I’m a first time home buyer and my budget is $600k. I’ve been renting around downtown and near the lake for the past 5 years, but will have to move to a different neighborhood to afford a single family home. I’m looking for at least 2bd/1bath. What do you think about Allendale, Laurel, Dimond? What areas do you recommend? I’m 30, like the downtown scene, and live alone with my dog. I don’t have a car, but open to buying one
I was in exactly the same boat in 2021. I ended up going further in to east Oakland to find the right house in my budget. The neighborhood has its challenges but my neighbors are amazing. Tough neighborhoods bring good people together 🥰
That’s awesome! What’s neighborhood in east Oakland did you end up in?
I’m in Havenscourt :)
Same here! (Hi neighbor!) And for the same reason. Our neighbors are the best and the neighborhood itself is getting better in fits and starts, all the time.
Me three - we were finally able to buy in Havenscourt after renting for 14 years in Emeryville. We finally got a dog! I love my skylights and my citrus trees! And there's never a shortage of free entertainment right outside in the street 🙂
Hello neighbors! 👋
It was the same for us in 2021, and we ended up in Arroyo Viejo which neighbors Havenscourt. We have the best neighbors!
Laurel is lovely
That’s what I’ve heard! What do you like about it?
Kind caring neighbors, walkable, cute houses, good restaurants and redwoods near by.
That’s amazing! Thanks for your input!
I live in Laurel too, I like it too.
Awesome! I’ve been hearing all good things about laurel
In addition to what others have said, I'll add that most of what you need on a day-to-day basis can be found nearby. MacArthur has a locally-owned pharmacy, an Ace hardware, and several small, independent grocery stores. It's not too far from the Redwood Road Safeway or the larger Farmer Joe's in Dimond if you're looking for that.
It doesn't have a great park for your dog within walking distance, but Pinto Playground up the hill on Redwood Road is good for playing fetch, and there's a dog park in Joaquin Miller Park as well.
Based on recent sale prices, I think you might be able to find a 2 bed/1 bath in Laurel for under $600k but you'll probably have to get a fixer upper, we bought ours for $576k in 2019 and it was in pretty rough shape cosmetically, in addition to being a very small house on a truly tiny lot. Feel free to DM me if you end up moving into the neighborhood and want to meet some of the neighbors!
Lower Dimond between 580 and Foothill and 25th-35th avenues.
I’ll check it out! What do you like about the area?
Affordable, just as safe as some of the hill neighborhoods, good restaurants, easy to get around everywhere.
We've been in Allendale near Brookdale Park for 5 years and are quite happy here. My husband commutes to SF using bus/bart (no car). I find it easier to drive. Parking is not a problem. Downtown is 10 min away by car.
Feel free to ask any other questions you have.
That’s great to hear! And there’s a few properties in Allendale in my price range. Is there much to do in walking distance or is it mainly residential?
Walking is donut savant and the MacArthur strip!
Mainly residential, I'm afraid. Depends on what you consider walking distance though. We're 1/2 mile from MacArthur and 1.5 miles from Fruitvale Bart.
King Estate neighborhood off 580/ Keller is awesome.
Thanks! I don’t see anything over there in my price range, but I’ll keep an her out! What do you like about that neighborhood?
Generally not in your price range but there have been a few recent sales that would have been within budget. Allendale definitely has some properties that would fit and I do like the area around 107th-Dutton bordering San Leandro. Nice and walkable with good access to transportation, cafes, and restaurants. If you’re not yet working with a real estate advisor, I recommend it. There are some great programs for first time buyers plus access to off market listings. I’d be happy to chat with you -www.LeslieBandyrealtor.com. I became an agent after navigating how to buy my home here and thought I could do a better job of helping buyers make the best decision for their needs.
Great community, everybody knows everybody, block parties, activism, the King Estate Open Space is here and everybody has dogs and that’s a very social thing. Hiking at Chabot Regional or Leona Canyon is just five minutes away, downtown SF in 20 with good traffic.
Edit: also, super diverse and queer as hell
I’m in patten / Peralta Hacienda in Fruitvale. Can’t say enough about this gem. Second all the other surrounding neighborhoods mentioned by others too. I feel like all of these neighborhoods really vary based on the street or part of them because it affects what you can walk to and every street can be different. Depends on what you’re looking for.
When you are looking at housing prices, make sure to double check actual sales. Listing prices can be way low and then bid up.
Definitely! I’ve seen a lot that’s been sitting for 30+ days so it seems like more of a buyers market now compared to early 2020s. But have to be careful about issues like the foundation etc with the older housing stock
Laurel is very nice. Frick is also nice and will likely be more in your price range. Even Melrose has gotten pricey recently.
Millsmont, Fairfax, Havenscourt, lower Dimond, Morse/Picardy, Mills Garden
Thanks! What do you like about the millsmont neighborhood? I haven’t explored any homes there yet.
It's an eclectic neighborhood of old timers and families moved in the past few years. Lots of dogs and people always looking out for dogs, feral cats, etc. Most of the time it's pretty quiet, although noises bounce off the foothills.
Thanks for sharing!!
I live in the Diamond - you'd probably want a car if you lived here. But really like it and we have wonderful neighbors? Also never feel unsafe in the diamond downtown area. Farmer Joes is amazing.
Awesome!
Similar to you, rented somewhat near the lake & Temescal at various points. We somewhat recently bought near Reservoir Hills. We love the area. It's a bummer to not be able to walk to Piedmont Ave, Uptown, Lakeshore, etc. But TBH, between getting older & the economy, we were already just going out less.
So, the move was something to get used to. But I wouldn't call it a loss. Just a trade. I think there's better food for cheaper around here. The Ghost Town taproom is awesome. There's a coffee shop, Hasta Muerte, that prides itself on not serving cops.
Between the commercial stretches on MacArthur & Foothill near Fruitvale, I'm a fan.
That’s great perspective! Thanks for sharing. Doesn’t look like anything is for sale in Resevoir Hills right now, but I will keep an eye out as I search
Lived in North Oakland for a decade before moving to East Oakland years ago.
Few people recommending Peralta Hacienda, Upper Peralta Creek, Laurel, and Fairfax which I would recommend as well, I have friends in the areas and spend lots of time. I’m in St Elizabeths in Fruitvale which I love but its not very quiet because we are in the middle of it all, and not many homes become available. All these neighborhoods i mentioned have a lot of generational families and people who have been here for awhile so its a nice community
I’m excited to be somewhere with a close knit neighborhood feel. Thanks for sharing!
I'm in "Lower" Maxwell Park (realtor description) above the high school (Fremont) and I love it. Working folks, mostly quiet, walkable, friendly. But like all areas, it varies street by street so have a look at the wider area at different times of day/night.
Add Melsrose, Jefferson, Harrington, and Bartlett. There are tons of hidden gem neighborhoods south of 580.
Thanks! What do you like about these areas?
Very quiet, lots of families, and active organizations improving the neighborhoods. We just moved to Peralta Hacienda from Harrington - a whole three blocks, and decided to keep our old house and rent it out because we love the area so much. Friends of ours who grew up here often compared it to how parts of Berkeley felt 15 years ago - when middle-class families could afford houses in some neighborhoods.
That said, everything is block by block. Drive through during the day and at night. We talked to the neighbors before buying too.
I went to a few open houses and could totally see what you mean by block-by-block! Thanks for your input. Excited to explore the neighborhoods more and find something
I’m pretty content in Las Palmas. Couple grocery stores in walking distance, close to some nice San Leandro amenities and stores too.
I’ll add that to my list! Thank you
I saw one on IG that was on a cul de sac off of High St that was really nice. Look for the Airstream property. It has a refurbished Airstream in the driveway that can be used as a separate chill area.
I saw that as well! Super cool place. It’s pending now
Anyone familiar with the arroyo Viejo neighborhood?
It’s very nice in some parts but very block to block. There isn’t a lot around that you can walk to. Great neighbors, very cute old houses, close to BART.
I lived in Allendale and the lower part of redwood heights and loved it - and both are basically the Laurel. That stretch of MacArthur is very walkable with good restaurants, TWO Farmer Joes, a local bakery, and some reasonable hangouts. The bus to downtown is pretty decent, too, if you want to get down there.
I’d say a car is definitely convenient to have in that areas. I’m also surprised you can get a spot for 600k! Still well outside my price range, but that’s why I bought in Vallejo and have zero regrets.
That’s so great to hear! I’m excited to check out places there in person. I see some good things online
Here’s some favorites to check out:
Santana’s Coffee - super knowledgeable family run roaster who imports his coffee from Mexico and roasts it himself. Seriously the best coffee I’ve ever had (beats the better known roasters in Oakland, IMO)
Sequoia Diner - great breakfast/brunch/lunch spot, very busy.
Degrees Plato - local beer spot with a great selection and great food
Fists of Flour - Excellent Pizza
Phnom Penn - great Cambodian food
Little Joes - the corner store version of Farmer Joe’s which is a family run Oakland grocery store. Complete grocery store, even a meat counter, but the size of a large 7-11
Donut Savant - super good donuts, used to be downtown and opened up their allendale location ONE block away from our old house literally two weeks after we moved, such a bummer.
Vientian Cafe - pretty authentic Laotian restaurant, real good.
And it looks like Ghost Town brewing opened up a location in the Laurel! I also prefer the Laurel location of Grand Lake Kitchen to the Grand location, feels homier.
I do really miss that neighborhood, my partner and I lived a handful of very formative years there in our relationship and it was a wonderful place to be.
I’m from all three neighborhoods at some point in my life. They are all good working class neighborhoods that have some degree of crime like the rest of Oakland. Lots of good people but yeah my mom’s house was broken into last week. It’s in the Laurel district. Good luck to you and Pup!
Sorry to hear that about your mom! Thanks for sharing!
I enjoy living in allendale!
We bought in west Oakland and like it. We’re close to the BART, and have a small yard for our dog. There might be some nice townhomes also in your price range in the area. There should also be a lot of condos in your price range around the lake. We decided to not go that route though cause they tended to not have washer dryer in unit and a lot of the buildings didn’t appear to be retrofitted for current earthquake standards. At least the realtors also seemed confused when we asked about soft stories and retrofitting.
I just took a look through the MLS and there are a few in Maxwell Park and the Laurel that look like they are well well within your budget budget and look to be pretty pretty nice. There’s even one in Mills /mont I/ which I sold a few years ago for 725 that is back on the market for under $600,000. Your budget goes a lot further now than it would have a few years ago. If you’re not yet working with an agent, I would be happy to show you these properties. I can direct you to a lender that may have some down payment assistance programs. We’re in this nice little low in the market that happens just before the market tends to be back up in full swing in February. It tends to be the most affordable time of the year to buy a home because there are so few buyers who tend to flood back into the market after the holidays are over.
I love Dimond. Dimond park and Sausal creek great for dogs. Lions pool is great. You can get to lake or downtown via MacArthur and it’s a pretty flat ride if you have a bike.
I’ve been hearing great things about Dimond! Will def check it out
East Oakland has great neighborhoods hidden away. Just try to avoid main roads and away from big apartment complexes.
I’ve been in the Laurel for over 10 years now, and really like it. Can walk to optometrist, dentist, multiple cafes and restaurants (Jo’s Modern Thai, Sequoia, Ghost Town Brewery and Phnom Penh are all really good options), and a handful of shops. We have the smaller Farmer Joes market at 35th and MacArthur, or the Food Mill between Laurel and Dimond.
We are close to an express Transbay stop if you need to commute over to SF. I feel like the big downside to the neighborhood is just that it’s not super close to a BART station.
u/esteelauderaddict I am a Realtor. I'd add the Fruitvale and Bella Vista (pockets near Highland). Let me know if you're interested in chatting about your search.