Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Oakland families get homes for the holidays : “Santa paid an early visit to East Oakland on Saturday, when nine low-income families received keys to homes they helped build themselves. "I know I was somebody before, but now I've got a piece of the rock," said Lynette Knight, 58, a Wells Fargo manager who now owns a three-bedroom home on Edes Avenue. "I told the kids, 'We're going home. This is ours.' " The homes are part of a 54-home Habitat for Humanity development on a former auto junkyard near the San Leandro border. So far, 26 homes in the development - the largest Habitat for Humanity project ever in the Bay Area - have been completed, and the rest are due to be finished next year.”

C.J. Walton's a Richmond-based realtor who posted this at activerain.com But beyond the tragedy of the sellers, there was the tragedy of the perfectly prepared, and perfectly priced condos that are not getting the traffic that they deserve. My client has found a wonderful deal, and yet there is one Lake Merritt Condo that is still out there, that I can't get out of my head. Imagine coming home to an Italian spa every night. This condo had it all exquisite bathrooms, wonderful kitchen, smart use of light and space and it has sat on the market for over 2 weeks. This beautiful condo is the tragedy of a glut of inventory. It isn't that people don't want to buy, it is that there is so much inventory to get through that it is hard to find that needle in the haystack. By the way, this beautiful condo is not my listing. But if you want the address just email and I will give it to you. My point is this, of the many condos I visited, this one had most of competition out dist...