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

Pasadena, California

(626)629-VIEW(8439)