Oakland real estate snapshot

The climate is often sunny and mild, while San Francisco is cold and dreary, and there's great hiking in the redwood-and eucalyptus-covered hills above the city.

In 2000, city officials initiated a plan to bring an additional 10,000 residents to downtown Oakland. The plan has resulted in several redevelopment projects near Lake Merritt, Jack London Square and other neighborhoods just outside of downtown.

Jack London Square is a popular tourist attraction on the waterfront of the city. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, hotels, an Amtrak station, a ferry dock, the historic Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon and the relocated cabin Jack London lived in. A farmer's market is hosted among the retail shops on Sunday mornings. This bustling neighborhood is located at the south end of Broadway, across the Oakland Estuary from Alameda.

Oakland has more than 50 distinct neighborhoods, with several of them not official enough to be named on a map. The common large neighborhood divisions in the city are downtown Oakland, East Oakland, North Oakland and West Oakland. East Oakland actually encompasses more than half of the city, stretching from Lake Merritt southeast to San Leandro. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods spread between downtown and Berkeley and Emeryville. West Oakland is the area between downtown and the Bay, partially surrounded by the Oakland Point encompassing the Port of Oakland.

Another broad geographical distinction is between 'the hills' and 'the flatlands' or better known to locals as the 'flats.' The flatlands are the historically working-class neighborhoods located relatively closer to San Francisco Bay, and the hills are the more upper-middle/upper-class neighborhoods along the northeast side of the city which include the Montclair and Claremont Hills neighborhoods. Downtown and West Oakland are located entirely in the flatlands, while North and East Oakland incorporate lower hills and flatlands neighborhoods. The median home price in Oakland is $595,000.

Montclair — also known as the Montclair District — is a neighborhood attracting many new families. Although there is no formal definition of the neighborhood, the general boundaries are Highway 24 to the north, Highway 13 to the west, Skyline Boulevard to the east and Joaquin Miller Road to the south. The center of the neighborhood is a compact shopping district known as Montclair Village. The hills of Montclair are heavily forested and generally characterized by winding streets and large single-family houses. The neighborhood includes several of the highest-ranked public schools in Oakland: Montclair Elementary, Thornhill Elementary, Joaquin Miller Elementary and Montera Middle School.

Like any major city, Oakland has seen its ups and downs. But thanks to redevelopment efforts, this Bay Area metropolis is now on a serious upswing, so start your Oakland real estate search today!

Sources and more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California
http://www.oaklandnet.com/
http://www.oakland.com/neighborhoods/