Orinda · Relocation

Relocating to the Area in Orinda

Moving into the Bay Area from somewhere else, without having to learn the whole map yourself.

Relocating to the Area in Orinda

Orinda is a wooded hillside city in Lamorinda with some of the largest lots in the county, and the lot is usually worth more than the house sitting on it. When you are moving in from outside, that is exactly the kind of thing nobody tells you, and every listing looks roughly the same on a screen.

Orinda has wooded hillside lots and a downtown built around one Art Deco theatre rather than a shopping strip. The market is fast and thin on inventory. Homes averaged twenty days on market in early 2026, with more closings than the year before.

Talk to us about Orinda

Prefer to talk? Call (925) 325-4663 Book a call with Jaynlin See how we do it, step by step

How Orinda actually prices

Tell us your commute early. It narrows the map faster than any other single fact.

Buyers looking here almost always look at Walnut Creek and Danville as well. Orinda gets weighed against Walnut Creek and Danville, by buyers weighing character and lot size against downtown walkability.

What matters when you are relocating

Plenty of our relocation clients buy before they ever live here. We run video walkthroughs that are honest rather than flattering, including what a listing photo would crop out.

Orinda has one elementary district and effectively one high school, Miramonte, which is simpler than Walnut Creek's three-way split, but confirm the assignment for the specific street.

When you already live somewhere, you know things you were never told. Which commute is fine at seven and miserable at eight. Which neighborhood people mean when they use the name.

Relocating, you have none of that, and touring houses does not fix it. So we do the map first and the houses second.

Who is buying in Orinda

Buyers choosing space, privacy and the Acalanes Union high schools over a shorter commute. You are looking at the Art Deco Orinda Theatre and Theatre Square downtown, the weekly farmers market, and the hills toward Briones Regional Park.

Talk to us about Orinda

The Mashore Group works across the Bay Area from an office at 44 Sycamore Ave in Brentwood. Krista Mashore has sold more than 2,300 homes here over more than two decades. Across the team there are 201 published reviews averaging 4.9 stars.

If you want to talk about relocating in Orinda call (925) 325-4663. A first conversation costs nothing and carries no pitch, and if the honest answer is that you should wait, we will say so.

We work the whole Highway 24 corridor from Walnut Creek through Lamorinda, and know which Orinda streets carry a genuine lot premium, and that is worth more in Orinda than a general opinion about the county.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Orinda actually like?

You are looking at the Art Deco Orinda Theatre and Theatre Square downtown, the weekly farmers market, and the hills toward Briones Regional Park. Buyers choosing space, privacy and the Acalanes Union high schools over a shorter commute.

Can you help me buy before I move here?

Yes, and we do it often. Honest video walkthroughs including the unflattering parts, and we will tell you when a property is not worth a plane ticket.

How do I choose between East County towns?

Start with your commute and your budget, then the kind of housing you want. Those three narrow it fast, and we will walk you through the real differences before you spend Saturdays.

Orinda

What relocation looks like in Orinda

Wooded hillside lots, an Art Deco downtown, and its own BART station.

Orinda is a wooded, hillside city in Lamorinda built almost entirely around large private lots rather than a dense downtown grid. About ninety-three percent of the housing here is detached single-family homes, which is unusually high even for this county.

Housing in Orinda Village dates to the early and mid-20th century, ranch homes and bungalows on hilly, wooded streets. Newer construction sits further into the hills, on larger parcels with more privacy and less walkability.

The homes: Ranch homes and bungalows from the early and mid-20th century in Orinda Village near downtown, with newer, larger homes on hillside parcels further out. About 93% of the city's housing is detached single-family. Named areas include Sleepy Hollow, Orinda Downs, Orinda Country Club, Del Rey, Glorietta, Wagner Ranch and Wilder.
Why people choose it: Chosen for privacy, large lots and the Acalanes Union high schools over a shorter commute. Buyers here are typically comparing directly against Walnut Creek and Danville.
Schools people ask about: Orinda Union School District covers transitional kindergarten through 8th grade for the whole city and is ranked the highest TK-8 district in California by API score. High school students generally attend Miramonte High School in the Acalanes Union High School District, which also serves Lafayette and Moraga. Confirm any specific address with the district.
Getting around: Orinda has its own BART station downtown, one stop past the Caldecott Tunnel with direct service to Oakland and San Francisco. By car, Highway 24 runs through the city, connecting the Caldecott Tunnel to the west with Walnut Creek and Interstate 680 to the east.
Nearby: The Art Deco Orinda Theatre and Theatre Square downtown, a weekly farmers market, the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail, and Briones Regional Park in the hills.
The trade-off: Larger, more private lots and a slower pace than Walnut Creek, in exchange for less downtown walkability. A similar wooded, low-density feel to Danville, but with its own BART station, which Danville does not have.

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