Pasadena Real Estate Market Reports | Pasadena & South Pasadena Real Estate

Pasadena Real Estate Report on November Home Sales

It was said many years ago people could look at the position of the sun and tell the time of day. Pasadena real estate is no different. Just look at the poor performance of home sales and it must be November.

Traditional sales of Pasadena homes in the past have resembled more of a bell curve, low on both the right and left ends, (January & December) but higher in the middle (May – August), indicating a seasonality to home sales. But then again we haven’t seen traditional for about two years.

The data for November is disappointing. There did seem to be some momentum building in the market as unit sales were increasing, albeit the brakes were applied. Not a slow rolling stop, but more of a skid.

What Effected the Cause?

When analyzing results, I look for triggers. What happened in October that resulted in poor sales results in November? Could it be the federal bailout, reduced gas prices, decorating for Halloween? Or could we just be in the infancy stages of normalcy, a return to seasonality, the home buying lull after the return to back to school? It’s hard to make a single determination as so many external factors have to be considered.

Pasadena Real Estate November Home Sales

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Pasadena Median Home Prices

The median price sank to $500,000 for November. The last time the median price was at this level was 4 years ago. Homes priced under $500,000 are generating most of the activity, while homes in the $600,000 to $1,000,000 range have slipped into hibernation.

All of the market statistics are included in the 11 page presentation. If you would like to receive complimentary Pasadena market reports updated weekly, enter your contact information.

Pasadena Real Estate Report for July

Hopefully Pasadena residents have inflated their tires and tuned their cars. If only we could put some air into the Pasadena housing market. As anticipated, the gap between unit sales closed this past month, closely mirroring unit sales in July 2007. If you recall from a previous post regarding Pasadena Upcoming Home Sales, I expected the market to reach equilibrium. The reason is that unit sales indicated a downturn last year, not because we experienced increased activity this year.

However steady or predictable unit sales can be, they have no bearing on sold prices. All you have to do is look at July 2008.

Pasadena Single Family Homes

In the overall market of Pasadena California real estate, single family homes are outperforming condos and townhomes. July unit sales were 65 units compared to 52 units last year, an increase of 25%. On the downside, the median price of $685,000 was 17% lower than last year’s median price of $826,750.

Contributing to the median price decline is the return of the low end market. Absent for the last couple of years, it is making a comeback. As an example in July 2007, a total of 4 single family homes were sold under $500,000. This past month the number increased to 20 units, or now 30% of the market below $500K. Of these 20 units, 14 properties appear to in some form of foreclosure that are either bank owned or short sale.

Current inventory levels indicate about an 8.5 month supply of unsold homes compared to 6 months supply last July.

Pasadena Condos and Townhomes

Unlike the single family market that showed an increase over last year in unit sales, the condo and townhome market declined. Last year 54 units sold, compared to only 38 units this year. The weakness is coming from properties available for sale exceeding the $500,000 price point. Analyzing the lower end of the market $500,000 and less, a total of 21 properties sold last year and 20 sold this past month. Low end sales remain fairly steady, but there is weakness above the $500K benchmark with only 18 unit sales this year compared to 33 last year.

Inventory levels show approximately 8.4 months supply compared to about 5 months last year.

Pasadena Real Estate Forecast

The median price of a single family in August ’07 was $792,000. Currently of the 550+ units available for sale, 51% are below the current median price of $685,000. As banks become more aggressive in liquidating their inventory, the low end of the market will continue to influence prices. Until we see more buyers enter the market, home sellers will find themselves more negotiable.