The “Close to Coffee” Revolution in Real Estate

Time was when a prestige neighborhood in the Berkeley or Oakland hills was the destination of choice for people looking for a house. Well, get out of your car and put on your walking shoes, because now the determining factor is becoming how “close to coffee” you are. Or to put it another way, what’s your “Walk Score"?

I was working with a young couple determined to buy their first house in Berkeley. They have unilaterally eschewed the “Hills” as being too far away from everything. And we are focused on homes within 10 blocks of coffee. That would be the “flats” or bungalow neighborhoods of Berkeley, where houses and lots are smaller, neighbors ... and coffee are closer. (That translates into Walk Scores of 80’s and 90’s versus 40’s for the Berkeley Hills.) I’ll bet Alfred Peet never knew he was starting a real estate revolution when he started the coffee revolution.

Actually, my clients are not alone. In fact, we bid on a house in the Elmwood area, close to coffee, shops and restaurants ... and so did six others. The home went about $150,000 over asking while similar sized houses in the Berkeley Hills, priced $300,000 less, are languishing.

It turns out being connected -- not just electronically, but physically -- is all important to this generation of Buyers – the Millenial’s and GEN X’s in their 20’s and 30’s. They would rather have a more modest bungalow than an expansive home with a view ... as long as they are close to coffee. In this day and age, coffee ... not the street you live on... determines how well connected you are. And what price your house will sell for.

If you’d like to see what houses are for sale in the neighborhoods of Berkeley and Oakland, just give me a call: 510-847-2409.

Barbara Reynolds, your East Bay real estate specialist