During the last boom, financing a home loan was pretty easy, with buyers needing little or no money down to qualify for conventional loans. Then came the bust, and with it tightened regulations that required a down payment of 20 percent. Today the going rate is 10 percent down—still hardly chump change where Bay Area housing is concerned.

Real estate sales techniques get very creative to attract attention to properties.

Tales of finding a place to live in the East Bay, where the cost has risen and the pickings are slim.

In this white-hot real estate market, agents and buyers alike are combing the listings and traveling farther to find the home of their dreams and their means.

Poor marketing and staging work in buyers' favor on Chabot Highlands sale.

The decommissioned naval hospital property at Oak Knoll may make headway in 2014.

An Alameda interior decorator, Sarah Coombs, talks to real estate agents about updating houses.

Poor marketing and staging work in buyers' favor on Chabot Highlands sale.

In East Oakland’s Jingletown, a new twist on senior housing is in the works. The neighborhood known for its artists’ lofts will soon be home to Phoenix Commons, a “cooperative lifestyle community” for older adults. The four-story complex of 41 units will be the East Bay’s first senior cohousing development, according to project CEO Chris Zimmerman. Look for it on 29th Street overlooking the waterfront, just off Alameda’s Park Street bridge. Move-in date: early 2015.