Bang for Your Buck in Pleasant Hill

It can be easy to confuse Pleasant Hill, which is in the central-northish part of Contra Costa, with Pleasanton, which is quite a ways south and east, in Alameda County. Pleasanton is more of an economic powerhouse, with what used to be the PeopleSoft campus (now part of Oracle) in town. Pleasant Hill has Diablo Valley College to give it a collegiate feel, some great shopping and is, well, pleasant (somebody had to say it) and well worth checking out. (Photo of Pleasant Hill Community Center: Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District.)

53 Woodsworth Lane, Pleasant Hill: 3 bedrooms/1 bath, 1,350 sq ft, $529,900. For a mere $393 a square foot, you get crown molding, a fireplace and a short walk to downtown. What’s not to like? (Well, of course, until you do an independent inspection, you’re never sure. But this is a nice-looking abode, at least to the naked eye.)

59 Massolo Drive #G, Pleasant Hill: 2 bedrooms/2 baths, 973 sq ft, $384,900. It’s $396 a square foot, though this condo doesn’t have the flash of the first property, it does have granite countertops, folks!

1948 Patricia Drive, Pleasant Hill: 3 bedrooms/2 baths, 1,539 sq ft, $609,900. This one is also $396 a square foot, and reflects the magnitude of the price jump, with a patio that backs to the canal (sweet, no?) and a boatload of amenities.

Charlton Drive, Pleasant Hill: 4 bedrooms/2 baths, 1,672 sq ft, $674,900. This rancher is $404 a square foot, and hs a white picket fence, skylights and a fireplace.

149 Vivian Drive, Pleasant Hill: 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, 1,710 sq ft, $692,000.  For $405 a square foot, you get a nice bonus: a detached home in back which you could rent to a college student to help defray the mortgage.