We’ve all heard the real estate success stories when people purchased an investment home at a low price and then were flabbergasted at the 5 or 6 digit appreciation they realized when they sold it a few years later.  Everyday in the news, we hear or read about our country’s current economic slowdown, triggering a possible recession and responsible for the subsequent down turn of the Pasadena real estate market.  Is this the real estate trifecta we’ve been waiting for?

Let’s take a closer look at the city of Pasadena.  There is a large inventory of homes available on the market today.  In Pasadena, experts estimate about 10 months worth.  The average selling cycle to sell a home often exceeds 100 days with selling prices  well below asking price sometimes up to or greater than 10%.  In addition, the number of home foreclosures & short sales is greater than in past years.  In all, it seems as though, today’s real estate market is prime to purchase a solid investment residential property in a desirable neighborhood at a reasonable price.

OK, let’s go on this hypothetical journey, you purchase an investment home.  Am I going to get a decent rental income?  Who am I going to rent it to?  Is there a demand for homes to rent?   All of these questions have different variables (i.e. size, location, available amenities in the home) that prohibit an absolute answer to them.  However, according to the MLS, the median monthly rental price in Pasadena for the past year (3/07-3/08), is $ 2200.  With the availability of numerous websites for potential renters, advertising a home to rent is easy, inexpensive and accessible to more people.  With the increase in foreclosures, there is and will be a rise in the number of people/families needing to rent.  Plus, these people will be renting long-term in order to save for a down payment towards a future home. 

So, did we hit the real estate trifecta?  No one knows for sure.  Take a closer look.  Do some research on the internet, meet with your local real estate agent and financial counselor to examine the numbers.  Who knows…in five years, you may be the one boasting of the great real estate investment.