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Pasadena, CA Real Estate News

By Dawn Rickabaugh, Note Queen
(Dawn Rickabaugh (Note Queen) Owner Financing Consultant)
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 ...
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By Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Real Estate
(Pasadena Views Real Estate Team, Inc.)
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...
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By Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Real Estate
(Pasadena Views Real Estate Team, Inc.)
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...
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By Keller Williams
(Keller Williams Realty)
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 ...
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By Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Real Estate
(Pasadena Views Real Estate Team, Inc.)
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...
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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...
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By Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Real Estate
(Pasadena Views Real Estate Team, Inc.)
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...
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By Michelle Minch, Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA
(Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA)
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...
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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...
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By Holly Rybicki
(Keller Williams)
Amazing Open House Weekend with buyers. I met some of the best, happiest group of people in a long time. Buyers seem to be a bit more ready and better informed than I have seen in the past. Lots of first time buyers who seem to not be sure of where they stand. What a great time I have in preparing them for the journey. This is where I excel.
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By Linda S. Lane
(Dilbeck Real Estate Real Living)
Pasadena is centrally located just north of downtown Los Angeles and remains one of the most highly sought after places to live in Southern California. Sometimes everything really does come up roses!   May YTD # Units Sold 87 335 Dollar Value  $  71,513,600  $  257,334,240 Average List Price  $       851,873  $         799,428 Average Sold Price  $       821,995  $         768,162 Average Market Time 74 79 Average Square Feet 1,859 1,726 Average Price Per Sq. Ft. $442 $445 % of List Price 96.49% 96.09%
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By Kerin Cantwell
(Coldwell Banker)
I will check in a couple of times each week to update you on the greater Pasadena area residential real estate market - what's selling, what's not, which areas are holding their value, which are falling.  If you have a specific question or topic you would like me to address, please e-mail me at kcantwell@coldwellbanker.com.  Thanks for visiting and check back in soon to learn more about real estate in Pasadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre and more!
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By Dawn Rickabaugh, Note Queen
(Dawn Rickabaugh (Note Queen) Owner Financing Consultant)
I know wine goes well with a lot of things like cheese, crackers, fruit, dark chocolate, love . . . it's just that I didn't know it went well with a nice chat about seller financing. And actually, the more wine you drink, the better the conversation gets and the more brilliant you feel . . . that nice fuzzy feeling of, "Wow, we've really shared a nice connection here . . ." Last night I attended a wine tasting event put on by the PFAR Charitable Foundation (Pasadena-Foothill Association of Realtors). The evening couldn't have been more beautiful as we watched the day fade over the Brookside Golf Course from the back yard of one of Pasadena's highly desirable homes. I was all dressed up, and if I hadn't spent the evening sinking into the lawn with my stiletto heels, I'd have almost felt ...
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By Mary Thomas BH,MB,HB, PV, Estates LA+, Mary C. Thomas Your Agent around the Globe
( Remax Estates Properties)
I started reading the Book if you only had 30 days to live. For just one moment in this busy, overworked real estate market stop and take a breather. Ask Yourself, if I had only 30 days to live what would I want to do. For me it was spending time with family, writing my book on God's Miracles and enjoying every moment to the fullest. I know I would not be worrying about my Bank Of America screw up on my credit, paying bills or dealing with difficult clients and agents.  Life is too short to sweat the small stuff..What would you do for your last 30 days?? I love this article I recieved via unkown email: "A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items infront of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large andempty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill...
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 The second thing to consider is YOUR OWN FINANCIAL SITUATION.  The "right time" is different depending on whether you're a middle-income first time home buyer or someone with higher income and equity already in your home.  For first time buyers this is a great market because sellers will be more likely to accommodate weaknesses in your offer because they're just glad to be getting an offer.  If you've got a low down payment, if you want the seller to pay some closing costs, or even if you want to do a lease-option (a rent-to-own arrangement) sellers will be far more likely to consider your offer now than they would 3 years ago when most homes were getting multiple strong offers quickly.  For this reason, first time home buyers should aim to make their offer before the low point in pric...
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By Doug Willis
(RE/MAX Property Concierge)
The content of this article holds the key to what so many have searched before. The text is not based upon speculation, not based on here-say, but rather predicated on market fact. Everyone has an opinion on the housing market. But when does fact supersede opinion/ And although the secret is a widely know belief, has it been proved beyond a reasonable doubt? . The key to selling your house in this current market will soon be revealed. The basis for a successful property transfer was discovered in less than an hour. Not merely by accident like rubber and the telephone, but by proving a theory. There must be a correlation somewhere between why some experience success while others repeat failure. Selling houses is not rocket science. There is no magic bullet, no formula that has been passe...
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By Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA Real Estate
(Pasadena Views Real Estate Team, Inc.)
Usually, when a buyer purchases a Pasadena home, one of the first things that their Pasadena real estate agent will recommend that they do will be a home inspection. A common home inspection usually takes anywhere from 3 to 5 hours depending on the size of the home and after the inspection, a buyer will receive a pretty complete report identifying both small and large items. The home inspection also takes place in the first week or ten days of the escrow AFTER an offer on your home has been accepted.  The buyer will review the list of items on the inspection report and will submit a list to you the seller of items/conditions that they will want you to repair, replace or give the buyer credit for.  This is a perfect opportunity to re-negotiate the price of the home for many a savvy buyer...
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By Doug Willis
(RE/MAX Property Concierge)
If you are buying Pasadena real estate, there is a good chance the property will be inspected by a city employee. A 6 page form will be completetd entitled “Housing Inspection Report”. Responsibility of the report and its findings can be negotiated through the purchase agreement. In other words who assumes the responsibility, the buyer or seller? The report includes the following: Building & Structural Weather Protection Fire Detection/Protection, Exits & Safety Natural Light & Ventilation Heating and Mechanical Plumbing Pool Safety, Environmental Health & Sanitation Use & Parking The back page of the report speaks to Landmark and Historic Districts and also the City’s Tree Protection Ordinance. The Intent of the Report Most of the issues identified as “minor” violation can be easily ad...
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By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
On May 28th the Huntington Art Gallery will re-open after a $20 million renovation. Enjoy the Art Gallery along with the Huntington Library and Botanic Garden…a real Los Angeles treasure To receive more information about events in Los Angeles, click here to subscribe http://losangelesrealestatetalk.com/whats-rss/   To read the original article, click here:  A $20 Million Renovation!
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By Ellie Viray, Realtor, GRI
(Deasy Penner Podley)
Jacarada is everywhere in City of Pasadena. Driving down streets of Pasadena, like Del Mar Blvd., and navigating through the residential neighborhood, you cannot take your eyes off the beautiful Jacaranda. I want to share the great photgraphs of this tree with beautiful blue/purple flowers; a sub-tropical tree native to South America.
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