I spent one day last week on the phone with a company that supplies real estate agents with search capabilities for their personal or company websites. I was finally able to convince them that they were only reporting about 25% of the Pasadena homes listed for sale. The upgrades they thought were in place were not installed. I am happy to report that as of today when you search for your home you now have access to over 650 residential properties listed for sale. The search is not just limited to Pasadena; you can search all of the surrounding cities and actually most all of the cities in the Southland.

I should also point out that you don’t just have to be in the market to buy a house to utilize the great information that is available here. You can set up a custom search just to see what is happening in your local neighborhood. The information includes properties listed for sale and does not include prices of properties that have closed escrow. If you have been following something in your neighborhood, feel free to give us a call anytime and we will be glad to research the property in question.

Enclosed is a real time screen capture including the greater Los Angeles area. If you are looking for a Pasadena home, begin by (1) clicking on Los Angeles county and (2) scroll down until you find your desired city. This information should be very easy to navigate and we hope you find it helpful and fun to use. We are also ready and eager to help you in your home search. I know you will be very pleased with our representation and concierge service!

Several months ago it was almost impossible to find a home in Pasadena under $450,000. There were a few out there, some with 500 square feet or maybe a lot size of 3000 sq ft. If your budget was under a half million dollars a condo or townhome could have been your only alternative.

For some, it seemed they were destined to rent forever. Escalating home prices forced many people to buy now or quite possibly never have another opportunity. Then we entered the equity warp, prices began to deteriorate and home values began their descent as they started to return to more normal levels.

For many, a home priced at $450,000 is still beyond their means. On a national level, that much cash will get you a lot of home provided you can stay away from the west coast or the northeast areas of the county. Even though it’s still high, it does appear that Pasadena is offering more home value for the dollar than in years past.

Locally we have been seeing the median price of a Pasadena single family home fall for several months now. And while $450,000 is a big investment for a home, by historical standards in Pasadena it offers a great opportunity for many who have been hoping one day for the chance to own a home.

I mapped the current inventory of homes for sale less than $450,000. I came up with 50 listings. While most are located west of Lake Street, and north of the 210 freeway new listings are being offered everyday. Some of the newer properties are snapped up pretty fast depending upon the value and the amenities they offer.

I am not going to tell you that now is a great time to buy a house. I will leave that up to the National Association of Realtors. That is a decision only you can make. However, if you are looking for a home, I would encourage you to sign up at one of the many sites available that offers email updates as new Pasadena listings become available.

Just in case you are interested in seeing what your money will buy these days, in addition to the map, you can also check out the pictures and details of all the available
homes listed for sale.

If a new house is on your holiday wish list, don’t forget to factor into your equation the cost of money. With interest rates coming down in the last few weeks you may be able to qualify for a more expensive home or find out the one you are considering may have become cheaper. On a $500,000 loan amortized over 30 years, the difference in interest rate payments for the first five years is about $12,500 or $208 per month.

In the next few days, I will report on the November sales of Pasadena homes. While that report focuses more specifically on what has sold, the enclosed chart describes the current market with homes currently listed for sale. The data specifically examines the “single family” market, so condos and townhomes have been excluded. The chart is broken down by zip code and includes the overall numbers tied together to give you an idea of how Pasadena is performing as a city. The data looks at four key indicators of the market including

1. The Median List Price – the number which indicates one half of the homes are listed for less and the other half is listed for more.
2. The Average Price per Square Foot – takes the listing price and divides it by the square feet on the property. A smaller house will typically sell at a higher cost per square foot than a larger house.
3. The Average Days on Market – the meter is running indicating the time a house has been on the market
4. Total Inventory – the number of homes listed for sale at this time.

If you would like to receive free Pasadena Market Reports, just enter your information for a complimentary subscription.

The numbers are current as of 12/8/08 and are a courtesy of Altos Research LLC, Copyright 2008.

Pricing a property correctly can cause much consternation between salespeople and homeowners. Most homeowners who are considering the sale of a home have made themselves aware of their competition by visiting open houses and collecting “for sale” flyers. However they may not have the latest information on what has actually sold, since this data is not as readily available. Since homes listed for sale tend to represent the high end of the market, comparisons may be made based upon incorrect information.

Determining the Proper Price

So many times I have heard that the property down the street sold for “x” amount, therefore my house should be worth “y”. Many times the owner is comparing only price for price and has failed to factor in the differences in square footage, lot size, beds/baths and amenities the comparable home featured.

To simplify the comparison, I developed the following spreadsheet and chart to visually display the differences and better explain why one home may be comparable in bed/bath’s and square footage, but may sell for a much different price. The following homes have sold within the past 70 days in Northeast Pasadena:

I have represented each house that has sold with a numbered icon to display the value. When a home moves up the price scale, it will also move to the right indicating more features and amenities. This is effective because you are looking at houses in the same neighborhood so there is less variance based upon location and also when you are comparing it to properties within 10% of a square footage variance.

Value = Price + Perceived Benefit

Today’s home buyer is very discerning. They know they do not have much competition so they can afford to be patient and hope to get the best value for their dollar. After looking at 8-10 houses during the course of an afternoon, you begin to get a good idea of how homes are priced. Selling your home is similar to a job interview, price it correctly and you have made a great first impression and may very well get the best home buyer candidate. If your price is deemed uncompetitive, you may find it sitting on the market. Since you read up2daterealestate, you know the longer it sits, the more you loose.

If you’re considering the sale of your property and would like a market analysis, give me a call or send me an email. I will be glad to provide you with a detailed analysis of your market area!

However we look at the empirical data, one of the things we are attempting to identify are trends. Trends such as; are things beginning to improve, are the new increased loan limits now beginning to have an effect, are buyers beginning to return to the market?

Looking at the current housing market barometers, there is very little change with respect to (1) days on market (2) current inventory and (3) median price:

Days on Market

The days on market took a significant dip about 4-6 weeks ago, this could be the result of some properties that have been on the market for many days and have expired and are now no longer for sale. The fact that this has ticked up again indicates no real significance or change.

Inventory

Inventory is still high compared to last year but has been declining as of late. I don’t believe this is attributable to a sales increase, rather I believe it was due to many homes being expired or canceled. The recent rise in inventory seems to indicate this. Single family inventory has been centered around 500 units:

1. week ending 3/28, 497 units for sale
2. week ending 4/18, 511 units for sale
3. week ending 5/2, 492 units for sale

Median Price

Prices still appear to be falling. Once the market begins to pick up this line will begin to flatten as many of these indicators will move in unison. Days on market will begin to fall and inventory will begin to decrease. But until we see that begin to happen, we will take any little bit of good news the market will allow.

Look for the April recap of the Pasadena real estate market within the next couple of days. We will see if the April results show any improvement.
Graphs courtesy of Altos Research, Copyright 2007

In a surprise move the City of Pasadena announced today that it was canceling all of the homes listed “for sale” due to a lack of interest. Homeowner’s were instructed to remove all “for sale” signs on the property. Sales of single family homes have declined 50% for the last three months and the decision was made today before things could get any worse. One city official who ask to remain anonymous said that “if we can tell homeowners they cannot cut down their trees, we also believe we can put a stop to homes being listed “for sale”. We do not want values to decline any further, and this will protect other property owners who are not trying to sell”.

The above is only a tongue in cheek analogy of the current real estate market in Pasadena. Any reference to people or events is purely fictional.

February Home Sales

Were the problems in the housing market a window to the economy? When the housing market on the east and west coast began to contract, was the middle squeezed so hard that a recession was looming? According to the just released UCLA Anderson Forecast, a recession is not on the horizon. Rest easy Pasadena and California. Be assured with home prices falling, foreclosures rising, and no end in sight for the price of a barrel of oil, there will not be a recession. Glad we now have that settled. Academia has spoken.

2008 is off to a Slow Start

The part in the introductory paragraph about the rate of sales is correct. We have witnessed approximately a 50% decline in single family unit sales for the last three months. Not the kind of start we hoping for.

Single Family Homes Decline

The rate of decrease in the median price of a single family home was quite noticeable compared to months past. Call it a monthly trifecta. With a price decline of roughly 8%, a 50% drop in units and an increase in time of 35% to sell those fewer units, February was, somewhat expected if not predictable.

Townhomes & Condominiums

February also put a stop to the rising median price of a townhome and condominium. Buoyoed by the recent new construction, this segment of the market also felt the effects of a slowing market and overall uneasiness in the economy. Mirroring the single family category, sales declined close to 50% and also the median price dropped 5.3%.

What’s Next?

It will be at least May before we begin to see if the recently enacted increases in the conforming loan rates make any difference in the housing market and more importantly Pasadena real estate. Until then we will just have to be patient and hopeful that a return to normalcy will occur. At least we don’t have to worry about a recession.

Beautiful triplex featuring a classic craftsman with 3 beds and 2 baths in the front. Two cozy 1 bed, 1 bath units in the back. All of the units need some TLC, but have great potential. Perfect for the owner who wants to live in the front and rent the two units in the back for extra income

Use Ugly To Your Advantage

Rather than trying to paint an idyllic picture of this property, the agent should have gone ugly early. Ugly Sells! It indicates a distressed property that could be picked up at below market. Instead people go over to the house expecting one thing and being extremely disappointed. The lady I showed the house to commented “I have been looking at property for 30 years and I have never seen anything like this”. It was awful.

The description which would have been more indicative of the condition should have read:

Craftsman property in need of re-crafting. Bring your Bio-Hazard suit. Enter at your own risk and be careful you do not twist an ankle on the buckled and termite infested wood floors. If skid row is your ideal of cozy, then you will adore the units in the back. Be careful of the pit bull (Named Killer) in the back. He is usually chained.

Now, if this were the description, then potential buyers would be very impressed because their expectations have been set so low that there was no where to go but up. It lets them know that the term “fixer” is far to mild for the condition and this is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes all you have is all you have and no matter what flowered description you put on it, it just won’t help.