Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in. Real estate brokerage firm Redfin has analyzed its facts and figures. It's made a list, checked it twice and finally revealed the hottest neighborhoods of 2013.
And leading the local pack, the most desirable neighborhood in Northern California is…Livermore?
Livermore. Not the Dogpatch or Mission Creek; not West Oakland or even the Western Addition, but Livermore. As in windmills and suburbs and cows and "the other" wine country.
Surely us snobby San Franciscans have missed the memo on the blossoming cultural hub that is Livermore, California. Is it the restaurant scene? The arts? We went to a wedding there once, and we hear their lab is famous. At least they have a Patxi's?
San Francisco did get a nod for the Mission District: home of Dolores Park, several Michelin stars, a cultural mecca and some of the best bars in the state. But the neighborhood didn't hit the list until the number nine spot. (Was it something we said?)
The housing market may be recovering nationwide, but the reality on the ground is sometimes more complicated than that. For 16 markets across the country, Redfin’s local real estate agents collaborated with our analytics team to identify the neighborhoods where we expect prices to rise the most this year, based on activity from about 10,000 active homebuyers, and data from more than more than 130,000 listings. The results surprised us: the hottest neighborhoods aren’t the well-known bastions of privilege. They’re once-gritty urban areas and far-flung suburbs with school districts on the rise. This is the surest sign that the recovery is broadening, and that home-buyers are venturing out to once-marginal areas hit hard when the bubble burst.
Los Angeles' Highland Park led the country in hotness, with a huge 2012 jump in both home sales and price. And sure enough, Livermore wasn't far behind, clocking in at number five.
Looks like it's time for a Bay Area road trip?
Check out which other neighborhoods made the list across the country:
