by Brian Brady

The MBS market has improved dramatically since the new FHFA seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. An implicit government backing of mortgage bonds became explicit with that single event. The rate difference, or spread as we call it, between gov?t bonds and mortgage bonds, has narrowed from abnormally high margins. This means that mortgage rates dropped as much as .375% since the gov?t takeover. Alas, I think that party is a bit short-lived. The exuberance appears to be a bit irrational and the reality of impending bank failures has worried the MBS market again. Short-term, I?m advising clients to lock-in these low rates and be done with it.

For Pasadena home buyers who are in escrow with a 30 day time period until closing, I?m advising that they lock as well. Rates may spike up and come back down ,to these below 6% levels, but I don?t see a great opportunity for the medium-term to improve upon today?s already low rates.

Longer-term, mortgage applicants may find mortgage rates higher than they are today. The realization that SOMEONE has to pay for this bailout will hit everyone, after the election, and treasury bond yields should rise, pushing the MBS yields, and mortgage rates, higher as well. Not a rosy picture.

So, lock those loans at application. While the current 30-year fixed rate loan offering, with 1% origination fee, is 5.75%, for a conforming loan (6.02% apr), the risk of those rates popping up to the 6% level far outweighs the reward of holding out for 5.625%.

Originally posted at www.MillionaireRealEstateLender.com

PS- Please check out Brian's references on LinkedIn

This evening, I attended the grand opening of the Granite Park luxury private residence sales office in Pasadena. Many Pasadena real estate agents visited the sales office to get an inside look at the urban living, luxury condos being built on the corner of Lake and California, right behind where Jennifer Lopez had her Madre restaurant.

These luxury residences were inspired by the work of Irving Gill (1870-1936.) There's a elegance to Granite Park, with an emphasis on simplicity. While rooted in the California modern style of the 30's, its effect is not one of a bygone era. It's timeless.

This luxury complex pays homage to Irving Gill's signature style, while at the same time updating it. It's a look that emphasizes arches and clean lines. Indoor and outdoor spaces interact and flow effortlessly into one another. Open areas and secret gardens make Granite Park a private oasis. It's a design we believe will stand the test of time. Much like he man whose work inspired it.

Pasadena's Granite Park will offer 71 exclusive private residences with two to three bedrooms. Each one of these luxury Pasadena condos will have a large private terrace, some as large as 1,400 sq. ft. Each luxury residence is unique and no two are alike.

These exclusive private residences will feature:

• Concierge Services with 24 hour security
• Viking Professional Series Appliances - and boy were they beautiful!
• Premium Kohler fixtures
• Secure Underground side-by-side Parking
• Irving Gill Inspired Architecture
• Dennis Hopper curated photography gallery in the lobby
• Lush & Evocative Old California Style Landscaping
• Private Walkways, Meditation Areas, and Gardens
• Resort-Style Pool & Spa
• Barbeque Area
• Putting Green

The model struck me as being very dramatic and spacious. Kitchen featured quartz counter-tops and stainless steel Viking appliances. And, of course, this luxurious complex is centrally located in South Lake shopping district.

Prices have not been set yet, but I was told that the Pasadena buyers will need to pay somewhere between $1 million to over $2 million for one of these luxurious residences.

If you are interested in getting more information about reserving one of these luxury condos, please call me at 626-627-7107 or email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com and we will schedule a tour of the Granite Park Pasadena Showroom. At this point, reservations only are being taken, but Granite Park will be ready to go under contract in January 2009.

Currently there are 30 San Marino single family homes listed for $1,000,000 or above and only three homes under $1,000,000.

The highest listing is for $8,900,000 located at 1385 Old Mill Road near Lacy Park. It's 8 bedrooms and 7 baths with over 7,000 sq. ft.

The lowest San Marino home for sale now is priced in a range between $899,999 and $968,000. This San Marino home is located at 632 Plymouth Road in the San Marino Mission District.

There are 10 San Marino luxury properties over $1,000,000 under contract (in escrow) now.

In August, there were 12 closed luxury sales in San Marino:

1. 1470 Lorain Road, San Marino - listed for $1,450,000 and sold for $1,498,000 OVER ASKING

2. 1480 Rubio Drive, San Marino - listed for $1,549,000 and sold for $1,458,000

3. 1525 Bradbury Road, San Marino - listed for $1,188,000 and sold for $1,165,000

4. 1775 Sharon Place, San Marion - listed for $1,296,000 and sold for $1,380,000 OVER ASKING

5. 1814 Lorain Road, San Marino - listed for $1,985,000 and sold for $2,000,000 OVER ASKING

6. 1870 Carlisle Drive, San Marino - listed for $1,175,000 and sold for $1,100,000

7. 2133 Lorain Road, San Marino - listed for $1,699,000 and sold for $1,695,000

8. 2280 Sherwood Road, San Marino - listed for $1,498,000 and sold for $1,500,000 OVER ASKING

9. 2315 Ridgeway Road, San Marino - listed for $1,525,000 and sold for $1,558,000 OVER ASKING

10. 2345 Ridgeway Road, San Marino - listed for $1,388,000 and sold for $1,325,000

11. 2437 Cumberland Road, San Marino - listed for $1,425,000 and sold for $1,365,000

12. 2905 Gainsborough Drive, San Marino - listed for $2,683,000 and sold for $2,520,000

Information gathered from ITEC (Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors)

If you are ready to start your San Marino luxury home search or thinking of relocating to San Marino and would like more information, please visit our San Marino website here.

READ MORE: San Marino Schools are #1 in California again!

My friend and one of the top realtors in Miami Beach luxury real estate market place, Ines Hegedus Garcia does a fabulous monthly post focusing on Million dollar luxury homes. Following in Ines's footsteps, Pasadena Real Estate blog will be doing a monthly post featuring Pasadena luxury properties. So without further ado, here's the August Million Dollar Sales for Pasadena.

Currently there are 94 Pasadena single family properties currently listed for $1,000,000 or above.

The highest listing is for $19,000,000 in the beautiful Oak Knoll neighborhood of Pasadena. Located at 2 Oak Knoll Terrace next to Langham Pasadena Hotel (formerly Pasadena Ritz Carlton.)

The lowest listing over $1,000,000 is listed for $1,058,000 - a 3 bedroom/3 bath home in North East Pasadena at 3145 San Pasqual. It is situated on 2.45 acres and has its own private art gallery.

There are 23 Pasadena luxury properties over $1,000,000 under contract (in escrow) now.

In August, there were 19 closed sales:

1. 3610 Shadow Grove, Pasadena - listed for $1,099,000 and sold for $1,075,000

2. 203 Columbia Street, Pasadena - listed for $1,650,000 and sold for $1,560,000

3. 435 Woodward Blvd, Pasadena - listed for $3,600,000 and sold for $3,250,000

4. 455 South San Rafael, Pasadena - listed for $5,750,000 and sold for $5,750,000

5. 466 Fillmore Street, Pasadena - listed for $1,349,000 and sold for $1,300,000

6. 430 Laguna Road, Pasadena - listed for $2,195,000 and sold for $2,305,500

7. 715 Lakewood Place, Pasadena - listed for $1,299,000 and sold for $1,299,000

8. 717 Heatherside Road, Pasadena - listed for $1,098,000 and sold for $1,033,000

9. 736 Arden Street, Pasadena - listed for $1,100,000 and sold for $1,035,000

10. 568 Rosemont Street, Pasadena - listed for $1,999,999 and sold for $1,900,000

11. 856 Vallombrosa Drive, Pasadena - listed for $1,175,000 and sold for $1,300,000

12. 965 Arden Road, Pasadena - listed for $2,795,000 and sold for $2,600,000

13. 1064 Linda Vista, Pasadena - listed for $2,095,000 and sold for $2,020,000

14. 835 Chula Vista Avenue, Pasadena - listed for $1,350,000 and sold for $1,230,000

15. 1220 Charles Street, Pasadena - listed for $1,350,000 and sold for $1,350,000

16. 1438 Ontario Avenue, Pasadena - listed for $1,100,000 and sold for $1,050,000

17. 1525 Glen Oaks Blvde, Pasadena - listed for $3,900,000 and sold for $3,500,000

18. 1645 Homet Road, Pasadena - listed for $1,249,000 and sold for $1,205,000

19. 1419 Edgehill Place, Pasadena - listed for $1,295,000 and sold for $1,200,000

If you are interested in Pasadena luxury million dollar condos and townhomes, there are 7 current condos for sale over $1,000,000 and one townhome that sold for over $1,000,000.

2023 Rosemont Avenue #4 in Pasadena sold this month for $1,050,000. This townhome was originally listed for sale at $1,100,000.

If you are ready to start your Pasadena luxury home search or would like to find a million dollar condo or townhome, please visit our home search page.

In this post, Pasadena California Real Estate blog will reveal the secret and answer the question that every real estate home buyer has been asking recently.

How do I know when the Pasadena real estate market hits bottom?

Ladies and gentlmen, the answer is very simple:

There is only one way to know that the real estate market has bottomed out and that is when the real estate prices start going up!

Simple, isn't it?

There's no way, none what so ever, to time the real estate market. Many have tried and some lucked into buying at the right time at the bottom of the market.

Take a look at the graph below. It shows how difficult it is to time the real estate market because it's not consistently linear.

Gary Keller, the author of "The Shift" explains it as the real estate buyers being in the lucky or unlucky zones or purchasing a home in the "safe" zone.

Gary says "You know the market has bottomed out when it starts back up and you know the market has peaked when it starts back down. The safe zone is where smart people plan to buy an dsell. Anyone who buys at the top of a real estate market is just unlucky and anyone who buys at the bottom of a market is just lucky."

Gary goes on to say that "people who buy in a buyers' market are the smart ones. They're buying in the safe zone and living in the area of certainty. They're not unrealistic and they're not greedy. They know they can't predict the end of a bust, but they can see when a market has fallen consdierably."

So if you are interested in buying a home in Pasadena and are wondering if the Pasadena market has bottomed out, ask yourself:

Has the market dropped enough to make a sensible purchase?

To help you answer that question, track the Pasadena real estate monthly statistics report that are available on this Pasadena Real Estate Blog and sign up for Pasadena real estate market weekly statistics that I make available to you from Altos Research. I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether or not we're close to seeing Pasadena real estate market bottom out.

Luxury condos and townhouses for sale over a million dollars in Pasadena are in demand.

Below, you can find a list with all available Pasadena luxury condos and town houses  for sale listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Feel free to click on any property for more information like price, interior details, photographs and more. You can also create a VIP account which will save your home searches and will email new home listings to you as they become available. This way, you will not miss your opportunity to own a luxury residence in Pasadena California.

Give us a call at (626) 629-8439 if you would like to schedule a time to see any of these homes for sale or meet for a home buyer consultation.

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!

Pasadena Views Real Estate Team
Pasadena Real Estate Agents
(626) 629-8439
Email Us Here

For the straight five years, San Marino California has the distinction of being in the top 5 rated California school districts. The scores are out and San Marino (SMUSD) has earned the highest Academic Performance Index (API) score in the state - 944 out of 1,000!

The API is a single number, ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, that reflects a school's performance level, based on the results of statewide testing.

3 of the 5 highest performing California School districts are in the Pasadena area - San Marino, La Canada and Arcadia.

Here are the top California School Districts:

Congratulations are in order to the students, teachers, administration and parents!

San Marino real estate and home values have always been driven by the success of its schools. Many potential San Marino home buyers are looking to buy in San Marino after doing an analysis of private school tuitions and investment in a San Marino homes.

With San Marino home prices holding steady, it's clear to see that schools are still the driving factor for many relocating families.

If you are interested in moving to San Marino, click here to see all available homes for sale in San Marino.

Read More: San Marino, California

San Marino Real Estate Deals - my monthly Dusty Deals report!

Here are the actual API scores as posted on September 4, 2008:

I was reading a post earlier today by Jennifer Allan about the definition of a good real estate agent. Jennifer is an author of five books about the business of selling real estate. She is a real estate coach and contributes regular articles on real estate related subjects to many different on-line venues.

I run into many different real estate agents on a daily basis. Some Pasadena real estate agents have tons of experience and others are just starting out. The prevalant change in the Pasadena real estate community is the change from being egocentric to customer focused.

To this day, many real estate agents flaunt their "multi-million" dollar status, being a top producer, being in the top % of their real estate company, etc. Not too many Pasadena real estate agents talk about how they can help their real estate consumer, what a real estate agent does for his or her customer to ensure that they're delighted with their service, etc.

Receiving and reviewing real estate purchase offer contracts, it is clear that the training for the majority of real estate professionals is not stellar. If you are or were a real estate seller, all you have to do is look at the real estate purchase counter offer to see how many items a great real estate agent would need to address or "clean up" prior to acceptance - and I'm not talking strictly about the price.

So... forgive me for going on about this, but it's a sensitive subject that is near and dear to my heart. One Pasadena real estate agent can create an impression on countless potential real estate consumers. As they say, perception is reality!

Here's a list that Jennifer put together when she was asked about "what makes a good real estate agent".

A Pasadena Real Estate Agent should:

"You know your market, your systems and your contracts.

You are a good negotiator.

You put your clients' needs above your need for a paycheck.

You know how to properly price a home.

You know what your seller needs to do to get his home ready for market.

You know how to build rapport with your seller so that he trusts you.

You know how to take decent photos.

You know how to write an appealing MLS description.

You return phone calls promptly.

You preview listings so you don't waste your buyer's time.

You know how much it costs to replace a 50 year old furnace.

You have a handyman, a cleaning service and a good HVAC contractor.

You're pleasant to other agents so they're happy to show your listings or accept your offers.

You keep your brochure boxes full.

Your lockboxes work..."

My additions to her list:

A great real estate agent writes clean contracts.

A great real estate agent strategizes with their client on how to make their offer stand out - price AND terms.

A great real estate agent takes educational classes and strives to continually learn as the industry is changing.

A great real estate agent networks with other real estate agents locally and throughout the country to share best practices.

A great real estate agent should respond to emails immediately.

A great real estate agent should know how to market a home they're selling on the web

A great real estate agent should be in touch with the changing real estate marketing techniques... Old school is good, but not enough... need to incorporate new and exciting techniques in helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs.

A great real estate agent creates dynamic on-line presentations to market homes.

A great real estate agent is not afraid to say "I don't know", but I will research and get back to you.

A great real estate agent is honest and ethical!

There's a lot more that I can add to this, but you get my point, right?

Old school where it's all about me is OUT! New school - all about the real estate consumer is in.

Is your Pasadena real estate agent, a great real estate agent?