I found this Chicago Tribune economy comparison at Pat Kitano's blog. Pat has one of the most insightful real estate/economy and social media blogs on the web today. I read it daily and recommend that you subscribe to his blog in your google reader as well.

As I review this, the outlook for our country is not very favorable. Median household income is lower than 8 years ago, defense spending is up 79.3% at 545 billion dollars, we have managed to spend 643 billion dollars over the last 8 years (remember the approved financial bail out package is 700 billion dollars), and gas prices are through the roof. How about congress considers getting out of a hopeless war and paying more attention to the health and stability of their own country.

What do you think?

So, what's going on with Altadena? Inventory is increasing and prices are going down. We are in a very strong buyer's market in Altadena. The number of homes under contract has increased which will help the situation if home buyers will be able to get financing and close escrows. Price per square foot of sold homes has increased although the overall Altadena home price has increased. Home buyers are careful with how much they are willing to pay and are buying smaller homes.

Condos and townhomes in Altadena are non-existent at the moment.

Altadena Real Estate Market Statistics for June through September 2008:

Real estate data based on information from ITEC (Pasadena Foothills Association MLS service)

SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE IN ALTADENA (Single Family Residences)

SEARCH ALTADENA CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES FOR SALE

Real estate market activity with real time updated data can be found on Pasadena California Real Estate Blog's How is the Real estate Market tab. These real estate housing reports are gathered and updated by Altos Research and will be emailed to you with my compliments.

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Real Estate Agent.

The inventory of South Pasadena homes for sale has increased in Septtember mostly because of homes falling out of escrow last month. The number of newly listed homes has remained consistently at around 10 a month. Even though the average # of days of sold South Pasadena homes is running a bit over 2 months, the homes that are currently available for sale have been on the market for over 3 months, an average of 107 days.

Most South Pasadena homes sold last month were closed at 8% below asking price. Only one home sold over asking price at 822 Arroyo Drive. It was originally priced at $699,000 and closed escrow at $715,000.

It will take over 28 weeks to sell the South Pasadena home inventory given no additional listings and the same rate of sale as in September.

The lowest priced home in South Pasadena is at 1800 Meridian Avenue - $474,900.

The highest priced home in South Pasadena is at 851 Lyndon Street - $3,450,000.

Condos and townhouse sales in South Pasadena have remained pretty flat with no major changes from last month.

The lowest priced condo for sale in South Pasadena is at 116 marmion Way #10 - $339,000

The highest priced townhome for sale in South Pasadena is at 1907 Leman Street - $829,000

South Pasadena Real Estate Market Statistics for June through September 2008:

Real estate data based on information from ITEC (Pasadena Foothills Association MLS service)

South Pasadena real estate market activity with real time updated data can be found on Pasadena California Real Estate Blog's How is the Real estate Market tab. These South Pasadena real estate housing reports are gathered and updated by Altos Research and will be emailed to you with my compliments.

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Pasadena Real Estate Agent.

Inventory for Alhambra single family homes for sale was lower from August to September for both new home listings (18 new Alhambra listings to 14) and overall homes on the market (67 active listings in August to 54 active Alhambra listings in September.) Closed Alhambra sales unfortunately were down drastically in September from the summer high of 21 homes sold in August to only 13 Alhambra homes closing contract in September.

If homes don't sell as quickly, but the inventory is still pretty much the same, we're looking at higher absorption rates and lower prices down the road, especiallly moving into the slower fall and winter months. This will create excellent opportunity for cash rich and credit strong buyers and lower profits for sellers.

If you have an Alhambra home for sale or are considering selling your Alhambra home, t is more critical now than ever to track the real estate market trends and not overprice your house. There's no point in putting your home on the market and listing it in the MLS if you are not serious about selling or if you do not have to sell right now.

The market's downward trends are shared across both price and value. Consumers are recently placing less value on homes (you can see the recent declines in price per square foot for SFR - single family homes - as evidence.) Look for significant changes in the Market Action Index as a precursor to price and value changes, possibly as inflection points for good investment opportunities.

Alhambra Real Estate Market Statistics and Key Indicators for June 2008 through September 2008:

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

If you would like to search for homes in Alhambra, 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 626.629.8439.

Posted by Irina Netchaev, real estate broker

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!

Even though, the inventory of homes in San Marino is fairly stable and is not increasing the number of San Marino homes sold is almost 50% less in September compared to August. October will not look much better since only six San Marino homes are in escrow right now, but new home listings are holding steady at about 11 to 13 homes a month - double the buyers' demand. This can potentially lead to an overabundance of homes on the market and reduction of prices especially going into the slowest season of the real estate cycle - winter.

San Marino listings are also being priced higher than the average selling price over the last several months. The average price per sq. ft. for active San Marino homes in the MLS is $653. The sold price per sq. ft. is listed below - September closed at $625. It's also interesting to note that the 6 San Marino homes currently under contract average out at $598 a sq. ft.

Of the eight San Marino home sales last month, three of these homes sold over asking price, with the highest priced sale for the month at $2,580,000 for 20 Mill Canyon Road. This home was originally listed for sale at $2,888,888.

The lowest priced San Marino home on the market is $875,000 at 1913 S Los Robles.

The highest prices San Marino home on the market is $8,900,000 at 1385 Old Mill Road.

Read More: San Marino Real Estate Market Report for August 2008

San Marino Real Estate Statistics for June 2008 to September 2008:

To give you a better understanding of what is happening in the San Marino real estate market, the graph below shows how the homes are selling in each quartile. A quartile is 25% of the total San Marino homes listed. The quartiles have been broken out as follows:

Quartile #1 - 25% of most expensive San Marino homes

Quartile #2 - 25% of upper middle priced San Marino homes

Quartile #3 - 25% of lower middle priced San Marino homes

Quartile #4 - 25% of least expensive San Marino homes

In reviewing the above graph, we can see that home prices in most of San Marino quartiles have been trending higher in recent weeks except for the high-end of the real estate market, which has been essentially flat.

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

FIND SAN MARINO HOMES FOR SALE

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

As September rolls around, home buyers usually see a decrease in new homes on the market. Not this September - Pasadena's real estate inventory is as strong as it was during the summer months. Pasadena home inventory increased for Single Family Homes (SFR), Condos and Townhomes - across the board. Absorption rate is going up as well which means that these pasadena home listings will take longer to sell than before.

Pasadena SFR sales sold close to asking price at an average of 96.62%. 25 out of 59 home sales sold at full price or over asking.

The lowest priced closed SFR sale was for $230,000 at 816 Lincoln Avenue.

The highest priced closed SFR sale closed at $2,950,000. This Pasadena luxury home was at 1805 Kinneloa Mesa Road.

READ MORE: Pasadena Real Estate Market and Housing Report for October 2008

Looking at the Pasadena condominium statistics below, you will notice that the price per square foot of homes sold increased from $397 to $445. The driving force behind this increase is the multiple sales of condos in the new condominium project at 217 S. Marengo in Pasadena. Pasadena home shoppers want newly built homes and are willing to pay for them.

The Market Action Index indicator has remained relatively flat not providing strong indicators for real estate market conditions.

Housing Market Statistics for Pasadena - June 2008 through September 2008:

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

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

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.

By: Brian Brady

America's #1 Mortgage Broker

The bailout bill passed the House after a decisive victory in the Senate; it is certain to be signed into law by President Bush. From Bloomberg.com:

These steps represent decisive action to ease the credit crunch that is now threatening our economy," President George W. Bush said at the White House after the vote. He said he will sign the bill into law when he receives it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure has been sent to him.

The House approved the measure in a 263-171 vote, four days after rejecting an earlier version. The bill's defeat on Sept. 29 caused a 778-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prompting dozens of lawmakers to reverse their vote on the legislation, the government's largest intervention in the markets since Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.

I expect the mortgage-backed securities market to gradually improve. The euphoric response that followed the Nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a result of pent-up anxiety about the explicit government guarantee of their debt. This "bailout" is different than the Fannie/Freddie bailout. While this bailout will provide support for battered mortgages, which should result in lower mortgage rates, it is clearly a signal that the Federal government will assume a lot of losses.

What worries me (and mortgage-backed securities traders) is the propensity for other governments to stick their hand out and ask for help:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today warned that his and other states may need emergency loans if a $700 billion financial-rescue package isn't passed by Congress soon.

If this bailout restores order to the credit markets, California should be able to raise money through tax-advantaged municipal bond offerings. If this bailout is insufficient to cure the credit crunch and states need to turn to the US Treasury to solve their cash flow problems, credit markets have seized to the point of financial Armageddon.

You can safely delay your mortgage locks if you are closing on your Pasadena home sale after October 17th. Delaying your lock is a bit different from a "float" recommendation. It means that you should expect lower rates and jump on one when you feel it's "good enough". The market should remain volatile. The par rate (with no yield spread premium to the originator) should drift as low as 5.625% in the next 60 days but it may have to go through 6.125% to get there. If you're planning on refinancing your home loan, get your documentation in line, watch the Pasadena mortgage rates reports carefully, and jump on the opportunity when it presents itself.

MBS traders know in their heart that the bailout package and weakened employment data will lead to lower mortgage rates but every bump in the road (like the California request) will give them reasons to sell.

Delay your lock if you have time; lock those rates if you're closing in 14 days.

Originally posted on Millionaire Real Estate Lender

Google Maps just introduced the most amazing new feature called Street View. Here's a quick and funny video giving you a taste of what Street View is all about.

Now that you have a feel about what Street View can do, let's take a look at some serious applications of this tool. Let's say you wanted to get a feel for what Pasadena's South Lake Avenue District looks like. Take a look at this street view of the South Lake Avenue District in Pasadena that I just created. Place the curser in the middle of the map and drag it to the right and to the left to move the photo around.

View Larger Map

Can you imagine, you can go to www.maps.google.com , type in any address or destination, click on the Street View link on the top of the map and actually see the location. Imagine the possibilities as you are searching for your new Pasadena home or trying to get an idea of what a Pasadena neighborhood is like. It is definitely an amazing feature. Play with it and let me know how you like it!

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Pasadena Real Estate Agent

There were three San Marino homes on the Real Estate Broker's Open House tour today. Two of the homes were luxury estates over $3 million and one home was a San Marino home that has been on the real estate market for awhile and just had a price reduction.

Let's start with the home that just had a price reduction. It's a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 1635 Rubio Drive. This home was originally listed at $1,790,000 and in my opinion was extremely overpriced. It has a lot of deferred maintenance, doesn't show well - was not prepared for sale nor has care been taken to prepare it for any showings including previous broker open houses. All in all, it is not a surprise that the price was reduced to $1,499,000. This home has been on the San Marino real estate market for 118 days as of today. It is currently priced at $557 square feet and definitely falls into my "San Marino dusty deals" category where the seller most likely will be willing to negotiate a bit more to move this property.

New Home Listings this week: Luxury San Marino estates

As discussed on this real estate blog previously, San Marino's luxury price point starts around $3 million. A luxury home buyer in San Marino can expect an estate with a minimum of:

• 5 or more bedrooms with more than 5,000 sq. ft.
• An estate on a large lot
• A pool and a spa
• A guest house
• Location North of Huntington Drive
• Gourmet kitchen

1. 950 Roxbury Road in San Marino - Asking Price $3,650,000

This is a really lovely English Tudor situated on almost 2/3 of an acre. This home is 5 bedrooms and 5 baths with over 5,300 sq. ft. I loved the floor plan and felt there was quite a bit of light coming into the home for a Tudor. The grounds were absolutely beautiful with a rose garden, outdoor entertaining area, a 50 foot pool and a very charming guest house. This estate was nicely updated and has a three car garage. A couple of drawbacks included its location - South of Huntington Drive and close to Alhambra and this was by far the grandest home on Roxbury Road. $677 per sq. ft. seemed a bit high for the San Marino market right now. September San Marino home sales closed at $625/sq. ft. on average.

2. 660 Lombardy Place, San Marino - Asking Price $3,650,000

A Monterey Colonial Revival built by famed architects, Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury in 1927. This luxury home has 6 bedrooms and 7 baths with over 5,400 sq. ft. and sits on over 25,000 sq. ft. lot. This San Marino home has a guest house and a 4-car garage, a salt water pool and spa. This hoem exhudes tranquility and peace. It's priced at $621 per sq. ft. This San Marino home is located North of Huntington Drive, but only 1 block away from San Gabriel Blvd.

SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE IN SAN MARINO

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Real Estate Agent

I just saw an interesting video of a Pasadena real estate agent describing the process that his team uses in pricing a home to sell. The real estate agent shall remain anonymous here, but having watched the video, I was petrified in what consumers, home sellers that are relying on the real estate agents to price their homes to sell, think. As the saying goes - "perception is reality!"

In the real estate video, the home pricing process went something like this:

Real estate agent #1 - "We need to price this Pasadena home. This home doesn't show well, has a lot of deferred maintenance and really doesn't compare to any recent solds on the street." Turns to his partner and says "What do you think?"

Real estate agent #2 - " I think we price it at $649,000"

Real Estate agent #1 - "How can you justify this home sales price of $649,000 when other homes, in better condition, on same street sold for the same? I think that it's worth around $540,000"

Real estate agent #2 - "If we start out low and this home doesn't sell, we will not have room to go down in price!"

Real estate agent #1 - "Let's table this and address when we meet at the property later."

Several days later, both agents meet at the home that they are getting ready to list.

Real estate agent #1 - "So have you given any more thought to pricing this home?"

Real estate agent #2 - "Let's price this Pasadena home at $579,000 - just split the difference."

Real estate agent #1 - "Great idea!"

Shall I say more? I know that the home sellers that I work with rely on me, their Pasadena real estate agent, to do my due diligence and come up with a price that will not only help them sell their Pasadena home or condo, but also sell with the highest possible return to them.

So what goes into the decision process of pricing a home to sell in today's real estate market?

First of all, what you think a home will sell for and the price the home is presented for to the buyers are two totally different things. Pricing is yet another strategy or tool to use in selling your Pasadena home.

The saying in the real estate industry goes something like "pricing is 80% of the sale". That is very true. If a home seller overprices their home, it'll just sit there, get stale and ultimately result in a much lower selling price.

If a home seller drastically underprices their home, it'll sell fast, but will it sell for top dollar?

Should a seller "fix price" their home? Or, should a home seller "range price" their home?

What kind of homes are selling in their immediate neighborhood? What are the home's competition? Will these homes help sell your home or will your home help sell these other Pasadena homes for sale?

What was the last home price sold, price per square foot, condition of the home in the Pasadena neighborhood that the house is in?

What is the absorption rate for Pasadena and specifically the neighborhood that the home is located in?

What are the trends in the real estate industry?

How will the price help drive home buyers to see your home? Will the house's price deter potential home buyers from looking at your home?

Does the condition of the home support its price? Has the home been staged to support a higher selling price?

There are so many questions to ask and address before deciding on how to price a home correctly! It's not as simple as "let's look at the comps and come up with something in the middle."

If you are a home seller and see a video like the one I referred to, please know that not all real estate agents are created equal. Interview your real estate agent and demand the best!

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Pasadena real estate agent.