the hills where it turns into Carlsen.

Laurel Avenue looks pretty much like the flat section of Berkeley: lots of bungalows and houses dating from before World War II. There are also a number of older boxy apartments on the lower end of Laurel.

As Laurel climbs up into hills past Madeleine, you get some nice views of the bay and some better kept homes. This eastern end is definitely the better section of Laurel.

We looked at one of those apartments just off the lower end of Laurel and it was going for $1500 for a 3 bedroom. A pretty good price, but there are some drawbacks to the area.

One is crime. You get about a half dozen reports of assaults per month in this area.

The schools are a bit of mixed bag with Bret Hart Middle School being pretty bad, but Skyline High being solidly average.

As far as Oakland goes it is a pretty good spot for a single gal with kids, but not ideal.

Fairview Park is the southeastern most neighborhood in Hayward. Like much of Hayward, the neighborhood is made up of older looking Ranch style homes. To the east of Mission Blvd. the neighborhood skirts up against the empty grassy hills of Taper Park.

You can get a 2-bedroom apartment here for about $1500/month, which is about average for the East Bay.

To buy, the median home here has been selling for around $300K, with prices rising above $500k only on the 10% of homes located in the Millennial neighborhood around Oakbrook. (A really nice suburban looking neighborhood that you usually have to go east over the Contra Costas to find in Alameda County.)

Unfortunately, the schools here are still fairly below average.

It is however a good spot for commuting to most of the East Bay.

The restaurants along Mission are mostly Mexican pupuserias and “cocinas” which probably reflects the strongly Latino flavor of the neighborhood.

If you have a little ballerina in the family, one of the draws to the area is Petit Ballet, a well established ballet school. Had a friend’s daughter who went here and the mom gave it positive marks. There is also the Fairview Park Mall, which is little more than a strip mall with a couple of fast food places and some stores. There is also a great sports club at Rousseau and Mission.

As far as crime goes, its relatively low. There have been about 2 dozen assaults here in the last 6 months and about 5 dozen burglaries and robberies.

Overall a solid Hayward neighborhood.

The Mission-Garin neighborhood is on the far southeastern end of Hayward, east of Mission Blvd. and sprawling out onto the hills. As throughout the East Bay, you can always look to the hills for the nicest houses with the best views. The same is true of the Mission-Garin neighborhood.

On the western end of the hilly area, just as you begin the climb up, the homes are mostly of the nice 1970’s style Ranch homes. As you get farther up into the hills, the homes get newer and the style changes to Contemporary--large and boxy, with tiled roofs and adobe walls. The views are much better from here as well.

The median selling price for a home up here is $350K though prices tend to rise with the altitude. So many of those Contemporary style homes fetch over $600K--a rarity for Hayward. (Though, of course, just across the bay on the Peninsula, these same homes would sell for much higher even without views.)

Another positive of this neighborhood is that you have the South Hayward BART station right there--which really helps with the commute. (Hayward is a great spot from which to commute virtually anywhere in the Bay Area because of its location near the bulls-eye of the Bay Area.

Unfortunately, the schools here are not particularly good, with low APIs for all except for Tennyson High, which has an average rating.

Overall, I think this is one of the best residential neighborhoods, marred only by the weak schools that make it undesirable for the families you would expect to live in a quiet, attractive spot like this.

Tennyson Alquire is the southernmost neighborhood in Hayward. It is largely made up of mobile home parks and newer construction. There are some of the typical Hayward Ranch style homes in parts, with smaller older homes and you will find a semi-industrial area on the eastern end of the neighborhood, but these are more the exception than the rule here.

I have counted at least 6 mobile home parks: Continental, Spanish Ranch, BSM,Georgian Manor, and Spanish Ranch II. These mobile home parks run the gamut from very shabby to pretty nice. Some look very much like the kind of trailer parks you are probably imagining as I mention these, while others have front yards with grass and permanent mailboxes and the feel of a nice, slightly cramped neighborhood.

The typical asking price for one of these units is a mere $60K. So we are talking a real value.

As to the newer homes in the area, that is altogether different price range as you might expect. These are those newer model Contemporary style homes dating from the late 80’s and 90’s. They are big and, though dated, actually pretty nice.

Unfortunately the schools are very much like in the rest of Hayward. They are firmly below average and many sink to APIs of 2 and 3. The only exception is Tennyson High which manages to be average with an API of 5.

There are some apartments in the Tennyson/Alquire as well. You can rent a one-bedroom for less than $1000 and a two bedroom for around $1200. Pretty affordable.

This is also a particularly good spot for commuters, given that the Hayward South BART station is right at the edge of this neighborhood and that you are in perfect position for either a San Jose or a south Peninsula commute--given the proximity of the San Mateo Bridge.

The Glen Eden neighborhood at the far southwestern end of Hayward is relatively typical of Hayward, except for the fact that it has a newer section filled with Mediterranean style homes. This section, built in the 1990s, is nice with red-tiled roofs and adobe walls. the rest of Glen Eden is pretty much made up of older Ranch style homes, like most of Hayward.

The median home price in Glen Eden is $275K.

There are also a fair number of apartments here. You can rent a 1 bedroom for around $1250.

The schools here are slightly better than in much of Hayward as well. Mt. Eden High, for example has an API of 5 and so does Martin Luther King Jr Middle School.

As with most of the rest of Hayward, this is also a great spot for commuters, allowing you to get as far as SF or Palo Alto via public transportation in about an hour. You can get even farther by car, with San Jose and Dublin being within an hour’s reach as well.

There is, unfortunately, some crime in this neighborhood. There have been more than 2 dozen assaults here and more than 60 burglaries and robberies. Given how dense this area is this isn’t too bad but it is still a concern.

Overall this is an okay neighborhood.

Located right near the heart of Hayward, the Harder-Tennyson neighborhood is a big squarish neighborhood that is fairly typical of Hayward. It is a mostly residential area filled with the smaller, older variety of Ranch homes. This is a pretty packed area filled with older model cars and slightly under-maintained front yards. This is one of those neighborhoods that is not quite leafy enough to obscure the power and telephone lines, so you see them draping over the top of the neighborhood like a long net.

The median selling price here is just over $255 K, with the ceiling being $400K. Fairly inexpensive for the Bay Area. This neighborhood also has a number of very affordable condos that sell for around $100K.

What explains the low prices?

First, there is a bit of a crime worry in this neighborhood. There was, for example, one murder in the second half of 2012 and some 3 to 4 dozen assaults--so this is definitely not one of those exceptionally safe areas of Hayward.

Second, the schools are not very good, varying from average to pretty lousy. As is typical in Hayward, the elementary schools get the worst scores--this holds true for all four of the elementary schools that serve this neighborhood: Tyrrell, Schafer, Eldridge and Glassbrook--all have API’s of 3 or lower. Two middle schools serve the neighborhood: King, which is just okay; and Chavez, which is very bad. The brightest spot in the area is the high school, Tennyson, which is solidly average. (Hardly a ringing endorsement, but an accomplishment for this neighborhood.)

Despite these negatives, however, there are still some positives to this neighborhood, such as the fact that it is a great starting spot for people commuting virtually anywhere in the Bay Area. One of the few spots from which you can make it to San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto and San Ramon all within one hour.

Overall, a very mixed bag of a neighborhood.

The Whitman-Wocine neighborhood in Hayward is perhaps best known as the home of Tennyson High School, one of the high schools in Hayward. Like Hayward High, Tennysons is a solidly middle of the road high school, which may sound unremarkable and would be if it were not for the very bad schools that feed into Tennyson and Hayward, most of which have API’s in the low 1-3’s. So whatever it is that Tennyson is doing it seems to be working.

The same can be said for the local elementary, Bowman, whose API is only 2.

Like in much of Hayward, most of the homes here is Whitman-Wocine date from the Post-War Baby Boom period, though here in Tennyson there is also a significant minority (maybe one in three) that were built in the last 30 years.

The median selling price here is around $275 K, with the low range being around $175 K and the ceiling being $500 K.

In terms of crime, the Whitman-Wocine neighborhood is pretty mild. There have been no murders in the last 6 months and only about a dozen assaults. That is not the height of safety but it is definitely not the sort of neighborhood that you fear getting killed by a stray bullet.

This is also a great spot for commuters from which you can reach all of the major hubs in the Bay Area from SF and San Jose to Berkeley and San Ramon within an hour (with the exception of Walnut Creek--though many do not consider that a major hub anyway). The Hayward South BART station is right on the southern border Whitman Wocine. So this is a perfect spot for DINKies (Dual Income No Kids). It is also a great spot if you are a consultant who has to be at different locations depending on the gig.

As to things like nightlife?

There are lots of ethnic restaurants around (mostly Indian, Chinese and Mexican) and a handful of bars like the Dirty Bird Lounge--which a pretty cool bar. There is even a hookah lounge. You are pretty close to Cal State East Bay but this place definitely does not have a college vibe to it at all.

Overall this is a pretty good spot to live if you don’t have young kids and a family. If the schools were a little better it would be fine for that purpose as well though.

Hayward Highland is without a doubt, the best neighborhood in Hayward for those looking for nice residential style houses. This is, of course, what you find throughout the East Bay: when you reach the hills you get bigger, nicer homes. You also get some pretty nice views of the bay from here.

This neighborhood is the home to Cal State East Bay (formerly Cal State Hayward). It is a solid school known for its Ph.D. teaching degree and a number of Master Degree options.

The homes here--mostly larger Ranch homes from what I’ve seen--sell for a median price around $450K or so. But the range of home prices here goes from around $200 K to $800K with one or two having sold both below and above those amounts. You can pretty much predict prices by how far up into the hills you go with prices rising roughly according to elevation.

You still do get some assaults up here, even though you are up in the hills. Overall, however it is relatively safe here.

The schools here are better than in most of Hayward as well with API scores mostly in the middle for both Hayward High and the local elementary. The only dark spot is Harte Middle School which is bottom of the barrel.

The commute from here as from the rest of Hayward is pretty good except that the extra bit that it will take you to get down from the hills is what makes the difference between making it to SF within an hour and not. You can however make it to San Jose, Berkeley and Pleasanton within an hour, so you are still in pretty good shape.

Overall, however, I think this is definitely the best neighborhood in Hayward.