Hi Mimi,

Castro valley has always been in demand because of the good elementary schools. I lived in Castro valley for 7 years and sell a lot of homes in Castro Valley. I always tell buyers about how good all the schools are in Castro valley. So if they cannot get into their area school for that year because it is full and get transferred to another school, chances are the other school is just as good.

Castro Valley is also very centrally located with easy access to major freeways like 580, 92, 880.

Please go to my link below on Castro Valley:
http://www.helpusellachievers.com/About_Castro_Valley/page_2…

If I can help you sell your home, I would be very happy to do so. Please call me at 510-279-9580

Meena Gujral
Help-U-Sell Achievers Realty
510-279-9580

Mimi,
Having a home next to a school can certainly be a selling point, particularly since it is a good one. Being able to walk to school is a huge advantage that is being offered in some of the newer subdivisions, so the fact that you live in an established area and so close to school is an added bonus. There are other factors to consider when selling like condition, # of bedrooms, lot size, price, etc. An experienced agent will be your best asset when selling your home and they should walk you through all of these and give you advice on how to best market your home. Feel free to look at our seller information on our website at http://jscarealty.com/communities.php and please let me know if there is anything else I can do.
Best,
Erica

Erica Jones Starkey
Broker, Co-Founder
JSCA Real Estate Group
Providing Superior Solutions for Your Individual Real Estate Needs http://www.JSCArealty.com
office: 925.989.1613
fax: 925.905.2417

Mimi:

You live in the part of Castro Valley that is covered by the Castro Valley school district. As you know, other parts of Castro Valley fall into the Hayward schools zone. I’ve had many clients tell me that they want a home in the Castro Valley Unified School District – not the Hayward School District.

As you may be aware, home prices in Castro Valley are actually on the rise. There is currently a shortage of available homes and multiple offers are being seen on almost every property that comes on the market.

As I mentioned in the Real Estate Realty article I wrote for the Castro Valley Forum that appeared last week, “buyers are now flooding into the market, current inventory of homes for sale is rapidly disappearing, multiple offers are everywhere and pending sales are taking off like a leap frog on steroids. If ever there was an opportunity for sellers, this could be it.”

Indeed, for many Castro Valley sellers, this is a wonderful time to get your home on the market. Own a 1,500 square feet or smaller detached single family home with a minimum of 3 bedrooms? Your home is currently in high demand. If properly prepared and marketed effectively, you can actually expect to get a great price in the current market. Of course you won’t get the types of prices we would have seen in 2005 or 2006. We won’t be seeing prices like those for a while. But it will sell, and probably very quickly!

Good news indeed for those who’ve seen their home values plummet and equity disappear like an ice sculpture in August. As for that silver lining? If you own a single family detached home at the lower end of the market, that silver might actually be gold.

Mimi

Your chances of selling will be enhanced if you live in an excellent school district.

But that's not all that matters. There are the basic c's:
1) clean -- deep cleaning, and good-smelling
2) de-Clutter --- if you can pare down your personal possessions to 50% of what's there, that's a good start
3) color --- neutralize as much as possible, with color as accents

AND
Curb appeal ---
Condition of the property --- repairs? upgrades?
Ease of showing --- no lockbox, no show
Market exposure --- reaching the biggest target market and audience
Light it up! Dark means gloomy. Light means life.

STAGE it for success. Do it yourself, or ask a professional for help.

Above all: PRICE!
If you price it aggressively or ahead of the market, you stand a much better chance than if you overprice it even by just a little bit.
And if you need to lower your price to adjust, make it count. Don't do $10-20K at a time.

Hope this helps.