The Pasadena California real estate market has not flat lined, nor is it all gloom and doom. In fact there are many instances of homes selling and selling quickly. Why do some homes sell while others sit? If you have been reading the articles here at up2date, you probably are keenly aware of the importance of pricing in selling your home. In fact I have written about it, along with providing documented proof about it. My article about pricing your home showed the decline in value you can expect if you don’t properly price your Pasadena property correctly from the outset.

Success Story or Continuing Saga?

The biggest obstacle to getting your home sold is living in the past and trying to rationalize the value of your property and “what once was”. If you are selling your home you have to move away from the height of the market in August 2005. This cannot continue to be your reference point.

The sellers of this house realized that. This property is located in NE Pasadena and was listed for $700,000. It was in escrow in less than 30 days. The reason is that the sellers had an opportunity to relocate and were very reasonable with their expectations. They had a solid buyer and did not want to lose an opportunity. There is a saying in real estate that “Sometimes your first offer is your best offer” and that may or may not be true, but any offer is certainly worth a counter offer.

In Escrow in Less Than A Week

The sellers of this house understood the importance of pricing their home properly. How many houses in this market have an accepted offer after being on the market for only six days? Very few. How does a home sell so quickly, very simply it offers excellent value for the dollar. Value is best defined as “the price paid compared to the features or amenities that are offered”.

Does your home reflect a competitive price for the value that is offered? Before you answer that ask yourself “How many days has it been on the market?” The answer lies within. There is a house for sale in my neighborhood. In fact it has been for sale for over a year and with three different brokerage companies. Without seeing the house you know there is one overriding issue…..it offers no value at the listed price.

These Seller’s accepted The Secret

The owners of this property had a desire to move out of the area. They understood the key to selling their South Pasadena condo lied within the secret. As a result, they had an accepted offer in less than two weeks. Unlike many other property owners, they understood the fallacies in overpricing and thinking “we can always come down”.

So you see there are many success stories despite a slowing market. If your home has been listed for over 90 days it’s time for a reality check. When I list a house I let my potential client know that the biggest disservice I can provide is to overprice your property. Inevitably, sellers always begin to count their money. I cannot give someone an inflated value just to obtain their business. We take our fiduciary duty very seriously. People do not expect a property to stay on the market for months. Give me the Readers Digest condensed version. I’m not much on continuing sagas.

Tags: , homes sold in pasadena, pasadena ca real estate, pasadena realtor

If you enjoy live music then the place to be this summer is the Levitt Pavilion. Located at the corner of Walnut and Raymond streets near Old Town, the Levitt offers something for just about everyone, appealing to a wide variety of tastes and cultures. The music in the park concerts are provided from Wednesdays through Sundays and offer a different theme for each night of the week. We have been avid participants at the events for the last three to four years. It is a great casual relaxed atmosphere and an ideal location to enjoy the wonderful entertainment. Pasadena’s evenings begin to cool off after a warm summer day and there is usually plenty of shade by the time the music starts. The grass provides a nice cushion of carpet along with a gentle upslope to the back of the park, so all of the seating area provides good views of the stage. Most people bring a chair or a blanket along with a picnic basket and cooler and enjoy a fantastic evening of fun and relaxation. Oh and by the way, this is the best value in town, because the cost is free. They do pass around a collection hat, so be generous with those donations!

Sunday’s are jazz nights. We were there last Sunday as Barbara Morrison entertained and put on a great show. It was nice to see the amphitheater so full of people enjoying themselves as Ms. Morrison interacted with the audience and encouraged them to come up and dance.

Don’t Forget the Kids

Looking for something to do with the kids? Wednesday nights at the Levitt are devoted to children. American music gets the nod on Thursday’s. Friday they take it international and feature “World Rhythms’ and Saturday’s are devoted to “Musica Latina”. We have been to all of them and been fascinated at the talented performers and also by this wonderful opportunity we have here in Pasadena to enjoy something this amazing in a family type atmosphere.

Tags: Levitt concerts, music at the Levitt, pasadena music in the park, things to do in pasadena

If you are in the market to buy a new home, there is a good chance that you have started your search online. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, about 75% of consumers begin their home search on the internet. Searching for your new home in the comfort of your living room or dare I say office cubicle, can be a great way to get an idea of what’s on the market as well as current prices.

There are so many alternatives available to consumers these days, but how do you know you are seeing everything that is available? Here at up2date, my previous post focused upon our new portal that allows consumers to search Pasadena California Real Estate and its easy navigation and superior search capabilities. As we looked for a new vendor, we previewed several websites with excellent graphics, map search and unique tools that provided consumers with many options. However, there was a major problem with these alternative websites.

As I looked at competing vendors, I noticed when I performed a search for homes in Pasadena, there was a major discrepancy in the number of listings that were displayed. Example, searching homes for sale in Pasadena at up2daterealestate, returns 324 single family homes. Looking at two competitors, they return 103 and 75 houses for sale.

This is something that is not widely known. Case in point, other Pasadena (agent) sites I have looked at are using a competing product that does not have a reciprocity agreement with the Pasadena MLS. Plus if an agent is not a member of the Pasadena Board of Realtors, there is also a chance that their website provider only picks up listings that are placed through their local association. The Pasadena MLS (i-Tech) which merged with the MRMLS (to the east and south) does share listing data. However if an agent uses a third party provider, the information is not shared.

If you have a favorite site you have been using, check to see how many homes are listed for sale in a given city. Then check your results again here at up2daterealestate.

Tags: homes for sale in pasadena california, pasadena ca homes for sale, Pasadena home search, pasadena mls

Our goal with this Pasadena Real Estate Blog is to provide you with the latest news, trends, home sales data and market information and how it affects the overall Pasadena real estate market. We offer “at a glance” market reports that allow you to see what the conditions are in your zip code with regards to median prices and current inventory. We also have monthly sales history as far back as January 2005 by zip code, enabling you to follow the sales prices around your property.

Search Homes Listed for Sale, Just Like a Real Estate Agent

However a real estate site is just not complete without a unique tool that offers a quick learning process and is easy to use and understand.
Our new software offers a quick map search for homes listed for sale in Pasadena & neighboring cities. You can enter your price range, highlight the area in which you desire to live, and your options will be displayed on the map. Roll your mouse over the listing and obtain all the necessary information (sq ft., lot size, bed, bath, and price) and see unlimited pictures! Plus you can save your search and be notified by email when a price changes or when a new listing hits the market.

Pasadena Homes for Sale

To Begin:

1. Click the “Search for Homes” icon in the upper left hand corner
2. Identify your property type: single family, residential income, condo, etc
3. Enter your price range

After you have set the parameters to conduct your home search, then you can begin to navigate the map.

Move across the map by either clicking the “zoom” icon just to the right of the directional tool or by pointing your mouse to the “hand” and then adjusting the map to the area you want to search. If you need further adjustment, simply point your cursor to the directional tool at the top of the “zoom in” or “zoom out” tool. Clicking on the “+” will focus your search in a much more definable area and you can begin to read the streets and the neighborhoods will become familiar.

Need to go back or change? Just click on the “-” at the bottom of the zoom tool to see a wider area or focus your search in another part of town. Each of the bars represents a smaller or larger degree of zoom capability. Properties that fall into your defined search parameters will always be displayed.

The Search Results

Since the price range and the area have now been outlined, you can see all the homes in the neighborhood that meet your criteria.

The search I developed was for NE Pasadena. The boundaries were Washington Blvd., to the north and the 210 frwy to the south. Allen St. was the western border and Altadena Dr. was the eastern border. As of today, six homes are currently “for sale” and are listed between $600,000 to $700,000. This graphic has been cut and pasted, but when you visit the site, scroll your mouse over each house and get instant information and a picture (provided the agent has uploaded a picture). Click on the house and a new page will load resulting in much more information, a description and many more pictures.

Use the “hand” tool to go outside the immediate area and scan the map, to see what other homes meet your criteria. If it is within the price range, they will immediately load, providing you with more information.

Get Immediate up2date Information of New Listings

Be the first to know by choosing to “save this search”. You will be taken to a new page to enter some basic information. Log in and you will also be notified by email of new listings in your desired area when they premier on the market and also of price adjustments. I think that would be something important if you were looking for a home, to know that the price had just dropped. If you like what you see or need more information, drop us an email or give us a call. We are here to help and keep you up2date on Pasadena real estate.

Tags: Ca, homes for sale in Pasadena, pasadena california homes for sale, Pasadena home search, search Pasadena homes for sale

When you hear the word “sensitive” the Pasadena real estate market is probably not the first thing that springs to mind. That being said, we are probably in the midst of the most sensitive housing market in years. Volatility will continue to reign, until time has a chance to cure the current ills.

If you are looking to buy a property, there is no more important factor than your interest rate.
It can make or break your deal. A slight change can end up costing you hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. The most closely watched barometer of the housing market, followed intently by home buyers and all but ignored by home sellers.

Why?

Because homes are priced based on comparative sales in the neighborhood with very little thought to economic conditions, with one exception as we will discuss in a following paragraph. On the other hand homes are purchased based upon affordability and qualification. Two factors that have maligned the mortgage industry of late, since borrowers are now being asked to document the file and prove their income.

The following graphs reflect the current status of the Pasadena California real estate market for single family homes as of last Friday, June 20.

Interest Rate Increase, Home Sales Decrease

Even though loan qualification is a much more stringent process these days, interest rates remain historically low. However when interest rates begin to rise what impact does this produce on home sales?

As you can see from the graph provided by Bankrate, over the last two and a half months interest have been steadily on the increase. Home buyers begin to recognize this and see the monthly mortgage payment consume more of the monthly budget. Instead of rushing out to lock in a loan, they choose to take a “wait and see” approach, in hopes of this just being a slight adjustment and thinking rates will soon fall to previous levels.

The Trickle Up Effect

When interest rates begin to move up, we see other leading indicators in the housing market begin to move in unison. Typically, inventory or unsold homes will increase as new homes become listed “for sale” and houses that have been “for sale” continue to increase their “days on market” or selling time due to the reduced activity of home buyers.

Now is when home sellers begin to pay attention to the economic indicators which is typified by how many days the house has been on the market for sale. The net result is the longer number of days it takes to sell a house produces a decline in property values.

One way to avoid being at the mercy of the housing market is to accept the fact that pricing your Pasadena home properly is critical to getting out of this market as quickly as possible. The longer you’re in it, the less likely your chances of winning.

Tags: interest rates, Pasadena home sales, pasadena housing market

UPDATE: Just this past week the California Association of Realtors announced that the effective lobbying effort by thousands of Realtors has forced the author of Assembly Bill 2678 to remove the requirement that would have homes and commercial property undergo an energy audit before escrow could close.

CAR further stated that they appreciate the goal of energy conservation, however this bill which could have required mandatory retrofits and upgrades had the potential to add increased costs to every transaction, further weakening the housing market.

Great job to CAR and to all of the people who expressed their dissatisfaction. It’s good to know that your Pasadena real estate will not encumbered by increased rules and regulations

The California Residential Purchase Agreement states that “the property is sold in its present physical condition, as of the date of acceptance, subject to Buyer’s investigation rights” or what others commonly refer to “AS IS”

As a real estate broker, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the California Association of Realtors or CAR. They maintain a wealth of information for their members and provide excellent consultation on the Legal Hotline when we have a question. They also keep us updated on the proceedings in Sacramento when a bill is before the State Assembly that could produce negative consequences on our industry should it be passed into law.

This is a copy of the email I received on Thursday, May 29:

“AB 2678 (Núñez) was passed by the Assembly on a 44-33 vote on Wednesday. The bill needed 41 votes to pass. AB 2678 would require, among other things, that ALL homes and commercial property in California have an energy audit at point-of-sale, and that mandatory energy efficiency investments be made. While C.A.R. appreciates the goal of energy conservation, C.A.R. strongly opposes the point-of-sale requirements in AB 2678 because they are not necessary to achieve the bill’s objectives and such mandates will weaken the housing market. If enacted, AB 2678 could add thousands of dollars to the cost of purchasing a home, including up to $400 just to have the home audited. AB 2678 will next be considered by the state Senate. Stay tuned for a Red Alert on the bill”.

Increased Closing Costs?

I interpret this legislation to mean that before you can sell your home/property, you may have to pay for an energy audit and based upon the results of these findings there may be increased costs involved in retrofitting or repairing your property to meet these new tougher guidelines.

My personal opinion is that this is bad legislation and from the close vote, it appears that many others share my feelings. An energy audit in Southern California, where we have some of the most desirable climate just doesn’t compute. Are we going to tell a homeowner that they need to weather-strip their windows because on a 78 degree day, a breeze could blow through the crack? An energy inspection should be the responsibility of the buyer if elected, to be performed during their due diligence process. Furthermore, my belief is that increased requirements upon property owners tends to chisel away at the bundle of rights we are entitled to, and I have to believe our founding fathers would agree. Lastly, since energy costs are becoming more and more expensive, many homeowners have taken it upon themselves to make their homes more efficient and a $400 mandated energy audit is an unnecessary expense.

It’s time we call our local representatives and tell Sacramento to leave things “AS IS”.

Next week we will examine the requirements involved with Pasadena real estate including its city occupancy and sidewalk ordinances.

Tags: AB2678, real estate closing costs, Selling Your Home

Here is an update to a story I wrote in August ‘07.

This particular house was scheduled for auction in December ‘07, for approximately $585,000. There were no buyers at this price. It was listed for sale and has been on the market close to 60 days at price of $515,000. The bank is going to have to be a little more flexible. Based upon the current market and condition of the house, the price is in the range of $475,000, based upon my estimation

Pasadena, CA real estate, zip code 91107. It could be the “poster” house for what went wrong with real estate and how sub-prime lending (or the lack thereof) is affecting everyone across the board, from an aspiring home buyer to major banks and financial institutions.

Every once in a while, I am at a loss for words. I cannot come up with any reasonable explanation as to why something occurred. This is one of those times.

A little history about the pictured house. A very ordinary 3 bed / 2 bath, with 1550 square feet on a lot size of 6700 sq ft., built in 1927. This is where ordinary ends.

This house was sold in June 2006 for a sales price of $549,000, fairly typical given the location and the condition. The buyer took out two loans, the first was $439,200 and the second was for $109,800 using 100% financing. In June ‘06 this financing was very common. Many home buyers chose an 80/20 loan, to avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance.

Fast forward 3 months to September ‘06. The house is sold again. Many people bought and sold (flipped) to take advantage of a rising appreciation. However this house was sold for an astronomical profit. Care to guess, Buehler, anyone? The house sold for $850,000 an easy $300,000 profit or $100,000/month.

Again the house sold with 100% financing including a $680,000 first mortgage along with a $170,000 second. The mortgage company was identified as WMC Mortgage.

To make matters even more unexplainable, this house never appeared “For Sale”. There wasn’t a “For Sale” sign and there wasn’t any evidence that it ever appeared in the local MLS. I want to talk to that agent who sold this house. They should be selling their secret on late night infomercials. There is millions to be made just by sharing the formula for success. This gives new meaning to the “Art of the Deal”, no offense to The Donald.

I can tell you without any hesitation or batting an eye, there was not a $300,000 improvement made to this house. Things like this are not supposed to happen. The system has built in checks and balances, much like our Federal Government (okay bad example) that are supposed to question these types of transactions. What happened to the appraisal, where was the underwriting department, was everyone out to lunch?

Well, all good stories have a proper ending. This house has been vacant now for about two months and the Notice of Default was filed on July 5, 2007. If only someone would have thought to ask, “How does this happen”?

Imagine this scenario: You have listed your home for sale and understand the market has been slow. There are many other Pasadena homes for sale in your area. However a buyer loved your home and made a quick offer that was accepted. Escrow has been opened. The Pasadena City Occupancy inspection has been ordered, but you have been told your property has sidewalk damage. Sidewalk damage?

The City of Pasadena has a couple of ordinances that cause some consternation among its property owners. Most homeowner’s are not aware that it exists until it comes time to sell their property. As you can see from the picture, tree roots are often responsible for uprooting and destroying the city sidewalks, creating a safety hazard. Throughout the city, this is a common concern. However, the city has decided it will no longer pay to repair the buckled sidewalks. Someone has to pay, you the homeowner, the last line of defense now has the privilege of repairing the city’s infrastructure. Congratulations!

Double Down

There are a couple of issues involved here (1) the policy of requiring property owners to pay and (2) the manner in which it is enforced.

First of all, requiring property owners to pay is an excellent example of shifting the responsibility from the public sector to private individual. The City of Pasadena maintains the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street as evidenced by their policy of planting and removing diseased trees. This indicates at least to me an implied covenant of maintaining the structure, free from defects.

My situation involved these two pictures with the yellow outlines. When I applied for the occupancy inspection I was informed the property had sidewalk damage in the amount of $380. I discussed this with the homeowner and we agreed that we would ask for a review.
I spoke with the gentleman in charge of the department and he agreed to meet me in a couple of weeks. I called a week later to inform him we had the occupancy approval, we were just waiting to resolve the sidewalk issue. He placed a call to his assistant to let me know that he would be calling me to arrange a meeting.

I have an issue regarding the manner in which this department conducts its business. I was called only after the inspector had been to the property. Then he informed me that the original inspection was old and invalid and that the new damage assessment was not $380, but was now $765. So you want to question the inspection, do you? “No Soup For You”

There you have it. No chance to question the elitist inspector. No documentation offered as to the doubling of the repair cost. Then to add insult to injury, he implied my seller should be thankful they are selling their home in this market.

A review of this policy should be implemented. Property owners need to know and understand what the allowable variance is before they have to pay to correct what should be the responsibility of city government.

Tags: California, pasadena inspections, Pasadena real estate, Selling property in Pasadena

Construction sites are common throughout the City of Pasadena. When the function is attended by the Mayor, Pasadena city officials and Channel 7 KABC, it makes for a special event.

The event was held on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00pm and was introduced by Deena Willis, an associate broker with Assist 2 Sell in Pasadena and who is about to complete her Eco Broker certification. Deena spoke about working with the owners of the Eco House and the home search process they went through before deciding to build their ideal dream home.

A Historic Event

Only time will tell if the Eco House will take its place alongside Pasadena’s historic past of craftsman, bungalows and Spanish style architecture. The significance of the home obtaining the Platinum LEED Certification is bound to be a model for future construction as we attempt to move away from wood framing to more environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.

Providing the backdrop to the speakers was a wall of SCIP (structural concrete insulated panels) which will be the cornerstone of the Eco House. These panels are shipped prefabricated to the site and can be constructed with less skilled labor, therefore allowing the building costs to remain competitive.

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard addresses the crowd gathered at the groundbreaking of the Pasadena Eco House

In attendance L-R, Teresa Lamb, Sarkis Nazerian-City of Pasadena, Annie Reynaud-General Contractor-Global Panel Slutions, Robert Michelson-Designer, Studio RMA, Bill Bogaard-Pasadena Mayor, Janice Kopanski & James Copelan- owners, Deena Willis-up2daterealestate.com and Adam Carter

Tags: Pasadena Eco House, Pasdena California Real Estate, Pasdena Real Estate

May was an exciting month with the Phoenix Mars Lander arriving on the Red Planet. Its goal is to look for signs of life. Was there water on Mars? If the Mars Lander somehow became misguided and landed in the San Gabriel Valley, would it find signs of life in the Pasadena Real Estate market?

There does appear to be some activity as the positive signs indicate increasing unit sales in single family homes. Monthly increases this year are much smaller than in years past, but they are slowly on the rise and the gap between unit sales last year is decreasing. There is still some pricing weakness in the market as sellers have to offer bigger discounts to sell their home.

We are seeing the market for homes under $500,000 redevelop, thanks to foreclosed and bank owned properties. This month, 12 homes sold under $500,000 compared to only 3 in May ‘07. On the other end of the market, $1 million dollar homes declined with 17 sales this month compared to 27 last year.

Pasadena Townhomes and Condominiums

I recently recapped the Pasadena Townhome and Condominium building boom. Looking at the sales results in this area you have to ask “What were they thinking”? New multi-use projects are nearing completion and are targeted at upper end homebuyer’s.
Median sale prices are near 2006 levels and current inventory is close to a 10 month supply. Current sellers and developers are becoming more aggressive in an attempt to solicit offers from the declining pool of buyers.

Market to Level in July

Based upon the current trends, July should be the point we begin to see equilibrium as the decline became very pronounced last year. The market probably will not pick up; it’s just that the news reports will not seem so ominous.

Tags: pasadena california real estate, pasadena housing market report, Pasadena real estate