ally

We just moved into our home in Walnut Creek after looking for 6 months in Lafayette and Walnut Creek. In this area, good homes are still selling within a few days of listing and for OVER asking price. That being said, there are a lot of homes in this area that are overpriced for the type of home they are, and those are the ones that tend to sit on the market, so you may be able to strike a deal with a seller who is motivated to sell. Our realtor often felt out the situation for us; so if your Realtor think the house is overpriced from the comps, he/she can take your offer to them and go up to bat for you.

We lost out on one house that we loved because we didn't act quickly enough to put in our bid as there were multiple offers after the house was listed for only 4 days. Our offer was $50K over asking, and the people who bought the house paid $75K over asking. The house we ended up buying was in a different neighborhood, and we got smar and bid $75K over asking to start. There were 5 or 6 competing offers after the house was only listed for 1 week. One couple had bid higher than us, but then backed out so we got the house. - Tue Jul 22 2008, 22:16

School districts do affect property values because when it comes to buying a house, many people are looking for good schools for their children to attend. Although Mt. Diablo School District has its issues, the schools in the Northgate area of Walnut Creek are still high performing schools with parents who support the education system. (Valle Verde, Walnut Acres, Stanley Middle School, and Northgate High)

The Northgate schools are already desirable and high caliber, and if switched into Walnut Creek and Acalanes school districts I'm not sure how much more value that would add to your home. Northgate homes already command higher prices than anywhere else in the Mt Diablo school district. - Tue Jun 10 2008, 21:52

You can probably call the Orinda Union School District for that information. - Sun Apr 13 2008, 23:24

John, you are right. Prices have gone up over the past 10 years without incomes going up the same rate. Most people who live in Lamorinda did not buy their homes in the past 2-3 years. That is why I think it is very believable that the avg income in Lafayette is $120K. The $1.1M homes now were only a fraction of that price 5-15 years ago. However, I don't think there will be as drastic of a decline as you predict, 40%. Lamorinda has always been desirable place for families to move to. - Mon Apr 7 2008, 22:33

I don't think prices will be much lower in 2009 in Lamorinda, but I don't think they are going to increase at a rate of 20% per year like 2004-2005 era.

You have time. If you happen to find the right house, then go for it. Let me tell you, its very hard to find the right house... lots of (undesirable) houses have been sitting on the market since last summer. The reasonably priced, desirable houses (good floorplan, good yard, good location) go into escrow within a week of listing with multiple offers at over asking price. Good luck. - Sat Apr 5 2008, 13:54

Hi Susan,

We've been in the same boat as you looking for a house this year in Walnut Creek or Lamorinda. I am glad you are moving to the area to get a better feel for where you may want to settle down. Walnut Creek is safe... Safer than being in San Francisco or Oakland.

I wish I could email you privately. Coming from MDR also, I understand what you are talking about regarding the differences in houses and the neighborhoods. We found parts of Walnut Creek to be beyond suburban... too RURAL for us. We were surprised to be turned off by the Walnut Heights area and Alamo; even though those are supposed to be the "more affluent" areas, they were just not right for us. Too hilly, too rural, and not much of a community feel. We felt the neighborhood around Buena Vista Elementary was too transitional.... Rudgear area was a disappointment also. We also looked in Orinda and Moraga, but didn't like it that much... felt very isolated. Actually, commute to Walnut Creek from Rockridge and Montclair is faster than the commute from Moraga. I timed it a bunch of times during commuter time. Don't worry. Walnut Creek is pretty safe. Southern Californians tend to drive nicer cars because of a SoCal culture thing, so don't let the age and brand of your neighbor's cars worry you. The NorCal culture is to get a practical car that is fuel efficient and will last a while. Did you know you can put over 200,000 miles on a Toyota Camry and it still runs like new???

Architecturally, we really liked Crocker Highlands and Upper Rockridge in Oakland, but were not too sure about the school situation there. Narrowing it down, we concentrated our home search on the Upper Rockridge part of Oakland, the Burton Valley area of Lafayette, and the Northgate and Tice Valley areas of Walnut Creek. We looked at over 70 homes. In the end, we decided to buy a house in Northgate. Our kids will be able to walk to K-12 schools, the public library, the swim club, the park, ride their bikes on flat wide streets to their friends'. Everyone on our court has little kids. I get the sense that there is a sense of community. I know... traffic on Ygnacio Valley Rd, and honestly, at first, we didn't consider that neighborhood because of what we had heard. But in the long run, the commute from Northgate to downtown Walnut Creek is much shorter that the commute from San Francisco. Schools are also much better than San Francisco or Oakland public schools. No commute will be as bad as sitting in traffic on the 405 in Los Angeles! Its all relative. Traffic on Ygnacio Valley Rd is not that bad at all. There are lots of kid-friendly activities in the area. After you have your baby, you should check out My Gym on Oak Grove. My kids really love going there. There are also lots of trails to go stroller walking. This was a big reason why we wanted to move to a flat neighborhood. Good luck. Maybe I'll run into you at My Gym or on one of the trails with your stroller. - Wed Mar 26 2008, 22:24