Pasadena Home Search | Pasadena & South Pasadena Real Estate

Pasadena’s Neighboring Alternatives

April 17, 2009 By Doug Willis Leave a Comment

Have you been searching for a home in Pasadena only to find that the one you like has several offers and will likely sell over the asking price? Did someone turn the clock back to 2005? Many homebuyers have decided now is the time to enter the housing market as monthly principal and interest payments offer a better alternative than renting.

As prospective homeowners return to the market, some seem surprised at what $400,000 will or will not buy these days in Pasadena. If you are relocating here from another part of the country, you may soon have your expectations dashed as reality quickly begins to set in. I think there may be a sense that home prices here in Southern California have been depressed to such levels that they are now compatible with the more affordable housing markets across the rest of the United States, which simply is just not true.

If your housing budget is set around the $400,000 level and you can’t seem to find anything in Pasadena that is acceptable or meets your dream home characteristics, you may have to consider other areas close by.

One that comes to mind is Covina. Located just 20 minutes to the east on the 210 freeway, you may find a better selection of homes in which to choose. Homes in Covina generally speaking, were built in the late 50′s or early 60′s and you may find the neighborhoods more homogenous in terms of architectural style, lot size and square footage. As for the most part, the “ranch” type home is probably the dominant style that is available.

I took a quick look at some of the available houses for sale in the Covina zip code of 91724, which includes the highly regarded Charter Oaks Schools. There are some very nice homes for sale under $400,000. If you still don’t see anything you like you can Search all Homes For Sale, by clicking the Pasadena Map in the upper left hand corner of our home page.

A Pasadena Home Search, All Websites Are Not Created Equal

July 2, 2008 By Doug Willis 2 Comments

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.

Filed Under: Current News Tagged With: homes for sale in pasadena california, pasadena ca homes for sale, Pasadena home search, pasadena mls

Pasadena California Real Estate, Search Homes for Sale

June 30, 2008 By Doug Willis Leave a Comment

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:

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