The South Berkeley-Telegraph Neighborhood is Coming Up Fast
What Kafton is describing is the transformation occurring in the South Berkeley-Telegraph neighborhood. Citing such amenities as the Ashby BART station, the Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods market, and the eclectic shops around Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Alcatraz Avenue, Kafton is excited by what he sees.
And his excitement over the matter is not to be taken lightly: As both a real estate agent (since 1985) and a resident of Berkeley (since 1965), he has watched the area evolve into what he calls, “the next Rockridge.”
The area, which straddles the Oakland-Berkeley border, is defined as the area between Telegraph Avenue and Sacramento Street, running from 55th Street in the south to Dwight Way at its northern edge. At its heart is the Ashby BART station, located on Ashby Avenue between Adeline Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
In addition to convenient public transit and many quality shops nearby, the area also offers more modest home prices than many other parts of the East Bay. Homes start in the mid to high $500,000s, but as the area becomes more popular, look for those prices to go up, up, and up. But those prices are a bargain compared with many Berkeley and Oakland neighborhoods.
In addition to modest prices, home buyers also have their pick of styles. “Most of the housing stock are two-bedroom to four-bedroom homes, but there’s a real mix in terms of styles,” Kafton explains. “The majority of the homes are pre-World War II, with almost all of the homes being built some time between the 1920s and 1960s.” Walker notes that, “All the classic styles are there — Victorian, Craftsman, etc.”
For residents, the area is ideal. “I consider living here one of the nicest things to happen in my adult life,” says Shelagh Becerra. “I live on a very interesting street. You see kids, you see people on bikes, people playing basketball. There are a number of artists in the neighborhood,” she says. “It’s very diverse, both racially and age-wise, too.”
What Becerra likes best about the eclectic mix of people in her neighborhood, however, is how close-knit they are. “I have friends who live in the hills, and when they come to visit, they say, I wish I lived here. I don’t know my neighbors.’ When my son was in the hospital, I had neighbors who brought me dinner every single day. People look out for each other here. We’re dependent on each other in a very nice way,” she says, noting she has a key to most of her neighbors’ homes.
That sense of community is complemented by the location of the many amenities nearby. “It’s a lively, urban environment. You’re close to BART, and there are many good places to eat nearby.”
Not surprisingly, many home buyers are noticing what Walker, Kafton, and Becerra already know. Walker says that the homes in the area, on average, only stay on the market for about 20 days. “The longest a home stayed on the market in this area in the last year was 76 days, while the shortest was nine days,” she says. “These houses really move.”
The statistics are borne out by Becerra’s observations. “Turnover in our neighborhood has been extremely low,” she adds. Which makes it seem that this area won’t be “up and coming” for too much longer.
