patrick.net

But the HOA seems to be a deal breaker. I doubt it's an offer-bait. Its been on the market for 30 days. Looks more like a case of chasing the market down.

Few of the bulls here will say "so what? RE is always local". This is no Palo Alto,Cuppertino.

I've been looking around at the newer (2004 and newer) condo prices in Oakland lately. Lots of price decreases, but the new ones seemed to be priced at around 75% of their bubble prices. Over the past few weeks I have seen more and more come to about 60%. It looks like a trend to me.....

How much do these rent for? Is this the good or bad part of Oakland? I remember passing through Oakland on the BART about 10 years ago & thinking it looked very grungy back then, at least what I could see from the BART.

This short sale isn't too far off from market value. It shouldn't be too hard convincing the bank that this is worth $259/sq ft since this larger unit in the same HOA sold for $269/sq ft 5 months ago: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Oakland/288-3rd-St-94607/unit-601/home/12114958

The 2 bed/2 baths rent for $1995-$2450, so even with the HOA and an 3.875% 30 year mortgage + Property Tax, this place is at or below rental parity. Once you take the tax deductions into account, it's below rental parity (the extent of which depends on your personal federal + state marginal tax rates).

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000054403.php?fp=5179506&cmp=CAC-Padmapper

Based on the rents being charged, I take it this isn't the ghetto like it would be in my neck of the woods for these condo prices (South Central L.A., Compton, Pacoima, etc).

So maybe it's time for Jaded to start getting his feet wet. Or what, you're waiting for these to drop to $150/sq ft? Again, I'm not familiar with the neighborhood, but based on the rental comps, it doesn't look like that's going to happen here, unless rents drop 30%-50% from where they are today.

The only problem with being within walking distance _TO_ the Greyhound and Amtrak station is that it is also within walking distance _FROM_ the Greyhound and Amtrak station.

robot4 says

But the HOA seems to be a deal breaker.

Yikes! $450/mo, bound to go up every year.

pkowen says

I count 14 condos in the immediate area under $275,000. Average for all in the area is $325,000.

What he meant to say was "no group of houses for sale has any relevance whatsoever to the market at large. None."

Relax - I was being sarcastic.

klarek says

robot4 says

But the HOA seems to be a deal breaker.

Yikes! $450/mo, bound to go up every year.

Yikes! The 2 bed/2 baths rent here for $1995-$2450, "bound to go up every year" (at least to the same extent as HOA dues). For the well-qualified long-term owner, owning instead of renting is a no-brainer in this neighborhood at this price & 30-year fixed interest rates.

Are those rent figures realistic in today's market though? Still I agree with Mark, the place does look like a decent long-term investment at this price level.

Compare with this Berkeley condo listing, which is going at over 3x the price /sqft, asking $425,000 for a 474ft 1bdr:

http://www.trulia.com/property/3011706381-2055-Center-St-411-Berkeley-CA-94704

Any ideas about how this new project is doing? I would guess the developper is going to take a hit on this, they broke ground right at the begining of the recession.

hard to say if it's a good deal. in 09 I was looking at houses in Oakland for under 100k

People pay that much to live in jack London square? I live in alameda justacross.the tunnel and we pay 1600/mo for a detached house with a yard (and no one peeing on the street at night). Is downtown Oakland the west village now?

That $450 HOA fee is nuts!

I notice that despite the condo's 100 walk score (great to see them advertising that!), the property comes with one parking space and there doesn't seem to be any monthly fee for it, which means that it's probably included in the monster HOA fee. To recoup some of that money, can the owner rent out that space on the open market, or only to someone else in the same building?

that's near Jack london Square in a very cool part of Oakland Near Bart and 805/580/80 freeway. near gritty west Oakland and Next to Laney Collage. lots to do and see. only bad part is being down wind from the port of Oakland maybe. I love this area used to live three miles from here by the Coast Gaurd station.

Pretty good neighborhood, besides the train noise. All the buildings over there are either new or converted lofts. Typically nice amenities. Greyhound is a hike honestly. Basically another part of town. MAybe it is time to take the plunge. That building is adjacent to 2 very upscale apartment complexes with similar amenities, so the rent is definitely about right. Downtown Oakland rents are very expensive in new buildings. There are plenty of 1 bedrooms at $1600 in the neighborhood.

FYI: elevated BART typically goes through neighborhoods that could't afford to veto the project. BART is typically far from the nice neighborhoods. (Besides Rockridge, but within about .5 mi or MAcArthur BART is nice.)

Michinaga says

That $450 HOA fee is nuts!

One motivator why we sold our condo in SF in 2005. And the sauna stayed broken over 50% of the time too!

Well, there are such things as ghost towns. I think RE is free in those. Not saying that will happen to Oakland but ask what the big business is for Oakland. Ask how tightly it is tied to Oakland. This is an approach most people on this list have not learned. I learned it after loosing big time. The amount people can pay is based on their job prospects. As those collapse, so must prices!

Put another way, how many techies have had a pay raise in the last decade ?!?! Inflation-adjusted most all have had a pay cut! So, you have to question any recovery pundits.

maxweber says

Put another way, how many techies have had a pay raise in the last decade ?!?! Inflation-adjusted most all have had a pay cut! So, you have to question any recovery pundits.

Huh? For the last decade? I've had a raise every year--last two years have been small, but inflation has been basically non-existent. Previous to that they were decent--better than inflation every year...