Back in February, a forum of local real estate consultants convened at the Ellington condominium building, a new high-rise, multi-unit residential building located in Jack London Square, Oakland, CA.

 This is part one in a series of short (2min - 5min) videos where the conversation centers on the U.S. housing market in general and the Oakland real estate market in particular. Also talked about is where the Ellington it is currently positioned in the Oakland market. The consensus seemed to be of the opinion that the units at the Ellington represent very good value for the asking price. One point made to this substantiate this view was that the units are currently priced at about 65-70% of what they would cost to build. 

 The Ellington is clearly a high-quality building. In terms of design and construction, no multi-unit residential building of its type in all of Oakland gets very close. The reality is they won't be producing a lot buildings with kind of construction quality any time soon. Which is another reason why units here make an attractive investment.

 Most of the units have killer bay views and Oakland cityscapes. The neighborhood, Jack London Square, while in need of some more foot traffic, has a lot going for it now. Blue Bottle Coffee, for example, just put a stake in the ground as they are a new property owner down the street on third.

 The Ellington building is a cast-in-place concrete structure with a precast and glass exterior. The ground floor is reserved for retail space. There are four levels of parking and 12 stories of condominiums. Amenities include a 50-foot pool, spa and a fitness center.