Tamarack Dr, Dry Creek

Tamarack Drive is located in the Dry Creek neighborhood is nestled right up against the hills of the Garin Pioneer Regional Park (where I think they have hiking trails for those outdoorsy types). Usually when neighborhoods are nestled up against the hills of any neighborhood you can expect the prices to climb proportionally as well. That is not so much the case here in the Dry Creek neighborhood however.

Part of the reason why the prices don’t go higher here is because of the age of the neighborhood. The neighborhood dates from the early 50’s, which means you get a lot of Ranch style homes of the smaller variety. These are fairly well-kept, but home buyers associate these homes with less luxurious neighborhoods.

The other reason has to do with the neighborhood being located in Union City, which is also considered to be middle-class; that is also a damper on prices.

Other problems people consider are the schools, which are mostly middle of the road and crime, which though not high, is still higher than most people want when buying more expensive properties.

In my opinion, however, the Dry Creek neighborhood is underrated--especially on its higher elevations where the homes stare down onto the bay. This is especially true when you consider the fact that the location is well-situated for most Bay Area commutes. From here you can pretty much make it to anywhere from San Jose to San Francisco in a reasonable amount of time. This is true of the east west commuting destinations as well: not only can you make it to anywhere in the Peninsula, but you are even well-situated to head over to the Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon area as well--even Walnut Creek.

Now, I am not saying this neighborhood is Heaven on Earth, just that at $325K per home, it might actually be a more viable option than most people give it credit for.