Which Baseball Pro is Now a Broker?
We already know Oakland's real estate cool factor is rising by the day, but here's another reason to ogle over East Bay: One of its star brokers used to play in the major leagues.
We caught up with Lee & Associates' Dave McCarty on Friday to get a pulse on Oakland's hot office sales market, during which he snuck in this fun fact: He played for seven MLB teams over his baseball career, including the Giants, Red Sox, and A's. He tells us he was a bench guy, so he knew he was going to want and need to do something when he retired (a couch, six pack and Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" can only go on repeat so long). He started putting feelers out during his playing career and narrowed it down to a couple of industries, with real estate as his No. 1 draft pick. This weekend marked his eighth birthday being a broker.
The user market for East Bay sales has really picked up, he says, but the problem is there's not enough inventory. There's a very cool 8,300 SF brick and timber building at 130 Webster in Jack London Square that just hit the market for a whopping $300/SF (above). It's the perfect size for an owner-user and has gotten at least five offers in 10 days. More Oakland landlords sitting on the sidelines are starting to consider slapping on for-sale signs, as they see strong trades like Divco's recent purchase of Lake Merritt Plaza. The fact it's just 80% occupied is a plus because rental rates are going up, he says.
Lee is taking an office condo out to market for $300/SF. The 7,300 SF unit at 283 4th sits in the old Allied Paper Building. The ground-floor unit has great natural light and could go the retail or office route, Dave tells us. Playing ball was a fun run, he says, and he still talks to a few MLB guys, but as he ages (he's 44) it's more about keeping up with coaches. He says AT&T Park is a great place to see a game, and hopefully the A's can pull a rabbit out of a hat and get a new stadium in town—but he's not holding his breath.
