Oakland Real Estate

I think buying some Oakland real estate is probably a wise investment. There are a lot of positive signs that the Oakland economy is starting to finally come around a little. While I think its going to continue its slow and steady growth for awhile longer, I suspect that in the near future Oakland is going to suddenly explode much like its neighbor Emeryville has. So if there is ever a time to buy Oakland real estate, it’s now while it’s still some of the cheapest real estate to be found in the immediate Bay Area.

Oakland resides in what I think is the most ideal location in California, if not the planet. Just because I grew up there doesn’t mean I’m in anyway biased. I have lived in some other really nice California areas, including Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, but Oakland is by far my favorite location. Oakland has the perfect combination of city and suburban interests, large portions of it manage to feel open, and almost country like. The Oakland hills have some of the best views in the entire Bay Area, and for that reason alone make a lot of Oakland real estate very valuable.

Oakland also has some of the best weather in the state, and that’s saying something considering we’re talking about California here. While Oakland may not have as many hot and sunny days as Los Angeles, it is a much more mild climate that I vastly prefer over the more Southern areas. Instead of upper 70s and low 80s all the time, Oakland seems to hover in the 68-72 region a lot. For many people, including me, this is ideal weather and is another reason why Oakland real estate should have some inherent value.

Oakland real estate is also ideally situated with respect to accessing other parts of the bay. Looking at a map, you can see that Oakland is pretty much right in the middle of the greater Bay Area, and is just a hop skip and a jump from San Francisco. With several Bart Stations in Oakland, and immediate access to the Bay Bridge, its easy to get wherever you need to go from Oakland.

So why is Oakland real estate still so cheap? Well, because its in Oakland, of course. Oakland still has a bad reputation with respect to crime, and several of its neighborhoods are pretty crummy looking if not dangerous. However, I’ve been hearing more and more about upcoming projects to revitalize these areas, and I think that owning some Oakland real estate now will pay off big in the near future.