Mount Diablo splits this county into two economies, and the housing on either side of it developed for different reasons. West and central Contra Costa followed the bay and the refineries; east county followed the Delta, the orchards and, eventually, the commute. My work here is desktop and retrospective, done without a property visit, largely for estates, trusts and family law.
Contra Costa County at a Glance
West county, through Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Pinole and Hercules, is bungalow and war-housing stock built around shipyards and refineries, with the hillside Richmond View and El Cerrito hills offering bay views and the Point Richmond district keeping its own older character. Central county is the affluent spine: Lamorinda, meaning Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda, is wooded hillside custom housing on winding roads, while Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville and San Ramon run from mid-century ranch tracts to large newer subdivisions and Blackhawk's gated development. Concord, Pleasant Hill and Martinez supply the county's deepest inventory of post-war tract housing. East county is the fastest-changing part: Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley and Brentwood turned orchard and row-crop ground into subdivisions over the past three decades, and Discovery Bay and Bethel Island hold Delta waterfront homes with private docks. Assignments here are dominated by date-of-death and trust work, with dissolution, bankruptcy and Proposition 19 transfers close behind. The county's internal variation means a sale fifteen minutes away can be the wrong comparable for structural reasons, not just locational ones. Within that spread, Pittsburg and Bay Point retain older bungalow and war-era housing that behaves nothing like the newer Brentwood tracts a few miles east, and the unincorporated hill areas around Alamo, Diablo and Tassajara carry large parcels whose zoning, access and utility conditions set them apart from the subdivisions below them.
What I Account For Here
Delta waterfront in Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and along the sloughs brings dock condition, navigable depth, levee proximity and flood zone mapping into the analysis, and levee-protected areas raise insurance and reconstruction questions that inland comps do not carry. East county subdivisions commonly carry community facilities district and assessment district debt, so tax burden differs tract to tract. Lamorinda and the Diablo foothills combine steep lots, private road maintenance, septic systems in parts of Orinda and Moraga, and very high fire severity designation along the ridgelines. Richmond has a rent and eviction ordinance that affects occupied rental property. Older west county stock includes unpermitted additions and in-law units. Brentwood retains agricultural preserve ground and orchard parcels where plantings need contributory treatment. Industrial and refinery adjacency in Martinez, Rodeo and Pittsburg is a real locational adjustment. Attached housing is concentrated and shallow in several submarkets.
Courts, Assessor and Recorder
Matters are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa, with the court seated in Martinez. Civil and probate filings and the probate examiners are at the Peter L. Spinetta Family Law Center, 751 Pine Street, Martinez, which also houses the court's family law departments; the Wakefield Taylor and A.F. Bray courthouses stand nearby on Ward Street. Assessment and recording records come from the Contra Costa County Assessor and the County Clerk-Recorder.
Scope of Service in Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County assignments are completed as desktop valuations, with no inspection of the subject. I say so in the report rather than implying a visit. Assessor and recorder data, listing and sale history with photographs, permit records, aerial imagery and client-supplied documentation form the basis, and every extraordinary assumption is identified.
Communities Served in Contra Costa County
Each of these 3 communities has its own page covering the local market and the valuation issues specific to it.
Appraisal Services Available in Contra Costa County
- Date of Death Appraisals
- Estate & Trust Appraisals
- Private Party & Gift Tax Appraisals
- Divorce Appraisals
- Proposition 19 Appraisals
- Property Tax Appeal Appraisals
- Bankruptcy Appraisals
- Expert Witness & Litigation Support
- Appraisal Review
- Desktop Appraisals
- Rental & Income Analysis
- Pre-Purchase Appraisals
- Pre-Sale Appraisals
- PMI Removal Appraisals