Welcome to berkeleyhomes, your resource for selling and buying Berkeley Real Estate. I'm Ira Serkes and have called Berkeley my home since 1974. I created this web site to show you some of the reasons Carol and I love living here.

Imagine we're sitting down for coffee at The French Hotel and you said "Ira, tell me what homes are for sale, what the neighborhods are like, and what it's like to live in Berkeley...." you'll know what's in awaits you!

If you're planning on a relocation to Berkeley... or are a seller or buyer... this is the place for you.

Be sure to visit our Blog, listen to our podcasts or check out a neighborhood based home search

We're Ira & Carol Serkes local Real Estate Realtors who have lived in Berkeley, California for over 35 years (over 25 years in North Berkeley's delightful Thousand Oaks Neighborhood. We specialize in helping nice folks sell and buy wonderful homes in Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, Rockridge, Oakland, El Cerrito and Emeryville's most livable neighborhoods. In short, ...berkeleyhomes

We love telling others what makes Berkeley such a special place to live. Click on icons below, or on the blog, podcast & photo links at the bottom of this page for links to our most up-to-date photos, video, and visits to Berkeley's most interesting sights and neighborhoods.

Click icons for up-to-date podcasts, video, photos, and blogs about what makes living in Berkeley so special

We believe in "high touch" old fashioned handcrafted service (we check email relentlessly, answer the phone ourselves, and have banished "call waiting" from the phone system) .... enhanced by our extraordinary "high tech" tools!

We want our clients to know about berkeleyhomes ... all Berkeley California real estate and homes for sale, not just our company listings... so if you're looking for a house for sale, we've included links to Multiple Listing System (MLS), and information on Realtor.com, the world's largest database of homes for sale. The public MLS is set up to show you what's on the market, but as soon as someone buys a home, it's removed from the search. We want you to know what homes actually sold for, so have set up a special market snapshot search page. So.. if you want to find out which Berkeley area homes are for sale right now, just click on the left map. We customized the searches so you can see what's for sale... by neighborhood.

Want more details? What's on the market and also what nearby homes actually sold for? Click on the right map.

I f you're like me, and simply curious, click on both - it's our pleasure to provide you the information you need to make informed decisions.

Consider berkeleyhomes your resource for Berkeley Real Estate sellers and buyers. We've added lots of photos and maps of our favorite places, and extensive links designed to to help you buy or sell a home or simply enjoy living in the Berkeley and nearby cities of Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito, Rockridge, Montclair & Piedmont.

Arriving from, or moving to, a different community? We mastermind with the finest Realtors in North America! Ask us for a free referral an outstanding Realtor anywhere in the United States or Canada! Clients, community and charitable organizations use our moving van for free (and it's also available to others on a limited basis in exchange for a contribution to the Children's Hospital Foundation. Call or email for details

There's no truth to the rumor that our color scheme and wardrobe is designed (like the dog owners in "Best In Show") to match Lucy The Cat

	Homes You can search for homes for sale in Berkeley, and even subscribe to daily email updates! So whether you want a fine home or estate... buying a home in Elmwood Claremont, or want to find out what's for sale in Thousand Oaks... here's where to go!
	Neighborhoods I came to Berkeley in 1974 to work for Chevron... and have lived here ever since. One of the things I love about living here is the diverse neighborhoods with gracious homes and delightful shops. So... you're invited on a journey to our favorite East Bay neighborhoods
	Community Everything you wanted to know about living here! We've information on our favorite places, schools, restaurants, and more, If you want to know where to go for the best coffee... or the most fascinating architecture... or wher to take your kids... this section is for you! Just click on the categories to the left, and see why we love the East Bay
	Sellers We've the marketing plan designed to sell your home... For The Highest Price... In The Shortest Time... With The Fewest Problems!   But... what you'll receive when you hire us is best said by our clients, so we have lots of seller testimonial letters for you!
	Buyers You’ll love our web-based approach to homebuying combined with our personal service...high tech, high touch, time efficient... just the way you always knew it should be.
	Loans We've some wonderful lenders to refer you to... or you can apply online! Just click the "Sign In" button below to access our loanworks site.
	Relocation We've a comprehensive network of outstanding Real Estate Agents throughout the United States & Canada
	About Us Photography, Travel & Lucy The Cat! Ira grew up in The Bronx, graduated from The Bronx High School Of Science, received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Cooper Union, and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He worked for 10 years as an engineer for Chevron Research Fortunately, he's been able to overcome those handicaps... find out how!
	Expertise Matters - Ira & Carol are both Certified as Residential Specialists (CRS) by the National Association of Realtors. Ira is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), one of only 188 CyberStars in the world, among the first Internet Real Estate Professionals (ePro-500) in the United States, and one of the only Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists (CLHMS) in the entire San Francisco East Bay.
	We're proud to be Allen Hainge CyberStars, a worldwide network of outstanding Realtors who excel at using technology to better serve their clients. Ira is one of only 188 CyberStars in the world, an the 2003 CyberStar of the year!
	And some of our many other affiliations
	Ira has more Realtor Designations & Certifications than any other Berkeley Real Estate Agent

Tune in to our Real Estate Podcasts
1: Keeping your family safe in times of emergency: Insurance and Disaster Preparedness
2: Writing an offer! The 8 page California Association Of Realtors Purchase Agreement
3: Preparing for your move
4: Negotiations after inspections
5: Escrow, Title & Closing
6: Some more thoughts on insurance! Click for lots more podcasts on Berkeley Real Estate/market conditions

Click links for up-to-date podcasts, video, photos, and blogs about what makes living in Berkeley so special