Zacharys Pizza. You know it's a great pizza when raving fans brag about driving 25 or 30 miles to get a slice. Or should I say  "You know it's a great pizza when they have won over 100 ‘Best Pizza' awards", including being Zagat rated for the last 5 years? Zacharys has just three locations, one in Oakland, Berkeley and San Ramon and they will soon be celebrating their 25th anniversary.  Zachary's does Stuffed Pizza, which is different from a traditional "deep dish" pizza. The difference between Zachary's Chicago "stuffed" pizza and other "Chicago style" pizzas is that you will see the deep red, chunky tomato sauce on top and the two inch tall golden brown crust on the side of the pizza. Since their pizza seals in the cheeses and ingredients as it cooks, the ingredients remain moist and ... 01/21/2008

Dog lover or dog owner, Del Mar Dog Park is an off leash dog park and i's a lovely place to visit with socialized four-legged friends. City regulations require that the dogs visiting the park be socialized and under voice command of the owner.The park is fenced, offers benches, water fountains and some shade (from trees and huts). There is an electrical line running across the park and one of the standards is in the middle of the dog park. There is a ground covering of bark or mulch about 3 inches deep.Here you'll find friendly dogs of all breeds and ages. "Rush hour" happens twice a day. The morning crew shows up around 9:00 or a bit after, comprised mostly of mothers of school-age children stopping off after school drop-off. The after work crowd starts rolling in about 4:30 or after.P... 01/18/2008

Gale RanchCome see the decorating ideas galore in these models! This is a day-trip worth taking from anywhere in the Bay Area even if it's not your time to buy. The models are loaded with custom options for your viewing pleasure and the interiors were completed by a professional decorating firm. Come out and get some decorating ideas. I know I did.And, if you're even thinking about buying, call me first! I'll go visit the model center with you, register with you and tour with you. I'm a real estate professional, and the sheer volume of models and options nearly put me on overload. Let me help you sort out the models, options and compare them with your needs and your budget.It's such a pleasure to share the experience of my trip out to the master-planned community of Gale Ranch to see th... 01/15/2008

Windemere is an impressive master planned community located on the east side of San Ramon near Danville, CA on one side and Dublin CA on the other.  It's situated in the highly ranked San Ramon Unified School District and could be where you find the home of your dreams! It's sidewalks and trail system connects schools, parks and neighborhoods. Of the 2,300 acres, approximately 55% (1,163 acres) is reserved for permanent open space. Much of the 12.5 miles of trails is paved for walking and cycling. There are 18 parks in the development. 4 new San Ramon Valley USD schools are in the neighborhood: Hidden Hills Elementary (K-5), Live Oak Elementary School (K-5), Windemere Ranch Middle School (6-8) and Dougherty Valley High School. Additionally, the San Ramon Campus of Diablo Valley College ... 01/14/2008

So you are looking to buy a new home in San Ramon and are wondering what Down Payment Assistance is available.  The City of San Ramon does not offer any assistance directly.  But there may be assistance available from the County and State of California.Contra Costa County offers the American Dream Down Payment Initiative (ADDI) to assist eligible buyers with up to 6% in down payment assistance.The State of California offers up to an additional 6% in assistance through several programs designed to help First Time Home Buyers, plus a bonus of $7,500 because San Ramon is a high cost area.Special financing may also be available, including additional Down Payment Assistance and Below Market Interest Rates.  Restrictions Apply.To see if you are eligible for assistance contact Nate Ellis.Or Ca... 12/28/2007

At the two Realtor marketing meetings I attended this week, San Ramon and Concord, CA, the talk from real estate agents focused on how few buyers there seemed to be. More than one agent told me they are putting more emphasis on seeking buyers than getting listings as their listings are just sitting on the market collecting dust.While I was gathering the local MLS data for our weekly trends update, i decided to take a better look at some of the data for San Ramon, CA. According to my figures, there is a drop of more than 46% in closed sales this year over last.All of this led me to post San Ramon Housing Market Loses Buyers over on The Harper Team blog today. I also through up a graph (with some blank spots) that shows August 15, 2005 as the day the music died.   08/31/2007

I’ve been spending more and more time at 24 Hour Fitness. When I moved to San Ramon, CA, I looked for the closest 24 Hour Fitness because I had a membership with them in Utah. The club in San Ramon is large – lots of everything. The club is conveniently located on Norris Canyon which puts it halfway between Crow Canyon and Bollinger Canyon. Did I say convenient? Make that super-convenient – right smack dab in the middle of the biggest congregation of working population in San Ramon – Bishop Ranch.When I first came to this club on Norris Canyon, they were remodeling the men’s locker room so the showers, and toilets were in trailers. When I moved into a condo with a small workout room, it wasn’t hard to let 24 Hour Fitness go. But after a few months, I noticed I wasn’t working out at the ... 06/18/2007

Great Tips for Home Sellers from Elizabeth Weintraub over at About.com. Selling a House with Pets at Home Almost everybody loves pets except the home buyer who is buying your house. Don't ask me why, but that's often how it works out. Home sellers who adore their pets -- and I count myself as a huge pet lover -- have a hard time imagining the negative attitudes others harbor against pets. So, while this might be a bitter pill to swallow, if you want to get top dollar for your house, pay attention to how much you might lose with a dog or cat in residence. Top 10 Home Showing Tips How to Show Your Home to Buyers When you show your home, you want to engage the buyer emotionally because the decision to buy is based more on emotions, and less on logic. Give the buyer permission to say, "Yes... 05/25/2007

If you are a looking to buy a home in San Ramon, Dublin or Pleasanton, CA., then you will want to read these posts by Elizabeth Weintraub:Buying Strategies for a Slowing Market Forget the Year of the Boar, which is the Chinese New Year Animal for 2007. This is the Year of the Buyer. Many agents are saying, "If you are a buyer, come sit by me! You can relax on a soft leather chair, and I'll get the title guys to give you a foot massage. Would you like a glass of champagne?" Yup. You real estate buyers can snap your fingers and everybody in the industry today will snap to attention. You run the show. And I don't mean YOU in a Times Magazine sort of way. The world of real estate, as we know it in 2007, belongs to the buyer. Buyers rule. Before You Buy Your First Home - Tips for First-time ... 05/25/2007

Incorporated on July 1, 1983, the City of San Ramon is located in Contra Costa County on 11 square miles of the San Ramon Valley, approximately 25 miles east of the City of Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Ramon Valley has long been considered one of the most desirable living areas in the Bay Area because of its scenic beauty, good climate, suburban charm, and proximity to the Bay Area's major employment centers. San Ramon is at the heart of the valley and is surrounded by the prosperous communities of Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, and Diablo.San Ramon is a great family community with top rated schools, parks, shopping and easy access to transportation.Population: 50,037Average Household Income: $124,007Average Selling Price Detached Single Family Homes (2006): $967,419Avera... 02/11/2007

San Ramon is one of California’s outstanding urban villages. It is home to Bishop Ranch one of the premiere business addresses in the country and home to the likes of Chevron, Honda, Toyota, New York Life, and 897 more – employing 11,000 people. San Ramon was once home to the Seunen Indians. In 1797 it was Mission San Jose and late one of the big California ranch sites – Jose Maria Amador’s 16,000 acre Rancho San Ramon. The areas name comes from an Indian vaquero, Ramon, who tended mission sheep in the area. The first American settlers (Leo & Mary Jane Norris) arrived on the scene in 1850. The Norris’ purchased 4,450 acres of land from Amador. (The Harper Team has not sold anything quite that large – yet). San Ramon had a few name changes over the years, but with the establishment of t... 02/11/2007

Nothing personal, it’s just business. I think if anyone ever says that to me, I may just shoot them. I certainly won’t do business with them. Maybe that’s their point, their in it for just the one-shot exploitation. In this vein, I’ve made a recent decision to carefully consider who I associate with or blogroll. This arose today in response to a request on the WannaNetwork. Set me straight if I’m off base on this, but it seems that there is just too much indiscriminate linking going on. Driving this behavior seems to be the attitude – link to everyone to increase my site’s popularity. Well, I say, to hell with that. I don’t want to link to people that can’t be bothered to even put a picture of themselves on their site. I’m not interested in doing a loan transaction with a bunch of lotus... 01/16/2007

The two blogging classes I will be teaching with Pat Kitano are a week away. I should think about preparing some material, but I seem to be overwhelmed at the moment with about 9000 other things. I ran across this quote: “In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer This quote speaks to some of the comments, feedback and behavior I have been witness to while promoting the upcoming classes. In general, I find that very few real estate agents have a clear understanding of blogging or the Internet for that matter. It is the rare agent that is knowledgeable about the evolution of the Internet and has the overview of how this will change our way of doing business. I am in com... 01/14/2007

Here I am at Peets Coffee off Bollinger and across from Whole Foods in San Ramon, California. I’ve been coming here off and on for coffee since arriving in San Ramon last August. Today, Sunday, is the first day I’ve brought my laptop along. I thought I would grab a cup, a muffin and a table and peruse the 60 blogs I follow – relax and write a post or two. I had thought I would maybe make it a habit – come here in the morning for my eye-opener and blog. BUT Peets has no WiFi! Can you believe it? A coffee shop in today’s world with no WiFi. What’s up with Peets? This is obviously a choice for them. I was out at Hacienda Crossing in Dublin yesterday and stopped into Barnes & Noble with my laptop. They have WiFi. Of course, like many businesses these days, B&N is using WiFi as a revenue str... 01/14/2007

I'm sitting open house this morning for our new condo listing in San Ramon and made a snap decision to blog the event. This morning was the first meeting of the year for the San Ramon / Danville Realtors Marketing Association. The meeting was well attended with high energy and great expectations for 2007.We're hoping for a good turnout today, but I brought Change or Die by Alan Deutschman to read if it's slow. After arriving, I realized I could create a blog post around the event so here it is. I've only read a couple of chapters, but it is right up my alley. It is a very insightful look into the psychology of change. It examines the reality of why most people will choose death over change - for real. 11am - Carol Peterson. Charles Root, Tamera Diamond from Keller Williams in Danville a... 01/11/2007

I was reading Lisa Johnson’s – Mind Your X’s and Y’s a couple of weeks ago and a couple of the notes I made were around first-time buyers and The American Dream. The American Dream used to be about owning your own home, but now I think it’s more about 15 seconds of fame. It seems that people will do anything to be on TV or in the public eye for a brief moment. I am blown away by the humiliation people will suffer to be on TV. After World War II, America experienced it’s the first real housing boom. Suburban developments started popping up across the American landscape like pimples on a teen. Vets had money, the GI Bill, favorable legislation to promote homeownership and the country needed to shift the economy from war to peace. The dream of owning your home was extolled to all as a mea... 12/29/2006

 I’m up at 5am these days working the expireds. I keep seeing example after example of listings that are following the market down and the seller, in this California market, is losing some big bucks. When I look at the MLS history, I see: Property listed at top dollar price60 days later - price reduced to top dollar price for current market45 – 60 days later – price reduced to top dollar price for current marketAre we beginning to see a pattern here? If the price had been set somewhere between the 60-day & 100-day price, the escrow would be closed in eight out of ten cases and the owners would be on to the next phase of life with more money in their pocket than they are going to get now. Instead, many are going to do one of three things: Continue the pattern (you're losing money, too)Pu... 12/19/2006

While others might consider this shameless self-promotion, we are honored to be chosen for the cover of the first issue of ActiveRain Blog Masters magazine.I must have missed the call from Matt, probably napping as I stay up into the wee hours poring through the rain. I guess with over 10,000 bloggers they felt it was time to go traditional and challenge the likes of Time and Newsweek. I'm thinking this shameless self-promotion outbreak might be a result of seeing Bryant Tutas in diapers, or reading too many of Mary McKnight's pointers, or following all of Maureen's comments. Whatever the cause, we are just plumb tickled about the situation.And now for the news - Two from RIS Media Top 10 Trends 2007: Where to Direct Your Business If you're on the Rain, you've got one of them covered li... 12/14/2006

Being new in the real estate business, I did not realize that real estate agents had such a bad rep. I’ve purchased and sold 5 houses in my life and had the bank take one back during the Jimmy Carter disaster years of 20% interest rates. In all of those transactions, I actually wound up establishing good friendships with the agents – even the bank turned out to be a “white hat.” They found a buyer and we called it even, though I still owed a few thousand on the note. A few years ago I placed an ad in the local Park City newspaper to thank my Realtor because he got us top-dollar for our home and into the new house in a smooth process. In the Danville office of Keller Williams, I’ve met 50 or 70 of the 180+ agents so far and I find all but a few to be genuine people who are very concerned... 11/03/2006