Deco & Craftsman in Oakland

Time for an adventure! Last week we took advantage of the beautiful weather to drive to Healdsburg, then visit our long term friends Linda & Dick in Petaluma. Both are easy drives from Berkeley... and it's nice to take off every once in awhile.

Today's travels? Early morning breakfast at the Oakland Grill in Jack London Square, then a visit to one of our favorite buildings, a visit to see "California as Muse: The Art of Arthur & Lucia Mathews" and then a drive past the Paramount Theater!

Whenever I visit a museum exhibit, I often find that something other than the exhibit catches my attention. The paintings were lovely, but the frames were amazing! Interested? Hurry to the museum - the exchibit closed tomorrow, Sun 25 Mar 2007.

And be sure to check out the Oakland Museum next time you're in town. It has some of my favorite works of art... and history!

Oakland Paramount Theater





Oakland Museum Of California

Berkeley Real Estate Market Update

The Spring Berkeley/Oakland Rockridge Market looks very strong.

We presented an offer for a Thousand Oaks home on Thursday, and the home ended up receiving 18 offers. This is a house which was described as “embarrassingly underpriced” by a colleague, that’s why it generated so much interest.

On Thursday we also presented an offer on a Rockridge home. This priced closer to market value, and still received 4 offers, also selling for significantly above the asking price.

We're researched the effect that multiple offers has on final selling price. Based on our research, we calculated the likely selling prices for each home.. and it looks like our correlation continues to be quiet accurate.

Why is that important to you?

If you're planning to sell and want to sell your home for the highest possible price... you'll be very interested in how strategic pricing works to your advantage.

Buying a home? You'll learn the optimal price to offer to increase your odds of getting the home while not paying more than you have to... call us at 510-526-6668 or email serkes@berkeleyhomes.com

Our local Thousand Oaks Theater.... The Oaks!

One of the reasons Carol and I bought our home in Berkeley's Thousand Oaks Neighborhood is that we loved being able to walk to Solano Avenue... and patronizing neighborhood businesses.

It's always a treat to drive down Solano at night and seeing the street lit up by the Oaks Theater Marquee.



"Notes On A Scandal" starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy was playing... and it's a movie we wanted to see.

So.. when Carol emailed me during Friday's meeting with my California All Stars mastermind group... what were our plans for tonight... I emailed back "a movie with you!"

We both enjoyed Notes On A Scandal.. and at the end, I realized that it reminded me of another favorite movies "Year of Living Dangerously"... in part because Judi Dench's voice sounded a bit like Linda Hunt's... and each of the characters tried to orchestrate behavior in their own ways.

Seen both? Let me know what you think. Here's what's playing right now at The Oaks.

And.. if you're interested in Berkeley Real Estate, and would like to buy one of our wonderful Thousand Oaks homes, here's where you can search the Berkeley MLS to find out what's for sale right now in the neighborhood!