Over and Under: Berkeley Homes Find Buyers
So the home of my dreams — or at least the latest one to catch my fancy — found a buyer and they paid  12% more than the asking price to secure this gem. The Maybeck-designed 2960 Linden Avenue (above) sold for $1,231,000 on a $1,095,000 list price. In other sales news, the

At the High End, Cash is King
Broker Tracy Sichterman at Berkeley Hills Realty recently published some interesting analysis on the local high-end market. On her Home Spun blog Sichterman writes about the results of some research she conducted into recent sales of $1 million-plus homes in Berkeley and Oakland. Her conclusion? Cash rules — with nearly one in three homes in this bracket selling to an all-cash buyer. M

Timely List for New Moon Movie Home
Not bad. Not bad at all. The home of bloodthirsty Edward in the newly released movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, has just popped up for sale with a $3.3 million asking price. Designed by noted architect Arthur Erickson it was totally renovated eight years ago and comes with five bedrooms, a great room with soaring ceilings, pool, a private studio and a koi pond. Full details and photos can be s

The New Average: a 2,400 Sq Ft Home
Homes are getting smaller. At least when new ones go up they are likely to be more modest in size than they used to be. The average new single-family house peaked at 2,507 sq ft in 2007 and has since slipped to 2,392 sq ft nationally, according to latest Census Bureau data. In Berkeley, where existing homes are the norm,

Signage and Car Parts: Eco Fabulous Berkeley Condo
The first time you drove past this building at 2474 Martin Luther King Junior Way in Berkeley you will, like me, have done a double take. Its innovative exterior — which incorporates repurposed street signs and car parts — manages to be both very stylish and very funky. Its designer, Leger Wanaselja Architecture, says: “It adds levity and intrigue to the city’s visual landscape”