Fresh Vegitbles, Fruits, and Flowers Every SundayEvent Name:              Walnut Creek Farmers' MarketDescription:               What's In Season for April & May: Apricots, Artichokes, Asparagus, Avocados,                                  Cherries, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Green Garlic, Fava Beans, Lettuces, Onions,                                   Peas, Radishes, Spinach Strawberries Event Time:               08:00 AM - 01:00 PM PSTLocation:                   Walnut Creek Library Parking Lot                                  Broadway at Lincoln                                  Walnut Creek, CA                                   click here for map...Details:                     Open Sundays Year-Round                                  Winter hours: 9:00am-1:00pm                               ... 05/21/2007

Finally some good news coming out of the media.  This article by DQNews is some of the best news that I have seen in a while coming from the normally doom-sayer media.  Even though the number of homes sold is down, and they go into a bit of detail about this, the average price of a home is up.  Particularly in the East bay where Contra Costa County is 4.3% medium price increase from April 06 to April 07.Localized information for Walnut Creek looks like this:  AverageMedianSingle Family -1.26%-1.08%Condo 0.48%0.94%Townhouse 4.87%5.74% Check out the article at Bay Area Home Sales Drop, Prices Up 05/16/2007

 On June 2nd and 3rd the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce will continue a tradition begun in 1981 by celebrating the 26th Anniversary of the Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival. The event will be held at Heather Farm Park located in the heart of Contra Costa County and will feature work from more than 200 artists, crafts persons and musicians. Festival lovers from thoughout the region taste select wines from some of the world's finest growing regions or choose from award winning international beers. Visitors may sample an array of delicious foods while enjoying a musical smorgasbord of big band, country, folk and jazz. 05/14/2007

Breakfast food is, well, good food that goes to the inner parts of your soul and reminds you of home cooking or places that you have visited.  There are numerous eateries that give the claim of good food for breakfast but often the feeling of eating plasticized hash brown potatoes and toast with liquefied butter substance etched on the surface leaves your stomach aching and flush with an unsatisfied feeling.  Hubcaps, on the corner of Locust and Bonanza Street in Walnut Creek, CA.  has an atmosphere that is best described as diner with an automobile theme.  It is well lit with natural light pouring in from windows on both sides of the restaurant that allow you to see out as well as everyone outside too see in.  The seating is almost entirely booths with a counter in the middle for those... 05/07/2007

One of the most confusing things for people I know is my description of where I live. I tell most people that we live off of Walnut Boulevard. Most of the replies I receive say, "I know where that is. Doesn't that connect with Bancroft Avenue?" To which I have to respond, "No." So you don't really know where it is. (Map of Area) When I was growing up, I never even realized that there was a Walnut Avenue. Why? Because living in the Wild Oak area of Walnut Creek limited our exposure to most things east of Homestead on Ygnacio Valley Road. From the house here we could just cruise down the hill to Nordstrom's and Safeway. We could take a different route and end up on Newell Avenue by Caspar's Hotdogs. We had little or no need to head east on Ygnacio Valley Road. The Meadow Creek, Wild Oak, ... 05/01/2007

This is my dog Gia.  She is a Staffordshire Terrier.  She is a great dog.  Contrary to popular belief she is the sweetest thing.  She and my other dog a 5lb toy rat terrrier are the best of friends.   Most people think that she would eat him but that is not the case.  They can't stand to be apart.   Isn't she cute. 04/29/2007

I got into a discussion with my preferred mortgage broker today.  He was whining about the market really taking a hit overall.   NOD's  are up he said "and I'm tired of you Pollyanna realtors puffing about how great the market is"  Well that got me thinking, so I went to the local MLS to do a quick check to see if I am one of those realtors.  I took one city, Walnut Creek, CA, and ran the number of sales in a given month, March 2007, and came up with 62.8 million dollars of transacted residential real estate.  At 3 percent commission that is about, 1.9 million dollars.  I did the same for March 2006, and I got 62.3 million dollars of transactions; 1.9 million dollars in commissions.  Keep in mind that last year was the third best on record according to NAR and we were 500k up from that ... 04/23/2007

Where do you like to eat in Walnut Creek?I love to eat at Va Da Vi.  Everything about it is great.You can make reservations for them at www.opentable.com.  There you will earn dining points that you can trade in for gift certificates to the restaurant of your choice.I also really like Lark Creek.  04/19/2007

Diablo Hills Golf Course The Diablo Hills Golf Course is located on Marchbanks Road, off Ygnacio Valley road in Walnut Creek, California. The 9-hole Diablo Hills course at the Diablo Hills Golf Course facility in Walnut Creek, California features 2,302 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 34.  Designed by Robert Muir Graves, ASGCA, the Diablo Hills golf course opened in 1975.1551 Marchbanks Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598. The owner is Hardev Singh. The golf pro is Nick Andrakin. For more information or to schedule a "T" time call (925) 939-7372.Select this link to view driving directions. Find out more by visiting http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/golf-course.asp?course=655 If you play the Diablo Hills Golf Course be sure to keep your score card. If you are buying, selling... 04/17/2007

Here is a follow up to my post yesterday titled Should We Bail?I was reading that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are both working on programs designed to keep people from going into foreclosure.  At this point, no specific details are available.  Most of the loan amounts in my area, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and so on are considerably higher than the $417,000 conforming limit, so I don't know how much benefit the new programs may be.  Only time will tell. I also just received a press release from the Federal Reserve Board, encouraging the lenders and institutions to work with troubled borrowers.Will they? We'll all have to wait and see on that as well.I do have some evidence that they might.I related in a post on a commercial refinance I was working on that was impossible to fund (http://act... 04/17/2007

Take a look at how are market is doing and see the trends for yourself.  Things on the street are improving and you'll see that our sold and pending numbers have trended upwards for March, the number of months of inventory on the market is trending downward.  Will the trends continue in this (right) direction? So how will spring shake out?  04/11/2007

Welcome to my ActiveRain Blog. I hope to post many relevant articles here relating to real estate.  Some of them will be specific to Contra Costa County and the cities of Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Moraga, Lafayette, Orinda, and Walnut Creek. Other posts will be about real estate in general. I have another blog located at http://blog.pmaclennan.com. That blog will be my primary writing location and this will likely feature many posts from that blog.  If you have any questions or I can serve you in any way, please contact me by email or phone.  Thank you and Welcome! 04/11/2007

As the proud listing agents for 5 Walnut Creek condo/patio home units, we have been studying the condo market. Listing inventory was at a high June thru October, 2006. Pending sales have been running about 20 units a month.  Current active listings are at 58, which is as low as it has been since February 2006. The true wonder is the huge price fluctuation for the same basic floorplan. The most runaway example is Rossmoor. The asking price for a Sequoia model (1054 sq. ft.) co-op rins from $169,000 to $349,000! Now much of the price variation in other parts of Walnut Creek can be attributed to agents who have not been in the business more than 5 years and have never experienced a "normal" market. However, most Rossmoor agents are experienced so go figure. 04/09/2007

       Last Saturday morning I found myself in downtown Walnut Creek looking for a place to have breakfast. Hub Caps Diner located on Locust and Bonanza caters the Contra Costa Realtors in Motion (CCRIM), which on Tuesdays is the home of the Broker's Caravan Tour (http://www.ccrim.info.com/) for the central Co.Co. county. I thought to myself; their food is always top notch on Tuesday, I can't imagine it being any different on a weekend, so with this in mind I went to satisfy my hunger.              I arrived at my destination about 10 minutes after 9 in the morning and I parked on Locust. As I cross the street I notice a parking meter enforcer (I feel funny saying a male meter maid) patrolling in an official meter enforcement cart. He stopped and jumped out of his cart with his ticket w... 04/08/2007

I was a third grader when my family moved here from San Bruno across the bay.I can't recall the exact reason my parents decided to move to the Diablo Valley, but once we did we never left.The Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette Triangle has to be one of the best areas to raise a family, even today!My father has long since past but now that I am deep into the mortgage business, I'd like to go back and ask him some pertinent questions.You see, my Father was the original DIY guy.  He would buy a house, live in it, remodel it including additions, and then rent it and buy another.I say "He", but he made good use of his workforce of 4 kids, so maybe it should be "We".I'm most interested in the financing aspects.What type of home loans and mortgage did he use back then.How about a Home Equi... 04/04/2007

I just read a story in my local paper. The local police here are warning Realtors about a registered sex offender. They say he hasn't yet done anything wrong but they are concerned. Why?Because this Bad Guy has been posing as a home buyer and visiting real estate offices and open houses. But "Hey", you say, "This is America and all people are free to pursue the American Dream - right?"That's not so bad right?      Well, let's see...He's also been found poking around the back of a real estate office unescorted. He probably came in through a Employee Only door.He's asked Realtors to recite scriptures to him.He's told Realtors that "God has chosen you to be my Realtor." How spooky is that?He's asked Realtors to see their personal homes.He told an agent that she was beautiful and that beau... 03/27/2007

  "Hear me now, and Believe me in two weeks" You can't afford to be a "girly man" in this market. You have to be up on all the newest trends, on line, offline, staging , gas shut off valves, how to market yourself, your listing, your company, and do it all on a shoestring budget. This is when you pass or fail the test. You must inform your client that as a Seller you might want to revamp your whole mindset. Don't think about getting what your neighbor got for his home that was exactly like yours down to the pool house... WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TREND. It has become a buyers market in most areas that are over built and away from job centers. Saddled with soaring fuel costs and longer commutes these sellers are in areas that have, and will continue to see over-leveraged owners selling short... 03/23/2007

Good News Walnut Creek!I had reported that they had to sadly close their doors along with Sunrise Bakery due to a dispute between the landlord and PG&E. (original story) Pinky's Pizza is back in business.  The Power has been turned back on and they are open and functioning.  Tomorrow night is Motorcycle Night so I'll get the full details from Tom then.In the meantime you can order by phone (925) 932-2728 or just walk in!  By the way, Tom has two web cams running.  One sits over the big screen TV LINK The other sits right on top of the cash register LINKHere's the web cam page: LINK Remember to smile when your there!Welcome back Tom!  03/21/2007

Congratulations Steve!If you haven't heard a local guy made good Saturday.He made real good!We're talking...Winning the SuperBowl of Motorcycle Racing... good.Saturday, Steve Rapp won the biggest race of his career,Winning the 66th Daytona 200 on his Kawasaki 600.Steve is a local area resident, grew up as a local racer, was even a sponsored rider of Pinky's Pizza (owner Tom Beisheim).Last year Steve raced for basketball great Michael Jordan's team, switching this year to the Attack Kawasaki.That meant a new bike, a new team, new tires, new everything.And it looks like they got it all right - everything clicked!Once again - Congratulations Steve!  03/12/2007

The City of Walnut Creek has four parcels of Open Space totaling approximately 2800 acres. The largest of these is Shell Ridge Recreation Area, with 1400 acres and 20 miles of trails. The other areas are Lime Ridge with 900 acres and two smaller parcels, Acalanes Ridge and Sugarloaf. Both Acalanes and Sugarloaf have small trail systems suitable for short hikes and nature observation. The most extensive trail systems are found in Shell Ridge and Lime Ridge. Both of these areas are connected, either by connector trails or through Diablo Foothills Regional Park, to Mt. Diablo.Shell Ridge, once a sea bed, takes its name from the fossilized shells found in the areas rocks. Along with the interesting geology, there is an abundance of Flora and Fauna to be seen in Shell Ridge. From mid winter ... 02/21/2007