City Government
Oakland Rents Rise Astronomically, Long-term Home Owners Face Foreclosure
While numbers of overall foreclosures in Oakland are decreasing, they are more and more affecting people who have lived in their homes for 10 or more years, according to a quarterly City of Oakland report on housing issues.
In addition, contributing to gentrification, rent increases are rising off the charts. “New rents in crime-heavy neighborhoods (are) rising to $2,200 (per month),” according to the report released Tuesday at the city’s Community and Economic Development Committee (CED) meeting.
Asingle-earner family with an income of $13.75 per hour would “have to make 207 percent more to reasonably afford the rent,” the report said.
Much of the change housing market, including the decline in foreclosures, can be attributed to new state and federal laws that provide homeowners at least some level of protection, according to Margaretta Lin, Strategic Initiatives Managers of the city’s Housing and Community Development department.
“It’s been about a year since the national mortgage settlement agreement has been implemented, and about nine months since our state homeowner bill of rights has been implemented. That have been some major shifts and transitions in our housing market,” she said.
However, she said, “We continue to see intense impact on longtime homeowners. At the height of the subprime mortgage crisis in Oakland, families that were in crisis had owned their homes for less than two years. Today the majority of families in Oakland in foreclosure have owned their homes for at least 10 years.”
“Many of the clients we working with have owned their homes for decades,
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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.
He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.
Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.
Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.
Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.
He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.
A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.
His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.
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