How a Montclair refresh helped unlock more than $300,000 in additional value.

A Home Filled With Light, Music & Montclair Memories

“We were on our way home during the Loma Prieta earthquake,” the seller told me. “The road was blocked, but because our house was so close to Mountain Boulevard, we were able to get around the barricades and make it home.”

As she shared the story, I couldn’t help but smile.

At almost that exact same moment, I was just a few miles away, riding a yellow school bus home from Redwood Day School. I still remember the bus beginning to rock as the earthquake struck. We didn’t know each other then, but our lives briefly intersected during one of the Bay Area’s most unforgettable days.

Both homeowners were opera singers. The soaring ceilings and expansive windows didn’t just frame beautiful sunsets, they created remarkable acoustics. Music regularly filled the home, making it feel as alive as the family who lived there. Then came retirement. Like many homeowners, they believed it was time to sell and move closer to their grandchildren.

“The grand piano sat beautifully in the living room,” she said. “The acoustics were perfect. Someone was always practicing, singing, piano, flute. Music filled the home daily.”

This is a four-bedroom, 2+ bath home offers nearly 3,000 square feet of airy, light-filled living space. All four bedrooms are tucked together on the second level, where skylights brighten the hallway and there’s easy access to a peaceful deck facing the backyard. The expansive living room, with its soaring ceilings and oversized windows, opens to a sunset-facing deck, the perfect place to gather after dinner and take in views of the Bay, Campanile, and Oakland Hills.

They had lived in the home since the early 1990s, raising two. Every evening after dinner, they’d gather in the living room or on the deck to watch the sun set over the Bay. Through the home’s dramatic picture windows, the Campanile stood in the distance, a daily reminder of the university that would one day become part of their daughters’ lives. The daughters would eventually attend UC Berkeley “It was an easy commute,” she said. “But more than that, the view made it feel possible.”

Outside, the backyard became its own playground. Deer visited occassionaly and it was magical. “If you spend enough time on the deck,” she said, “you will see them.”

The long private driveway offered a sense of safety and community. Neighbors who shared it became close friends, exchanging mail and looking out for one another, the kind of thoughtful togetherness Montclair is known for.

The home sits a short walk from Montclair Elementary. Growing up, Elaine walked to school using the well-loved staircase beside the property, a path still used by Montclair residents today. “As a kid, walking those stairs gave me independence I still appreciate,” she said.As she grew older, she spent afternoons in Montclair Village visiting favorite shops with friends, like the old Ice House and CyBelle’s, a tradition now continued by new families enjoying the neighborhood’s cafés and boutiques.

About ten years earlier, they had hired another Realtor and attempted to sell the home. It was marketed owner-occupied and largely as-is. The home never sold. At the time, the market was beginning to change. Buyers were becoming increasingly drawn to homes that felt move-in ready, and the comprehensive preparation strategies that are now standard throughout the East Bay were becoming more common. Simply putting a home on the market and hoping buyers would overlook dated finishes was becoming a much riskier strategy. That’s where my role began.

Designing for Today’s Buyer

We gave the home a full face lift, Paint, Floor tile, refinished hardwood floors, New windows, new lighting, new kitchen hardware, Regrouting counters, carpet cleaning, tub re-enamel, new vanities and bathroom mirrors and lighting, Staging. From the initial appiontment with my contractor we put together an estimate and then brought it vendors for some of the jobs to save money. This was essential for achieving the reslut we obtained.

The Results

Without strategic preparation, I believe this home likely would have sold for around $1,000,000 based on its condition.

Instead, we invested approximately $50,000, about $25,000 from the sellers and approximately $25,000 through Compass Concierge, to reposition the home for today’s buyers.

The result?

Sold for $1,376,000.

That’s roughly a $376,000 increase over where I believe the home would have sold without preparation—a return that dramatically outweighed the renovation investment.

A New Chapter Begins

The buyers who ultimately fell in love with 1840 Magellan Drive were a young, energetic couple seeking a vertical-style home suitable for their active lifestyle, at one point even imagining installing a climbing wall. First-time homebuyers relocating from the Peninsula, they were drawn to the wooded surroundings and the home’s architectural character.

They’ll be living across from another (I believe) first-time buyer couple, a fitting reflection of how Montclair continues to attract people beginning new and exciting chapters.