Pasadena Real Estate

Last week, I had the opportunity to tour 1649 Lombardy Road in Pasadena California.  This gracious home resides among the Pasadena estates that are minutes from the Huntington Library in San Marino and CalTech in Pasadena.

Wallace Neff, the architect known for developing the "California" style of homes excelled himself when he designed this estate in 1924.  Since then, this luxury home has been tastefully renovated and is now waiting for a new owner.

READ MORE:  Top 10 Luxury Estates sold in Pasadena in 2009

Estate Property Details:

5 Bedrooms and 6 Baths

House was measured to be over 7,300 sq. ft. per agent's brochure

Lot size is 23,425 per assessor

Formal Dining Room

Amazing Great Room with an Open Kitchen

Game Room

3 Car Garage

Zoned HVAC System

Double Gated Driveway

and much, much more...

 

As you walk through this home, the attention to detail and the use of materials throughout is breathtaking.  Take a look at some of these photos, courtesy of Laurie March.

Peace and tranquility with lush landscaping and use of wood floors throughout...

Library/Ofice... love the nook for the books and tons of light through the windows.

Read more »

What really happens when properties finally hit the auction block?  Well... here's an interesting chart looking at all the foreclosure home auctions in the state of California from December 20098 through 2009.  It shows that most of the properties are bought back by the bank - take a look at the red line. 

However, let's take a closer look at the dark line, the one in the middle that is on the rise.  It shows the number of homes where the auctions have been cancelled.  Reasons for it?  Many distressed home sellers are trying to minimize the impact on their credit score by negotiating a short sale on their property with the bank.  In many instances, if a home seller or a real estate agent negotiating on their behalf, can bring an offer to the bank, the lender will cancel or delay the auction date.

So... if you are a Pasadena neighborhood home owner ready to walk away from your home and leave it for the bank...  Wait... there might be a way to have you walk away with a smaller dent on your credit.  Contact a reputable real estate agent experienced with working short sales.

California Foreclosure Statistics for December 2008 through December 2009:

The orange line shows the number of homes that were purchased by investors or 3rd parties.  As you can see the numbers are significantly lower - less than 1 in 6 homes that are up for auction fall into this category.  Reasons are many - investors need all cash, they accept tremendous risk and inherit any and all title claims to the property.

READ MORE:  What happens to your credit after foreclosure or a short sale?

Pasadena Foreclosure statistics

If you are interested in seeing more data on foreclosure statistics in California, please visit our Foreclosure Search site.  If you are home owner that is having financial difficulties and need to understand your options, please do not hesitate to give us a call.

 

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)

 

San Marino and foreclosures are not synonymous.  There were only 2 bank owned homes in San Marino last year.  Well, we have a new one on the market now.

2810 Lombardy Road in San Marino was auctioned off on November 6th 2009 and reverted to Index West LLC when there were no takers.  It is now listed in the Multiple Listing Service for $1,550,000 and is the first San Marino foreclosure for 2010.

This home features 4 bedrooms and 3 baths and is listed by the tax assessor to have 2,839 square feet.  It sits on a 12,000+ sq. ft. lot.  I have not had an opportunity to drive by and take a look at the property, but as soon as I do, I'll post some pictures.

So... how did this foreclosure happen?  What is the story behind this foreclosure home?  Let's take a look here:

September 2005:  Home purchased for $1,220,000.  The home buyers put a 30% down payment and financed the difference with a $854,000 loan.

July 2006:  Home owners took out an equity loan of $150,000

February 2007:  Home owners refinanced their loans to combine into one - $1,000,000 trust deed.

August 2007:  a 2nd loan was obtained for $500,000.

Fast forward to December of 2008:

Notice of Default filed by the Trustee on 12/12/08

Notice of Trustee Sale was filed on 3/23/09

Actual Auction Sales date was on 11/6/2009

It took the bank 2.5 months to actually list the property for sale.  Information on the listing is at the bottom of this post for your review.

In the meantime, let's take a look at how San Marino may be affected by foreclosures in the upcoming months:

There are currently, 3 homes slated to go to auction between now and the end of February and 5 San Marino homes are in pre-foreclosure process with Notices of Default already filed.

Unfortunately, San Marino is also beginning to feel the pain of this market place.  

READ MORE:  Pasadena Foreclosures - What Can We Expect in 2010 

Search all San Marino Homes for Sale here.

Search all Foreclosures here

If you are interested in seeing this home or getting information on upcoming foreclosures in San Marino, give us a call.  If you are a home owner in distress and need help in negotiating with your bank(s), let us know, we might be able to help.

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)

There's a lot of talk about the "shadow foreclosure inventory" across the country - homes that are in the pipeline for a foreclosure or have been foreclosed by the bank, but not released or listed on the real estate market and are not part of the existing inventory.

On December 17, 2009, Bloomberg reported:

 

The number of homes that may be in the pipeline for a sale because of foreclosure and delinquency climbed about 55 percent to 1.7 million at the end of September, according to estimates by First American CoreLogic.

 

We are constantly getting calls from home buyers asking about available foreclosures in Pasadena California.  Unfortunately, the volume has been pretty darn low.  Almost nothing to choose from.  If a nice REO home comes up on the market, it is sold (usually with multiple offers) immediately.

Let's take a look at the actual REO (foreclosure) inventory in Pasadena:

Single Family Homes available for sale - 9

Condos available for sale - 4

Townhomes available for sale - 3

 

As you can see the foreclosure count above is pretty miserable compared to the overall inventory of Pasadena homes available for sale:

Single Family Homes available for sale - 203

Condos available for sale - 152

Townhomes available for sale - 50

 

But, are we sitting on a ton of "shadow" foreclosure inventory?  When will these REOs be released?  How will that inventory affect the current Pasadena home prices? 

Let's look at some hard data as of January 10, 2010

Bank Owned Homes in Pasadena:  88 total

Since we know that only 16 REO homes are actually listed for sale, the other 72 are MIA.  That's 82% of foreclosures that are sitting on lender books waiting to hit our real estate market.  That's also approximately 16% of additional inventory to the existing listing inventory.  Here's the break down:

Single Family - 53 homes

Condos and Townhomes - 35

Read More:  See Pasadena Foreclosure List of Properties

Number of Pasadena home owners who received Notices of Default (NODs): 206

To receive a Notice of Default, otherwise known as NOD, a home owner has to be behind on their payments.  They usually would have missed at least 3 payments and the Notice of Default is the beginning of a foreclosure process.  Here's the break down:

Single Family - 143

Condos and Townhomes - 63

Number of Pasadena home owners with Auction Dates already scheduled:  298

Most of these homes will be auctioned off in January or early February unless the home owners are able to either get current on their mortgage, negotiate a short sale with the bank, or get the bank to postpone the auction date. 

Single Family -232

Condos and Townhomes - 66

Read More:  It's all about forgiveness!  Understand the short sale process

It's interesting to note that only a few of these home owners are trying to negotiate a short sale with their lender.  Only 9 condo/townhomes are listed for sale as short sale and 30 single family homes. 

As you can see, we will definitely be seeing quite a few foreclosures on the Pasadena real estate horizon.  When will they hit?  I don't know.  We've seen continuous efforts by the government to help home owners hold on to their homes including lender moratoriums delaying the foreclosure process.  Unfortunately, that is not helping the majority of Pasadena property owners who are in trouble.

If you are a Pasadena home buyer, 2010 will be a year of opportunity.

If you are a home owner who is in trouble and is in jeopardy of losing your home, don't wait for the bank to foreclose.  A short sale is a much better option.  Give us a call for a free consultation and we'll try to help.

To see how your neighborhood is affected by foreclosure, take a look at our FREE foreclosure neighborhood data and analysis tool here.

Additional Reading:  2009 Real Estate Home Sales Recap and 2010 Pasadena Real Estate Forecast

 

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)

 

As 2009 wrapped up, it's interesting to see how Pasadena and surrounding cities real estate market performed.  So instead of writing our monthly report, I wanted to take a look at the last few years of home sales.

Last year was difficult for many families, short sales and foreclosures were showing up in both low end and high price spectrum of the real estate market.  However, 2009 presented many opportunities for both investors, first time home buyers, as well as long term renters waiting for prices to come down to a point of affordability.

The prices have not moved down as much as expected in Pasadena California and surrounding neighborhoods, but the interest rate remained historically low and coupled with tax incentives, home buyers were out in force.

Let's take a look at the home sales statistics below.

Pasadena Home Sales 2003 through 2009:

Throughout this year, I've been saying that Pasadena was very low on inventory.  The moment a home came up on the market, if it was priced correctly, it was gone immediately.  We were expecting to be hit with a wave of foreclosures, but that never realized.  We've seen some bank owned properties hit the real estate market, but moratorium after moratorium kept the majority of the foreclosures from hitting the streets. 

There's been a lot of talk of "shadow" foreclosure inventory.  The inventory of foreclosure homes that are still sitting on bank books.  2010 might be the year for the shadow inventory to be released especially in the higher priced end of the market.

As you can see, 2009 had a higher number of home units sold at 841 an increase of 28% over 2008, but still far short of the 1,300 to 1,400 units in 2003 and 2004.

Take a look at the average listing price per square foot vs average sold price per square foot.  This pretty much tells you the story of the Pasadena real estate market in 2009 - multiple offers!  Prices were bid up by the buyers and on average the price per sq. ft. was almost 22% higher than the original listed sq. ft. price - pretty darn amazing!

The actual average closing Pasadena home sales price was at $900,582, way higher than 2008's $851,702.  Don't let anyone tell you that there are no home buyers out there.  The home buyers are there and ready to buy.  The prices are right and the financial conditions - interest rates, government tax incentives are making this a perfect storm for many.

Pasadena California Single Family Homes Sales - 7 year analysis (2003 - 2009)

SFR	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	1402	1390	1294	1069	811	657	841
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$339	$402	$472	$502	$496	$440	$382
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$336	$408	$479	$497	$489	$428	$433
Ave List Price	$620,750	$717,994	$835,039	$938,407	$977,794	$880,432	$739,797
Ave Sales Price	$616,489	$728,126	$847,985	$928,328	$959,394	$851,702	$900,582
% of Sold to List	99.3%	101.4%	101.6%	98.9%	98.1%	96.7%	121.7%
Ave # of Days on the Market	27	24	26	37	51	96	71

Read More:  See all Pasadena homes for sale

Pasadena Condo and Townhouse Sales - 7 year analysis (2003 - 2009)

A similar situation with condos and townhomes, the volume of home sales is down, but not as signifcantly as we see in Pasadena's single family homes.  Pasadena condo and townhome buyers are seeing prices at the 2004 level.  Think of rolling the home prices back 5 years - not bad!

It is taking longer to sell these condos and townhomes, but still less than 3 months.  Remember the post about whether or not we are in the buyer's vs seller's market?  We are still in a pretty strong seller's market - these properties are selling if priced correctly.

	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	664	744	731	683	597	374	488
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$268	$341	$410	$437	$442	$409	$359
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$269	$346	$420	$431	$432	$388	$348
Ave List Price	$343,168	$425,945	$499,323	$526,625	$571,055	$529,495	$464,392
Ave Sales Price	$344,487	$430,696	$507,887	$519,946	$557,042	$504,093	$449,964
% of Sold to List	100.4%	101.1%	101.7%	98.7%	97.5%	95.2%	96.9%
Ave # of Days on the Market	24	23	31	50	66	95	85

Read More:  Pasadena's New Construction Condos for Sale

See all Pasadena Condos and Townhomes for sale

South Pasadena Real Estate Data 2003 through 2009:

South Pasadena home sales were on fire... great school district and a small town, family oriented atmosphere was driving real estate sales last year.  The volume went up drastically from 2008, but buyer were much more finicky. 

South Pasadena is known for older, character homes.  The homes that were staged and updated sold immediately with multiple offers.  Homes that had deferred maintenance or were not presented as well as they should took a bit of time to sell. 

Sold price per square foot dropped from the high of $513 in 2005 to $477 in 2009 - still a pretty high number considering that an average home sold cost almost a million dollars.

South Pasadena Home Sales - 7 year analysis (2003 - 2009)

SOUTH PASADENA	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
SFR
# of Units Sold	255	180	179	185	145	79	117
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$344	$401	$481	$510	$518	$524	$488
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$344	$415	$488	$513	$517	$510	$477
Ave List Price	$656,128	$796,551	$937,169	$1,037,107	$1,023,445	$1,152,025	$1,027,664
Ave Sales Price	$646,771	$819,416	$957,034	$1,042,387	$1,017,776	$1,095,100	$993,201
% of Sold to List	98.6%	102.9%	102.1%	100.5%	99.4%	95.1%	96.6%
Ave # of Days on the Market	37	34	32	42	44	81	67

Read More:  See all South Pasadena homes for sale

South Pasadena Condo and Townhouse Sales - 7 year analysis (2003 - 2009)

There were really some amazing deals to be found in South Pasadena's condo and townhome market.  First of all, families were able to buy homes within one of the top school districts in the area for as little as $349 per sq. ft.  On average, a So Pas home buyer would need a bit over $500,000, but that's still half the price of a single family home.

One of my lucky home buyer clients, were able to buy a 3 bedroom townhome for only $420,000.  That would have been truly unheard of a few years ago.  The best advice for families that are waiting to get into the South Pasadena real estate market is to be prepared - work with a real estate agent that cares about your needs, get pre-approved and be available to view properties as they come up on the market.

SOUTH PASADENA	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	54	71	76	65	55	30	42
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$252	$314	$399	$426	$431	$399	$349
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$252	$317	$404	$422	$429	$390	$342
Ave List Price	$338,313	$404,019	$477,004	$560,290	$607,253	$550,240	$517,996
Ave Sales Price	$337,435	$407,825	$483,327	$554,302	$602,763	$537,503	$506,375
% of Sold to List	99.7%	100.9%	101.3%	98.9%	99.3%	97.7%	97.8%
Ave # of Days on the Market	21	27	25	38	60	95	58

Read More:  See all South Pasadena condos and townhomes for sale

San Marino Home Sales Analysis for 2003 - 2009:

This has been a truly amazing year for San Marino real estate.  Prices held quite well and homes were selling higher than they did in 2007! 

San Marino is known for its huge lawns, amazing school district and a very close-knit community.  With Huntington Library, Lacy Park and luxury estates, it's truly an amazing place to live. 

A home buyer still needs a bit over $1.7 million to get an average priced home.  There are homes available in the low 1 million dollar range and sometimes one can find a home under a million, but for the most part these homes need quite a bit of attention.

San Marino was not immune to foreclosures.  We did see two foreclosure homes - both homes sold over a million still.  If you are interested in tracking potential foreclosures in San Marino, bookmark this San Marino foreclosure post.  It will update, real time as new foreclosures come up on the market.

It's also interesting to note that there are no condos or townhomes in San Marino.  However, there's a complex of townhomes on the border of Pasadena and San Marino that is assigned to San Marino schools.  There are also certain homes in San Gabriel and Pasadena that fall under the San Marino schools boundaries. 

San Marino	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	304	303	203	192	169	110	126
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$399	$470	$529	$579	$617	$595	$597
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$375	$454	$526	$569	$611	$582	$575
Ave List Price	$1,189,954	$1,363,619	$1,500,824	$1,588,317	$1,802,251	$1,684,134	$1,797,913
Ave Sales Price	$1,094,214	$1,291,828	$1,438,804	$1,519,560	$1,729,589	$1,562,207	$1,721,617
% of Sold to List	92.0%	94.7%	95.9%	95.7%	96.0%	92.8%	95.8%
Ave # of Days on the Market	42	41	41	48	57	54	56

Read More:  See all San Marino homes for sale

San Gabriel Real Estate Home Sales Statistics 2003 through 2009:

Well San Gabriel didn't fare as well as some of the other cities near Pasadena.  It's taking longer to sell a home as well as the price sold has rolled back to 2004 levels.  This is great for home buyers.  Inventory of homes has increased and there's quite a bit of choice.  Even though, we are seeing multiple offers on some of the homes, overall buyers are able to find a home to fit their needs and check book.  Homes are being priced fairly and are selling close to aslking price - just a percentage or so below.

San Gabriel Homes for Sales data for 2003 through 2009

SAN GABRIEL	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
SFR
# of Units Sold	445	452	406	368	294	207	278
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$267	$332	$398	$409	$412	$372	$356
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$267	$331	$404	$413	$404	$361	$350
Ave List Price	$429,918	$530,420	$615,726	$672,220	$673,120	$600,296	$572,244
Ave Sales Price	$436,074	$528,448	$630,230	$675,388	$658,664	$584,949	$563,219
% of Sold to List	101.4%	99.6%	102.4%	100.5%	97.9%	97.4%	98.4%
Ave # of Days on the Market	9	8	11	16	23	24	57

Read More:  See all San Gabriel Homes for Sale

San Gabriel Condos and Townhomes for sale

Price per square foot has decreased to $271 for San Gabriel condos and townhomes, but the average sales price is actually a bit higher than in 2008.  Home buyers are getting more square footage for their money. 

The selection of condos and townhomes is quite nice.  Inventory has doubled from last year and is higher than the year prior.  Home buyers are nicely surprised with the choice of homes.  This can also be seen in a longer marketing period of 105 days compared to previous years of only a month or less on the market.

SAN GABRIEL	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	91	77	104	80	54	37	74
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$201	$258	$317	$333	$330	$325	$275
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$199	$257	$315	$371	$320	$310	$271
Ave List Price	$275,367	$325,205	$458,785	$481,131	$502,924	$458,387	$447,410
Ave Sales Price	$272,193	$323,450	$456,743	$516,066	$488,083	$437,135	$441,052
% of Sold to List	98.8%	99.5%	99.6%	107.3%	97.0%	95.4%	98.6%
Ave # of Days on the Market	11	18	25	36	31	39	105

Read More:  Search San Gabriel Condos and Townomes

Monterey Hills Condo and Townhome Sales 2003 through 2009:

I was actually quite surprised to see the inventory increase towards the end of 2009.  Monterey Hills condo and townhome owners have been holding on to their homes and not putting them on the market.  However, we did see quite a bit of distressed sales in the area which helped increase the inventory.

The price per square foot fell under $300 to $277 and is rolling prices back to the 2003 level.  Folks working in downtown LA or have kids attending USC love Monterey Hills for its geographic convenience.  A lot of investors are itching to buy units because they are so easy to rent and are conveniently located minutes from South Pasadena and Pasadena. 

Overall, I think that we'll see more foreclosures and opportunities in 2010 in Monterey Hills.  There's definitely "shadow" inventory to be found next year. We will be watching closely.

Monterey Hills	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
# of Units Sold	129	108	99	61	52	35	50
Ave List Price/Sq.Ft.	$228	$303	$355	$375	$369	$325	$281
Ave Sold Price/Sq.Ft.	$224	$302	$358	$372	$361	$307	$277
Ave List Price	$259,226	$325,912	$407,407	$420,655	$406,281	$362,246	$333,350
Ave Sales Price	$254,996	$325,115	$409,962	$414,330	$397,217	$354,097	$327,107
% of Sold to List	98.4%	99.8%	100.6%	98.5%	97.8%	97.8%	98.1%
Ave # of Days on the Market	35	34	40	74	84	87	66

Read More: See all Monterey Hills condos for Sale

 As always, we will be providing monthly home sales reports for Pasadena and surrounding cities.  In the meantime, please do not hesitate to call us should you have any questions about any of the real estate data above or need helping with buying or selling a home, condominium or townhome.

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)