San Gabriel real estate ended the year on a positive note. Single Family homes closed at $378 per sq. ft. just a bit higher than the average San Gabriel home sold in 2008 at $362 per square foot.

The volume of homes sold each month has slowed down in the last quarter to about 10 a month. In December 11 homes sold. 2008 averaged about 17 homes per month with summer months being the busiest. Overall inventory for San Gabriel homes is pretty high at 77 homes available. At December's rate of sales, it will take over 30 weeks to clear this inventory.

San Gabriel condos and townhomes had no movement last month. Only 1 townhome sold and no condos. Absorption rate, the number of weeks it will take to sell condos and townhomes is at an all time high.

San Gabriel real estate market statistics for October 2008 through December 2008:

Data taken from ITEC (Pasadena Foothills Association MLS service)

See all homes available for sale in San Gabriel:

For weekly updates on San
Gabriel real estate market activity, please feel free to request
market analysis reports with detailed information at How is the
Market button on this site. These real-time real
estate market reports are gathered and updated by Altos Research and
will be emailed to you weekly with my compliments.

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Real Estate
Agent

December is always a slow month for real estate, but San Marino California pretty much took the entire month off. There were only 2 San Marino homes listed for sale in December. And, only 22 homes, overall, available for sale.

The number of closed sales in San Marino has been pretty stable with a little under 10 homes selling each month for the last six months. December was no exception - 9 home sales.

Only 3 homes though, went into escrow. With banks taking time off for the holidays, we will have a very slow sales month this January.

The lowest priced San Marino home is listed at $1,050,876 and is located at 465 Winthrop Road. This home is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with 1,480 sq. ft.

The highest priced San Marino home is still the $7.9 million Old Mill Road estate. This San Marino luxury property sits on over 82,000 sq. ft. lot and has 8 bedrooms and 7 baths.

READ MORE: San Marino Real Estate Housing Update for November 2008

Also, for my data loving readers, please visit San Marino real estate blog for a detailed analysis of the San Marino real estate market over the last five years: San Marino Housing Analysis - Five Years in Review

San Marino Real Estate Statistics for October through December 2008:

Data of San Marino homes for sale and San Marino solds was taken directly from
ITEC (Pasadena
Foothill MLS)

Ready to start your San Marino home search, see all available listings in San Marino California:

Interested in San Marino? Visit San Marino City
Guide

SUBSCRIBE
TO WEEKLY SAN MARINO REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT BY THE
PREMIER REAL ESTATE REPORTING ANALYSIS FIRM, ALTOS RESEARCH

FIND
SAN MARINO HOMES FOR SALE

Posted by Irina Netchaev, San Marino Luxury Home
Real Estate Specialist

December has been uneventful for Pasadena's real estate market. Inventory of homes and condos dropped from last several months to 250 homes and 158 condos. While the number of available Pasadena townhomes for sale increased to 76 units.

Since, there was an increase in the number of homes sold and the number of Pasadena sellers that decided to take their homes off the market, absorption rate dropped dramatically.

I expect that we will see a lot more Pasadena property listings hit the market in January since many home sellers wait until after the holidays to list their Pasadena home for sale. I also expect banks to start releasing foreclosures that they've been holding on to for book keeping purposes.

While prices have been basically flat over the last several weeks, the price per square foot has been heading downward. While not a sign of broad strength in a market, larger homes are becoming more available and Pasadena buyers are tending to get more home for their money.

Pasadena Real Estate Market Statistics for October 2008 through December 2008:

Data compiled from ITEC (Pasadena Foothill Association Multiple Listing Service)

Read More: Pasadena City Guide

A few quick facts as we look back at Pasadena real estate market's performance in 2007 and compare to 2008:

• 2008 ended with 657 Pasadena homes (single family) sold compared to 811 homes sold in 2007, a 19% decrease in sold inventory.
• Price per square foot for Pasadena homes (single family residence) dropped from $489 in 2007 to $428 in 2008.
• Average sales price for Pasadena homes in 2007 was $959,394 compared to the average sales price of Pasadena homes in 2008 of 851,702 - a drop of 11.2%
• Pasadena home prices declined to the 2005 pricing levels with the peak for property prices in Pasadena California hitting in 2007.

For a complete review of Pasadena real estate market statistics over the last five years, please visit Pasadena Real Estate Housing Analysis - Five Years in Review.

Read More: Pasadena Real Estate Outlook for 2009 This post also provides a basic understanding of the Mark to Market rule which partially led to our current financial crisis.

If you are a buyer looking to buy a home or a condo in Pasadena California, take a look at the available listings below.

Search all Pasadena Condos for Sale in MLS (Multiple Listing Service):

Search all homes (single family residences) for sale in Pasadena MLS (Multiple Listing Service):

Search All Pasadena Foreclosures or Bank Owned Homes for Sale (MLS - Multiple Listing Service)

SEARCH
PASADENA CA HOMES FOR SALE (Single Family Residences - SFR)

SEARCH
PASADENA CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES FOR SALE

If you are interested in receiving a weekly Pasadena real estate market
report with the Market Price Index, you can request
the Pasadena Market Real Estate Report here and it will be emailed
to you automatically each Monday. This is a report that I order specifically
for the readers of my website from Altos Research who specializes
specifically in real estate housing market activity throughout the country.

Check back next month for our Pasadena housing report analysis and statistics. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to call Irina Netchaev & Associates, your Pasadena Realtors with specific questions on Pasadena property values or if you would like to schedule a private consultation to sell your Pasadena home.

[idx-listings linkid="125375" count="1000" showlargerphotos="true"]

Not much change in the Monterey Hills real estate inventory in November 2008. Monterey Hills townhomes are non-existent - only one unit on the market. Monterey Hills condos are also pretty much at a stand-stil with no new condo listings in November and only eight total condos available for sale.

Statitstics for Monterey Hills real estate for September through November 2008:

See Monterey Hills condos and townhomes available for sale below:

(Please note, because there are multiple listing services in the Pasadena Monterey Hills area and our listing service combines condo and townhome information from all these listing services, some of the home listings can be duplicated since these condos and townhomes have been entered into each indivdual service separately - have fun searching)

Data taken from ITEC (Pasadena Foothills Association MLS service)

If you are interested in beginning your search
for a Monterey Hills condominium or townhouse, please click on the
search
home link.

For weekly updates on Monterey
Hills real estate market activity, please feel free to request
market analysis reports with detailed information by clicking
here. These reports are gathered and updated by Altos Research and
will be emailed to you with my compliments.

Posted by Irina
Netchaev, Monterey Hills Real Estate
Agent 626-627-7107

I've been posting monthly
real estate market report updates on this site for cities around Pasadena.
One of the key real estate indicators that I refer to is the Market
Action Index or MAI.

What is the Market Action Index ? And, why does the
Market Action Indicator matter?

Residential house prices are a function of supply and demand, and
market MARKET ACTION INDEX conditions can be characterized by
analyzing those factors.

My research company, Altos Research
uses an algorithm to divide a Buyer's Market from a Seller's Market. The red
line at 30 is that line.

For example in the graph below for Pasadena's
real estate market, it has been a COLD, BUYER'S MARKET
since end of 2007 with the MAI hovering quite a bit under the balanced market of
30, closer to 15. Now, this graph is for the entire Pasadena real estate market.
Each zip code within the city has a different MAI.

Come back to this site to watch this index for sustained changes:
if the index falls into the Buyer's Market zone for a long period, prices are
likely in for a downward correction.

The Market Action Index (MAI) illustrates the
balance between supply and demand using a statistical function of the current
rate of sale versus current inventory.

An MAI value greater than 30 typically indicates a "Seller's
Market" (a.k.a. "Hot Market") because demand is high enough to quickly gobble up
available supply. A hot market will typically cause prices to rise. MAI values
below 30 indicate a "Buyer's Market" (a.k.a. "Cold Market")
where the inventory of already-listed homes is sufficient to last several months
at the current rate of sales. A cold market will typically cause prices to
fall.

If you are interested in receiving a weekly real estate market
reports with the Market Price Index, you can request
Market Real Estate Report here and it will be emailed to you
automatically each Monday. This is a report that I order specifically for the
readers of my website from Altos Research who specializes
specifically in real estate housing market activity throughout the country.

I currently offer real estate market reports for Pasadena, Alhambra, San
Marino, South Pasadena, Monterey Hills (under Los Angeles 90042), Arcadia,
Altadena, San Gabriel and more.

If you have additional questions about the state of the Pasadena housing
market, please call me at 626-629-8439 .

Irina :-)

I just came across a chart from my favorite real-time real estate analysis company - Altos Research - analyzing the health of Pasadena California's real estate market in January of 2006. I thought it would be interesting to compare the above Pasadena real estate snapshot to the one that was just received on December 15, 2008 - almost 2 years later.

Looking at these Pasadena housing statistics side by side, it's interesting to note the following:

• Median List price is 20% lower in 2008 vs. 2006
• There are properties for as low as $120,000 in 2008. The lowest priced home in January of 2006 was $459,000.
• Average price per square foot of Pasadena homes for sale dropped by 17.6%.
• The available Pasadena home inventory increased by almost 54%!
• It is taking twice as long to market a home now - almost 4.5 months.
• 44% of homes listed expire and have to be relisted by Pasadena realtors compared to only 17% in December of 2006. Main reason for re-listing Pasadena homes is incorrect and overly high pricing.
• Which leads to 2 out of 3 properties needing a price reduction - 40%.

READ More: Pasadena real estate market statistics - October 2008

State of Pasadena Housing Market by Chief Economist of California Association of Realtors

Search for Pasadena homes:

READ MORE:  Pasadena real estate update 2012 – see luxury home sales.

Irina is a Top Realtor and the founder and President of Pasadena Views Real Estate Team™. She is available to assist you in all of your Real Estate transactions. Email or call her today at (626)629-8439.

Are you relocating to Pasadena?  If so, take a look at our 365 Things To Do In Pasadena® .  Call us at 626-629-8439 to schedule a time for your free home buyer or home seller consultation!

Read More:  Most expensive homes in Pasadena

Interested in more information about Pasadena and surrounding cities, check out our City Guides below:

Alhambra City Guide

Altadena City Guide

Arcadia City Guide

Monterey Hills City Guide

Pasadena City Guide

San Gabriel City Guide

San Marino City Guide

Sierra Madre City Guide

South Pasadena City Guide
And, if you are interested in fun activities to do in Pasadena, take a look at our 365 Things To Do In Pasadena® page.

Thinking of selling your Pasadena home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Irina Netchaev at (626) 629-8439 to discuss what is happening in today’s Pasadena Real Estate Market.

This question comes up quite often these days:

"What is the difference between a foreclosure property and REO (real estate owned)?
A foreclosure is a legal process in which, against the wishes of the owner, real property is sold to satisfy a public or private debt for which the real property has been pledged as security.
Real Estate Owned (REO) is real property that has been foreclosed by a lender and is now owned by the lender.
There's a lot of confusion between a foreclosure and REOs. When real estate buyers call me asking about foreclosures in most instances, they are really inquiring about REOs and here's why?

• A foreclosure property goes through a foreclosure auction which is usually held on an assigned date on the steps of a local court house.
• Foreclosure property buyers need to be able to purchase the property for ALL CASH.
• Foreclosure property buyers inherit all unpaid liens, including mortgage debt, taxes, construction loans, home equity lines of credit, and possibly a second or third mortgage.

On the other hand, an REO property is:

• REO property is already owned by the bank.
• Home buyers are able to get a regular mortgage or loan on that property. All cash is not needed.
• REO properties in most instances come with clear title.

Five things to look for when purchasing REO or already foreclosed homes:

1. Work with your Pasadena realtor and the Title Company representative to ensure that the title to the Pasadena home you're buying is free and clear.
2. Understand that most foreclosures occur in a down-trending market. Factor in falling home prices into your purchase offer. Look at the current local market conditions and historical trends prior to submitting your offer to the bank.
3. Banks do NOT provide many disclosures, so be prepared for surprises. Ensure that all home inspections are completed - don't forget a sewer line inspection - prior to close of escrow.
4. Look for neighborhoods that are not overrun with foreclosures. Neighborhoods with many foreclosures might offer better prices, but will take a lot longer to turn around and the home prices will continue to depreciate.
5. If you are looking to buy an already foreclosed property as an investment, be aware that lenders charge higher interest rates on 2nd homes and investment property. Speak to a lender and get fully approved prior to making an offer.

Below is a list of REOs or already foreclosed homes in San Gabriel Valley including Pasadena and surrounding cities:

Interested in discussing if a foreclosed home is right for you? Give me a call at 626-627-7107.

The number of home sales in Altadena has plummeted in November to 17 from 30. That's quite a drastic drop in sales with December not looking any more promising since the number of Altadena homes in escrow at only 18.

Overall, the price per square foot is holding in the low $300s, but Altadena homes in the higher price range are just not moving. That's indicative of the Altadena median home price dropping to $360,000.

Altadena homes on the market now are averaging around $730,000.

The highest priced home in Altadena for sale in November was at 1690 East Altadena listed for $2,850,000.

The lowest priced Altadena home for sale in November was at 849 Figueroa Drive for $240,000.

Below is a list of all Altadena homes for sale in the Multiple Listing Service.
To get notified of new Altadena listings as they come up on the market, please register for a free VIP account and set up your own Altadena home criteria and as many searches as you would like:

To search Altadena foreclosures, as well as, foreclosures in Pasadena and surrounding cities, please see the list below:

Data compiled from ITEC (Pasadena Foothill Association Multiple Listing
Service)

I invite you to request
Altadena's real estate market real time reports by clicking How's the
Market button on my real estate blog. These reports are compiled
by Altos Research and the analysis is
emailed to you weekly. I also offer real estate market reports for San Gabriel,
San Marino, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Arcadia, Altadena, Monterey Hills and
more.

If you would like to search
for homes in Altadena, please visit the free
home search here on this real
estate website.

For a private consultation about buying or selling your Alhambra
home, or if you have other real estate related questions, I'd love to
hear from you at 626.627.7107.

Posted by Irina Netchaev, real estate broker