Is it a good time to buy a home? ABSOLUTELY!!! Owning a home is like having a saving plan you didn't know you had.  Home ownership is key to building long term wealth. According to the Ferderal Reserve Survey Of Consumer Finances the average homeowners net worth is $171,000.  That's 46 TIMES that of a the average renters net worth of $4,800.  Most areas are experiencing a buyer's market.  More and more home-sellers are very flexible with their asking price and some are willing to pay for the buyers loan fees which could add up to many thousands of dollars.  That's right; many sellers are willing to actually help you buy their home.  These favorable (home buyer) terms were unheard of a couple of years ago when it was a sellers market.  Another favorable indicator for buyers is that mortg... 07/08/2008

Real Estate Market Update For The City Of Pasadena, Ca, 91107 Month Of June 2008   In my endless pursuit to keep my friends, family and past clients updated in the Real Estate Market, I am submitting to you the following statistics for the city of Pasadena.    The following is the criteria I used;   Property Type: Residential   Property Subtypes: Condominium, Planned Unit Development (PUD), Single Family Residence, Townhouse   Properties that have opened escrow for the month: 11 Average days on the market for properties that have opened escrow: 53 Minimum price of properties that have opened escrow: $314,000 Average price of properties that have opened escrow: $878,000 Highest price paid for a property that has recently opened escrow: $1,980,000 Properties that have sold for the month: ... 07/07/2008

Real Estate Market Update For The City Of Pasadena, Ca, 91106 Month Of June 2008   In my endless pursuit to keep my friends, family and past clients updated in the Real Estate Market, I am submitting to you the following statistics for the city of Pasadena.    The following is the criteria I used;   Property Type: Residential   Property Subtypes: Condominium, Planned Unit Development (PUD), Single Family Residence, Townhouse   Properties that have opened escrow for the month: 9 Average days on the market for properties that have opened escrow: 66 Minimum price of properties that have opened escrow: $285,000 Average price of properties that have opened escrow: $440,000 Highest price paid for a property that has recently opened escrow: $790,000 Properties that have sold for the month:  20... 07/07/2008

Real Estate Market Update For The City Of Pasadena, Ca, 91101 Month Of June 2008   In my endless pursuit to keep my friends, family and past clients updated in the Real Estate Market, I am submitting to you the following statistics for the city of Pasadena.    The following is the criteria I used;   Property Type: Residential   Property Subtypes: Condominium, Planned Unit Development (PUD), Single Family Residence, Townhouse   Properties that have opened escrow for the month: 10 Average days on the market for properties that have opened escrow: 54 Minimum price of properties that have opened escrow: $330,000 Average price of properties that have opened escrow: $547,000 Highest price paid for a property that has recently opened escrow: $1,155,000 Properties that have sold for the month: ... 07/07/2008

Real Estate Market Update For The City Of Pasadena, Ca, 91104 Month Of June 2008   In my endless pursuit to keep my friends, family and past clients updated in the Real Estate Market, I am submitting to you the following statistics for the city of Pasadena.    The following is the criteria I used;   Property Type: Residential   Property Subtypes: Condominium, Planned Unit Development (PUD), Single Family Residence, Townhouse   Properties that have opened escrow for the month: 9 Average days on the market for properties that have opened escrow: 40 Minimum price of properties that have opened escrow: $255,000 Average price of properties that have opened escrow: $479,000 Highest price paid for a property that has recently opened escrow: $950,000 Properties that have sold for the month:  15... 07/07/2008

Real Estate Market Update For The City Of Pasadena, Ca, 91105 Month Of June 2008   In my endless pursuit to keep my friends, family and past clients updated in the Real Estate Market, I am submitting to you the following statistics for the city of Pasadena.    The following is the criteria I used;   Property Type: Residential   Property Subtypes: Condominium, Planned Unit Development (PUD), Single Family Residence, Townhouse   Properties that have opened escrow for the month: 10 Average days on the market for properties that have opened escrow: 65 Minimum price of properties that have opened escrow: $678,000 Average price of properties that have opened escrow: $1,392,198 Highest price paid for a property that has recently opened escrow: $2,600,000 Properties that have sold for the month... 07/07/2008

Imagine this: You have just been offered your dream job in New York.  There's only one problem.  You can't sell your Los Angeles home because the market's slow.  What do you do?  Turn down the job offer?  Rent out your home and become a landlord from 3000 miles away?  If only you could find someone in New York who needs to move to LA, you could simply trade houses. This idea of home swapping is becoming a reality for an increasing number of sellers who have been unable to find a traditional buyer for their home.  Sellers get connected with other sellers in the areas to which they hope to move.  Accurate numbers on this home swap trend aren't available but owners of popular home swap websites guess that 40,000 or more homes are listed on such sites according to the LA Times.    A variety... 07/07/2008

What is an REO?  When a homeowner doesn't make their mortgage payments, the lender forecloses on the property and auctions it off.  If no one buys the home at the foreclosure auction, then the bank still owns the property and wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible.  This is an REO, which stands for "real estate owned." The name comes from a category on the bank's list of assets.  REOs are also known as bank-owned properties or lender-owned properties. Banks don't want to build their own real estate empires.  They want to get rid of these properties quickly, because when banks' money is tied up in real estate they can't use it for lending or other kinds of investing, which is their primary business.  Since banks want to sell these homes quickly, REOs are often listed well below th... 07/04/2008

PROSPECT PARK Prospect Park is a tiny neighborhood just North of the 134 Freeway and West of 210 - where the two freeways meet and is off of Orange Grove and Prospect Blvd.  This area was designated as a housing development in 1906 and had Sylvanus Marston clinker-brick portals on Orange Grove at Prospect Boulevard.  Beautiful and mature camphor trees create a shady arch over the wide boulevard as you enter from Orange Grove.  This neighborhood showcases a collection of Greene & Greene houses, the Gamble House and Frank Lloyd Wright's La Miniatura. READ ALSO:  Pasadena Historic Neighborhoods Gamble House (1908) 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena Called a Gamble House because it was built for David and Mary Gamble of, yes... you guessed it, Proctor & Gamble fame.  Alice Millard House (La Min... 07/02/2008

It seems like everyone's "going green" these days, from car makers, to educational institutions, to big companies trying to save on paper costs for bills.  Now home builders are jumping on board too.  Nationally, builders expect that by 2010 as many as 40-50% of homes being built will be "green," according to the National Association of Home Builders in March 2007.  Even in Pasadena we have seen the eco-friendly Wilson Residences listed recently, and construction has begun on the "Pasadena Eco-House." So what is a "green" home?  The US Green Building Council has provided a useful rating system called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating SystemTM.  The LEED ratings begin with the assumption that a home is a system, just like the human body or the... 07/01/2008

Well, it IS Friday, what do you expect? Plus, I feel it's my duty to warn unsuspecting citizens of how incredibly wild and dangerous Old Town Pasadena can be. This bunny sighting happened right in front of Cafe Bizou at the corner of Holly and Raymond. Amidst honking and hooting, this brood of bunnies was seen heading into Vertical at approximately 6pm on a Friday evening. They haven't been seen since. This is the type of unfortunate thing that happens when women are not properly repressed. Women hit their 40's and sometimes they simply break out of social constraint, creating havoc and cultural instability wherever they go. AND, they seem to be quite amused, don't they? It does appear that it may have been a birthday celebration (note the crown). Six bunnies . . . does this mean that t... 06/27/2008

Oh I hope, I hope, I hope . . . I really want that $100 gift certificate from to Vertical, my favorite upscale wine bar in Old Town Pasadena. (You don't think I talk about wine too much, do you?). Well, even if I don't win Irina's contest, it was fun to think up silly names for stale listings . . . properties that are begging for low ball offers. One of my fellow bloggers here in Pasadena has put together a very good post about this: "What is a stale listing? A home listing that has been sitting on the market, in our Pasadena MLS for over 3 months with no takers. Pasadena home buyers are not interested in these home listings because they're either over priced, not marketed properly by the real estate agent or are just plain overlooked by the Pasadena real estate community for a variety ... 06/26/2008

Okay, I've been struggling with something for a few weeks now and decided that I can't do it alone.   So... that's the reason for this post.  I need YOUR help! I have been trying to come up with a catchy term for "stale" home listings.  What is a stale listing?  A home listing that has been sitting on the market, in our Pasadena MLS for over 3 months with no takers. Pasadena home buyers are not interested in these home listings because they're either over priced, not marketed properly by the real estate agent or are just plain overlooked by the Pasadena real estate community for a variety of reasons. As new homes come up on the Pasadena Real Estate Market, the first few weeks are critical to the successful sale of that home at the best price.  This is the time when most Pasadena Realtor... 06/26/2008

LOWER ARROYO SECO & SAN RAFAEL                    In 1940s, the housing shortage in Pasadena led to the development of the San Rafael area and new residences were built that reflected the upper middle class and very wealthy families. What is a surprise to many is that this residential area used to house the elaborate Busch Gardens which closed its doors in 1937.  This area is quite diverse and is known for its famed "Millionaire'Row" condo complexes on Orange Grove, stately estates on Grand Avenue and very rustic and quaint hills of San Rafael. READ MORE:  Everything you wanted to know about Pasadena Neighborhoods Colorado Street Bridge (1912-1913) This is one of the most graceful and beautiful bridges in the area.  This curving bridge is made out of reinforced concrete.  It was restore... 06/25/2008

While the weakened housing market continues to be problematic for sellers, the outlook for residential rental property is looking good.  A recent New York Times article on June 21, 2008 documents the significant increase in renters that thousands of foreclosures have caused.  Gains had been made in the percentage of Americans who own homes, but recently that progress has been erased.  The article states, "Americans are renting apartments and houses at the highest level since President Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership in 2002." (NYTimes) Investors benefit from this trend because more renters means more demand and increasing rents.  One challenge for residential real estate investors is to find properties to buy, in which the income from rents exceeds the expenses from the ... 06/24/2008

BUNGALOW HEAVEN    Bungalow Heaven is Pasadena's first Landmark District.  It has many different architectural styles, but locals mainly know it due to its abundance of  California Bungalows that were built between 1900 to 1930s. READ MORE:  Everything You Wanted to Know about Pasadena Neighborhoods Many of the bungalows here were built from kits - often at a cost of $1,000 - and delivered to Californians eager to build the low-slung, often single-story homes with the deep verandas and overhanging eaves that protect them form California's powerful sunshine.  There are so many beautiful bungalows here that it's impossible to point out just one or two.  Take a walk through the neighborhood and explore it yourself. Bungalow Heaven is located between Washington Blvd (north) and Orange Grove... 06/24/2008

At last we come to price in our series.  What could there be to write about price, Sam?  Buy low, sell high just like the stock market, right?  Yes, that's true but it's not quite as simple to use that rule for Pasadena real estate as it is for the stock market.  If you want to buy shares of stock and you like Google, you would watch the price of Google each day in the newspaper or on the web.  And you might keep your eye on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes to see whether prices are rising and falling in general.  By watching these prices you could get a good an idea of when to "buy low" for shares of Google stock. But real estate is a different.  You can find the median price trends for a given area (although only some sites actually publish this data), which would be like tracking the S... 06/23/2008

HISTORIC HIGHLANDS   In late 2007, city of Pasadena has unanimously approved Historic Highlands as a Landmark Distirct.  It's about time since this area has some of the most beautiful craftsman homes in Pasadena. Historic Highlands Neighborhood website has this to share about the Historic Highlands history: What is known today as the Historic Highlands encompasses the estates and land holdings of two prominent Pasadena pioneers:  David MacPherson, former Santa Fe Railroad design engineer of the famed Mt. Lowe railroad; Ezra Dane, an orchardist who settled here in 1883.Ezra Dane crossed the plains from Massachusetts sometime between 1849 and 1852 and settled in Sonora County in Northern California where he became a prosperous farmer.  Driven from the area by an out break of malaria in th... 06/22/2008

Are you getting a lot of "lookers" but no "takers"? A lot of showings but no offers (or mostly low ball offers)? Your home probably needs the help of a Professional Home Stager. Preparing a home for sale is a lot like getting ready for a first date. When preparing for a date you may ask yourself "Do I look good?", "Do I smell good?" "Will he/she like me?" "Could this lead to a long term relationship?" It is the same with putting a home on the market. Ask yourself: Have I done everything I can possibly do to get a potential buyer to like the home enough to lead to a long term relationship (aka a sale)? Does my home look good? Does it smell good?   Santa Monica kitchen after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging           As with dating, sometimes it takes an objective   observe... 06/21/2008

The third thing to consider in your purchase of a Pasadena home are the mortgage rates.  Rising or falling mortgage rates can affect your payments similar to rising or falling prices.  Even if prices drop 5% more in Pasadena, rises in mortgage rates could make that cheaper house more expensive to pay for.  Since 2005 mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have fluctuated between a low of 5.48% on January 24 of 2008 and a high of 6.80% on July 20, 2006 according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®.  As of the writing of this post, interest rates have risen to 6.42% as of June 19, 2008 for loans under $419,000 up from 6.09% two weeks earlier for.  So what effect does this have on your monthly payments?  Well, the median home price in Pasadena this week is $673,879 accor... 06/20/2008