Langham Hotel, previously known as the Pasadena Ritz Carlton, is surrounded by some of the most beautiful luxurious estates in Pasadena and San Marino.  So, if you are curious to see what's available in the Langham Huntington Hotel Neighborhood, let's take a look at a couple of homes I previewed today.

1535 Kenmore Road, Pasadena

My personal favorite of the tour.  This 4 bedroom, 3 bath home is right around the corner, on a cul-de-sac, with a tranquil and peaceful back yard. 

Per Listing Agent:  An entry is a journey, & architect Miller Fong has employed harmony, flow & spatial dynamics to guide us into his own stylish contemporary world. This striking residence is open & livable w/ a flexible floor plan, walls of glass & remarkable vistas. On entering, a serpentine wall leads past a spacious den w/ fireplace towards the great room w/ generous seating area, fireplace, dining space & fantastic kitchen w/ newer stainless appliances. The materials are exciting: a mosaic tile backsplash is juxtaposed against a polished, stained concrete floor; marble counters are a foil for sponged walls; & natural skylights contrast w/ European, low voltage cable strung lighting. A convenient guest bath & laundry are adjacent. The master suite offers a grand picture window, a spectacular bath w/ Jacuzzi tub & wall-less garden shower & a dream dressing room that shares the entry's dramatic serpentine wall. 3 additional bedrooms, a handsome bath & extensive patio space complete this exquisite home.

 

Listed with Tink Cheney, Coldwell Banker

830 Huntington Garden Drive, Pasadena California

This home is right behind the Langham on the magical Huntington Garden Drive.

Per Listing Agent A traditional Cape Cod near the Langham Hotel on a quiet street. The lovely kitchen is updated with granite counters and newer appliances. A large bedroom suite is on the same floor level with the living room, the dining room, & kitchen. The living room is special living space with an elegant fireplace, and views over the pool. The family room is downstairs with bathroom, and 3 bedrooms with access to pool area and gardens. There is a stone patio, a wood deck and grassy area with a beautiful pool. The bathrooms are marble with granite counters hardwoods and limestone floors.

Listed with Monica Wilson (w/ Janet Fitzgerald), Coldwell Banker

445 Buena Vista Street, San Marino California

Close enough to the Langham, but just a few blocks away from San Marino's Mission District and infamous Julienne's Restaurant.  The best of both worlds!  In conversation with the listing agent, this property is not expected to be available for longer than a week or so.  Multiple offers expected.

Per Listing Agent: FABULOUS MONTEREY COLONIAL HOME IN THE POPULAR MISSION DISTRICT. A WONDERFUL NEIGHBORHO0D NEAR PASADENA & SOUTH PASADENA,PLUS EASY ACCESS TO THE 110 FREEWAY.Y0U WILL LOVE THIS LOCATION. DON'T MISS THIS LOVELY SPACIOUS, REMODELED HOME; IT'S A TRUE GEM. GREAT 3RD FLOOR LOWER LEVEL WITH A FIREPLACE, 2 WINDOWS, BUILT-IN CUPBOARDS, AND NEWER CARPET.A PERFECT AREA FOR A MEDIA ROOM OR RECREATIONAL AREA.

Listed with Linda O'Neal, Dilbeck Realtors

1335 Saint Albans Road San Marino

This home is also in San Marino known for its #1 rated California Public Schools.  It is almost across the street from Lacy Park with its rose garden and tennis courts.  If you're looking for a Mid-Century this luxury property might be for you.

Per Listing Agent - A spacious one story mid century home situated on over 1/2 acre (25,200 sq.ft.) in one of the most desirable San Marino locations, adjacent to Lacy Park and the Huntington Library. Enter this beautiful home through Chinese fret work entrance. This home features 4bed, 3ba., powder room, large living room with raised marble fireplace, formal dining room, kitchen with breakfast area, charming wood paneled family room with built in book shelves, corner fireplace and wet bar, a grand sized multipurpose garden room overlooking and opening out to rear patio gardens and pool. The exquisite professionally landscaped front and rear gardens featuring oversized resort style pool, specimen trees: palms, bamboo, foliage plantings and ferns, rear patio, private rear deck, two 2-car detached garages, all add to and extend the livability of the San Marino residence.

Listed with Linda Chang (w/ Brent Chang), Coldwell Banker

Listing information for properties above is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Take a look at some of the other San Marino homes for sale below:

 

For specific details of the home above, please visit San Marino Luxury Homes For Sale.

 

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

PasadenaViews Real Estate Team

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

Irina at PasadenaViews.com

(626)629-VIEW (8439)

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00AB60

San Marino homes are missing in action... there's very limited inventory of homes for sale in San Marino under $2 million.  Only a few homes are available for sale under $1.5 million and plenty of home buyers ready to move their families into this exclusive city and send their kids to the best rates school district in California.

Looking at the last couple of months, the average sales price of a home in San Marino is close to $2 million and only a few homes came up on the market in February.  The three homes listed were between $1.98 Million and $5.388 Million.

Single Family Residence	Dec-09	Jan-10	Feb-10
New Listings	7	7	3
Total Listings	25	24	22
Sales Pending	9	4	5
Homes Sold	15	8	3
Listings Expired	7	1	5
Average Days on the Market	41	57	213
Average Price Per Sq. Ft.	$612	$593	$535
Median Selling Price	$1,750,000	$1,429,900	$1,900,000
Average Selling Price	$1,877,617	$2,153,100	$1,826,667
Absorption Rate (# of weeks to sell current inventory at present rate of sales)	7.2	13.0	31.8

Read More:  Pasadena Real Estate Trends

Here are some interesting San Marino real estate statistics:

Average San Marino Home Price Sold in January of 2010 was $2,153,000

Average San Marino Home Price Sold in February of 2005 was $1,670,000 - 9.3% lower than February 2010.

Average San Marino Home Price Sold in February of 2009 was $1,450,000 - 25.9% lower than February 2010.

San Marino's real estate 10 year trend:

This graph is pretty telling... San Marino homes continue to be a great investment.  Price per square foot has more than doubled since February of 2000!

1 month			1 year			10 years
	Nov 09	Feb 10	% Change	Feb 09	Feb 10	% Change	Feb 00	Feb 10	% Change
Avg. Sq. Ft. Price	566	607	7.3%	597	607	1.7%	303	607	100.5%

Real estate statistics above have been pulled from the Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors, ITEC MLS. 

If you are looking to buy a home in San Marino or just would like to keep abreast of the real estate inventory, take a look at the San Marino homes for sale below:

 

 

 

To see all the details on these real estate listings, please visit our San Marino listing feed here. It is updated every 2 hours as new homes come up for sale.

If you are interested in selling your San Marino home and would like to find out how much it is worth, give us a call for a free and confidential consultation at 626-629-8439.

 

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

San Marino Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00A92F

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)

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00A5BD

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)

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00A566

It has always been surprising to me to see a very stable turnover of homes in San Marino California.  Overall, San Marino is a pretty small town with only 4,500 housing units.  All of them are single family homes - no condos or townhomes.  However, for the last several years, each month, we see about 40 available home listings and somewhere around a dozen sales.

Here's a visual representation of home value available for sale vs sold in San Marino over the last five years:

Just to make it a bit clearer, take a look at the volume data below:

1 month			1 year			5 years
	Aug 09	Sep 09	% Change	Sep 08	Sep 09	% Change	Sep 04	Sep 09	% Change
For Sale	40	45	12.5%	49	45	-8.2%	104	45	-56.7%
Sold	13	13	0%	8	13	62.5%	33	13	-60.6%
Pended	12	12	0%	7	12	71.4%	29	12	-58.6%

San Marino real estate activity for the months of June through September 2009 including median home price is below:

Single Family Residence	Jun-09	Jul-09	Aug-09	Sep-09
New Listings	11	17	13	16
Total Listings	36	41	41	44
Sales Pending	15	14	17	14
Homes Sold	16	12	13	12
Listings Expired	3	5	5	7
Average Days on the Market	67	63	80	48
Average Price Per Sq. Ft.	$566	$582	$606	$562
Median Selling Price	$1,435,500	$1,515,500	$1,390,000	$1,540,000
Average Selling Price	$1,922,125	$1,738,242	$1,773,538	$1,544,250
Absorption Rate (# of weeks to sell current inventory at present rate of sales)	9.8	14.8	13.7	15.9

The highest priced home in San Marino for sale is at 1221 Virginia Road.  It is listed for sale at $9,288,000.

The lowest priced home in San Marino is listed for sale at $948,000 and is located at 2225 S Los Robles Avenue.

All homes for sale in San Marino are listed below:

 

To see San Marino home details, please visit San Marino homes for sale.

For additional information on any of these homes or a private consultation about your real estate needs, please contact Irina Netchaev, your San Marino real estate agent at 626-204-3340.

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/009E1F