The Berkeley Hills have always been a highly sought-after neighborhood in the East Bay. The glorious Golden Gate and bay views have been a magnet for home buyers. The streets through the Berkeley Hills are often winding and tree-lined. The older homes are charming Period Revivals and shingles. There are also wonderful mid-century moderns scattered throughout different hill neighborhoods. There are homes in the Berkeley Hills that were designed by some of the Bay Area's most famous architects: Bernard Maybeck, William Wurster, John Hudson Thomas, and Walter Ratcliff.

Bernard Maybeck lived in Berkeley and designed many homes there. The area around La Loma Park called the La Loma Park Tract has been called, by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, "Maybeck Country".

September 17, 1923 a fire swept through the Berkeley Hills destroying about one square mile from Cragmont Avenue to the edge of the University.

There are three generation of residential house designs in the Berkeley Hills. There are Craftsman style homes from 1903 up to the fire in 1923, the Period Revival era homes from 1924 to 1940, and the post World War II year homes from 1950 though 1970 when Modern design became popular.