Former Mayor Jerry Brown was able to see the future and thanks to him we are living it here in Oakland. His 10K Housing Initiative bet heavily on the future viability of our downtown (referred to as Uptown) neighborhood and nobody realized how important it would become until now. Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood  was recently named the number one “great neighborhood” in California by the American Planning Association.
fox_oakland_kerr-620x465Jerry Brown’s initiative considered the needs of the city and public residents. The project revolved around proximity to transportation and has fulfilled its goal to create a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with a multitude of housing types. When I use to drive down Telegraph examining the vacant swaths to condos and unused open space, I often wondered what and when the pay off would come. It surely has begun to change dramatically from the desolate unused square blocks it was just a few years ago.
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Curious to know more about the T-Note and 60-year rate cycle? Do you want to make more educated real estate investments? Recently, I’ve been privileged to read the Realty Almanac put out by Realty Publications and First Tuesdays. Who is First Tuesdays and why the cryptic name? They are a California real estate trend resource providing news and data analysis since 1979. First Tuesdays is a holdover term referencing the foreclosure dates and times in Texas. You can read about First Tuesdays here.
The Realty Almanac is a data-driven analysis of the California real estate market. While the nearly 400 pages of forecasting had on occasion put me to sleep, I ultimately dug through it all. I discovered a surprising trove of invaluable information specific to investors like myself who focus on cash flow and the spread between cap rates and interest rates. This report should be extremely helpful in making decisions about buying and selling in today’s Bay Area real estate market.
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