Amherst Ave, Kensington Village

Running parallel to Arlington Avenue on the east, Amherst Avenue is a narrow leafy street that happens to be home to the most expensive home in all of Kensington. The home--a beautiful terra-cotta roofed Med style home built in 1925 though clearly renovated--is a 4 bed, 4 bath 3000 ft. beauty with a wonderful airy feel to it. It sold for $1.2 mil at the end of November.

Most homes along Amherst are not quite this expensive. A home across the street, for example, sold for almost half the price despite being larger and younger (built in 1947). This other home also has a beautiful view of the bay.

So what accounts for the differences in price?

The more expensive home had clearly been renovated recently and simply had a newer, more luxurious look to it. There was nothing wrong with the other home with its classic cozy look.

The schools here are solid with Kensington Elementary, Portola Middle and El Cerrito High having APIs of 10, 6 and 6 respectively. Not amazing on the higher end but perfectly workable.

Overall a pretty nice neighborhood, great for professors with families who want a little bit of distance from Cal but still to be able to be there in 10 minutes.