Orinda, CA Housing Market & City Data

Orinda is home. I grew up here, moved back in 2007 to raise my three daughters, and have been part of more than 240 sales in town as a Realtor. What I love most is that no two neighborhoods, and really no two houses, are alike. It’s a small town of oak-covered hills, custom homes, wonderful schools and neighbors who know each other, with BART and Highway 24 close at hand. Orinda Country Club is my favorite. I spent childhood summers riding my bike to the club’s pool and tennis courts. This is where Orinda began, around Lake Cascade: winding streets, majestic oaks, former carriage houses and 1930s custom homes, plus estates in the hills off Miner Road. Near the lake you can walk to downtown, the library, the theater and BART. Glorietta, in southeast Orinda near the Lafayette Reservoir, has flatter streets, its own elementary school and Meadow Swim & Tennis Club. Many homes began as postwar ranches and have been beautifully expanded, and the Reservoir’s trails are right next door. Sleepy Hollow is a wooded valley in north Orinda with its own elementary school, a beloved swim and tennis club, Briones trails out back and the best Halloween in town. Orinda Downs, its newer section, offers wider streets, larger lots and an HOA park. You’re about seven minutes from both downtown Orinda and downtown Lafayette. Ivy Drive, home to Orinda Intermediate School, and Orinda Woods round out my list: close-knit pockets where I’ve helped many families settle in. Every neighborhood feeds into Orinda Intermediate and Miramonte High, and early-grade classes run about 20 students. Orinda offers a rare mix of nature, community and highly regarded public schools. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.