Davis, CA

Davis, California (reportedly the second most educated city in America) is all about the schools. I have buyers contact me continuously and I ask, "why Davis?" To me the reasons are obvious, after all I live in Davis and am in the position of being familiar with every nook and cranny of the entire valley (and foothills). The reason I ask is to get a feel for what the clients are looking for.

There are other areas that have outstanding schools as well (El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Pocket, East Sac, etc) but Davis is the only area that actually has a "center" to it. You can walk around and shop the boutiques, book stores, coffee shops, jewelry stores, toys, bikes, flowers...all without trekking across a big box parking lot! There is a farmer's market, the Mondavi Center, lots of art galleries, and lots of things for kids (DISC, Explorit, Dimonds Gymnastics, numerous community pools, Davis Art Center...).

I confess, the chair of my thesis committee was a UC Davis professor (even though my MA was from CSUS), so I regularly drove from Sacramento to Davis to meet with her. This little town stuck in my head. Having grown up in a town with no stop lights (yes such towns exist in California!), this province intrigued me. After having our first child, I was convinced he should grow up in a town where people actually know each other.

Well, we considered all of the areas with outstanding schools. What we found was we had to make a choice between our dream house and our dream community. Davis has almost no interesting topography or architecture. But, when you go to the grocery store you'll see someone you know. When you take the kids to school, other parents wave to you. It's not for everybody...but it is for me.

I recognize it isn't the most affordable area, and some folks want an area with topography, a newer home, or even a home of architectural interest. So, if you are confused about whether Davis is for you, i'll be happy to discuss it since i've been in that boat and it isn't for everyone. Luckily, I know the other great areas in the valley/foothills as well. Watch for an upcoming blog on alternatives to Davis. Lori :o)

Tomorrow's stage of the Amgen Tour of California will pass through downtown Davis on its way to Sacramento. Downtown will have streets closed off temporarily to allow the riders a clear path through town. It is exciting to see a world-class bike race pass by your office. Tomorrow's race will start in Santa Rosa and the riders will race all the way to Downtown Sacramento, ending at the State Capitol.

Photo taken from outside the Davis office of Lyon Real Estate during the 2007 Tour of California.

Contributed by Carolyn Gjerde-Tu, Davis CA Real Estate Agent

This Saturday, February 2 the Explorit Science Centerin Davis will be among 25 Sacramento area museums to be open free of charge. The Explorit Science Center at the main site, 2801 Second Street as well as the Mace Park Branch will be open. This is the 10th annual Museum day, there were 79,000 attendees to Sacramento area museums at last year's event.

Explorit features hands on science exhibits, a wet lab and an array of ever changing features.

There will be shuttle service between many of the participating Sacramento museums so whether you are interested in learning more about science here in Davis or maybe always wanted to visit the Discovery Museum's Gold Rush History Center, there should be something of interest to most anyone.

The majority of the museums are located in Sacramento but Heidrick Ag Center in Woodland will also be participating. A full list of participating museums can be found at http://www.sacmuseum.org/

Contributed by Carolyn Gjerde-Tu a Davis, CA real estate agent

Here is a quick report comparing the sales figures for single family homes in 2007 against the statistics from 2006. The first graph is for Davis and the second is for Woodland. As you can see, the two markets reacted differently to the current slow down in housing demand, with Davis doing much better than Woodland.

Of course this also means that the better bargains are to be found in Woodland currently, as it has seen prices retreat further from the market highs.

Considering that these two towns are just 6 miles apart and about the same size in population, you see a marked difference in the way that the real estate markets in these towns have changed over the last year.

Monday February 11, 2008 there will be a blood drive at the Davis Oddfellows lodge at 415 Second Street in Downtown Davis from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The drive is being sponsored by North American Title Company and the Oddfellows Lodge. Annalisa Alvarado, Account Manager for North American's Davis office is hoping to get between 20-45 donations. Bloodsource will be coordinating the drive. Visit http://www.givelife.org/ to see if your eligible to give blood or to get facts about blood donation. For more information contact Annalisa Alvarado at (530) 756-0533 or aalvarado@natco.com

Carolyn Gjerde-Tu is a Davis CA real estate agent. Visit my site http://www.discoverdavishomes.com/ to get the latest information about Davis CA homes for sale.