Pasadena Real Estate

UPDATE!  Drum Rolls Please...........

And... Pasadena Views Blog is the official People's Choice Winner!!!!!  Thanks to everyone who voted for making us #1!!!!

What a week! First, I was invited to present to Realtors® from all over California at the annual California Association of Realtor's convention. It's quite an honor since only one other "working" real estate agent has been invited, my co-presenter, Ted Mackell of Simi Valley Real Estate.

Immediately following the announcement, I was notified that our real estate blog has been nominated for "People's Choice Award for Best Real Estate Blog in Pasadena". This contest is being held at www.Zillow.com.

So... If you are enjoying this blog, please VOTE by clicking on the link below and selecting PASADENA VIEWS! We so appreciate your help and the recognition!!!!

We need every one of your votes!!!!

THANKS to all our loyal readers!!!!!

Interviewing to hire a real estate agent to sell your home?  With 93% of all home buyers starting their home search on-line, one of the critical questions to ask is how will your real estate utilize internet to get your home the most visibility? 

Most realtors will just place your home for sale in their MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and hope that the MLS will feed information to other sites.  Oh... and let's not forget the sign on the lawn and the flyer box.  Unfortunately, that's the extent of most real estate agent's marketing plan.

To get the top price for your home, your realtor needs to understand how to maximize all the resources available and have a comprehensive internet marketing and social media strategy.

Some of the questions to ask the realtor you're interviewing:

1.  Which internet sites will my home be listed in?

2.  Will you be able to list my home on all the major brokerage websites?

3.  What is syndication and how will that be used to market my home?

4.  Do you know how to optimize the listing of my home to ensure that it is at the top of the search page on real estate sites like realtor.com?

5.  Do you have a facebook fan page and how many followers do you have?

6.  Are you active on twitter?  How many followers do you have?

7.  Do you have a YouTube channel and what is your strategy on posting to YouTube?

8.  What is the strategy for promoting my home on classified services?  (and... I don't mean newspapers...)

9.  Do you have a blog or a website?  Both?  How many and how is it optimized?  What is the page rank? What is the traffic for your site?  Can you support it by showing me Google Analytics numbers?

10. How do you use SEO?  What is SEO?  What does this mean for my home marketing?

11. Will your Realtor use PPC to market your home?

12. Most realtors will now offer a home listing site on your home's individual domain.  However, the question to ask is, not only will your real estate agent offer that service, but where will this site be hosted?  If it's not tied to a top rated optimized site, no one will find it.

And, of course... don't forget to GOOGLE YOUR REALTOR!  You'd be surprised as to what you might find out.

Now... internet and social media strategy should not stand alone, but be part of a comprehensive marketing strategy.  However, many real estate agents are not familiar with these strategies and continue to try and sell homes with old fashioned, traditional real estate techniques.  If you want top dollar for your home, make sure that the realtor you hire is on top of the changing real estate landscape and is a pioneer in social media and internet marketing.

Why is Social Media a critical part of your home's selling strategy? 

Call me today, to see how your home can get the best of both traditional and internet marketing and understand the 5 critical areas that need to be addressed to get you what you want in the time you want it.  Get your home sold for top dollar!

PasadenaViews Real Estate Team

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

Irina at PasadenaViews.com

(626)629-VIEW (8439)

The heat is on for those who are out shopping for Pasadena homes right now - as the Homebuyers Tax Credit is about to come to an end.

Last November, the government expanded and extended the new Homebuyers Tax Credit. According to the program, first-time homebuyers are eligible for a tax credit of up to 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum credit of $8,000. And current homeowners are eligible for up to $6,500.

Although military personnel may qualify for a special extension, the vast majority of homeowners must have contracts in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and must close no later than June 30, 2010 to qualify for the credit.

This means that homebuyers now have less than one week to get their paperwork going to qualify for this credit, before it goes away!

Here are some important details about this tax credit.

Dollar-for-Dollar Benefit

The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar benefit, rather than a "tax deduction" or reduction in tax liability that would only reduce $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done.

So, if a first-time homebuyer who qualified for the entire benefit were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Even Better... It's Refundable!

Remember, because it's a tax credit, it's refundable! That means a homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little or no income tax liability.

For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

What are the Income Caps?

Single tax filers with incomes up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers with incomes of $145,000 and above are ineligible.

Joint filers with incomes up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers with incomes of $245,000 and above are ineligible.

What's the Maximum Purchase Price?

Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

READ MORE:  Pasadena's Real Estate Market Activity:  Back to Basics

Pasadena Real Estate Guide

Read 5 home buyer tips for getting more home for your $.

9 Stupid Things Buyers do to Mess Up their Home Purchase

Multiple Offers on Pasadena Homes?

If you or someone you know is in the process of purchasing a home, this is an important week to take action - feel free to forward this article to anyone who it might benefit. And give me a call at 626-629-8439 with any questions - the clock is ticking and the deadline is Friday!!

PasadenaViews Real Estate Team

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

In reviewing the numbers of home sales in Pasadena California for January 2010 and comparing it to January 2009, the stats that jump out at me are:

Pasadena Single Family Houses for Sale

• The inventory is a bit lower and it takes a lot less time to sell a home in Pasadena this year than last.
• Price per square foot of sold homes is actually higher this year than last.
• Even though there's less inventory, almost twice as many units sold in January of this year than last.
• And, fewer home listings expired.

Pasadena Condos for Sale

• Again less inventory this year, but significantly higher number of sales - in January of 2009, only 5 condos sold and 33 in January of 2010.
• Price per sq. ft. of sold condos is a bit lower at $367 vs. $379
• Absorption rate is only 19.6 weeks in 2010 vs 158 weeks in 2009

Pasadena Townhouses for Sale

• A lot more new townhome listings this January than last year.  However, the total number of units is consistent at 67.
• Only 4 townhomes sold in January of 2010 vs 11 in 2009
• Price per square foot is significantly higher and is over $400.  This is most likely driven by a small number of sales.  That number will come down in February as volume of sales rises.

Here's a nice visual of Pasadena SFR (houses) inventory.  As you can see the number of houses for sale is half of what it was in November of 2008.  That has been one of the challenges for real estate agents and home buyers in 2009 - lack of inventory.  However, the number of Pasadena homes in the foreclosure process is quite high.  However, as lenders are taking back these homes, they're holding on to the inventory and the foreclosure homes are very slowly trickling in to the market place.

READ MORE:  Pasadena California Foreclosure Statistics and Forecast

Looking for a Pasadena Home for Sale?  Here's a list of Pasadena homes via direct feed from the MLS:

For more information, take a look at Pasadena home details here.

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

PasadenaViews Real Estate Team

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

Irina at PasadenaViews.com

(626)629-VIEW (8439)

What really happens when properties finally hit the auction block?  Well... here's an interesting chart looking at all the foreclosure home auctions in the state of California from December 20098 through 2009.  It shows that most of the properties are bought back by the bank - take a look at the red line. 

However, let's take a closer look at the dark line, the one in the middle that is on the rise.  It shows the number of homes where the auctions have been cancelled.  Reasons for it?  Many distressed home sellers are trying to minimize the impact on their credit score by negotiating a short sale on their property with the bank.  In many instances, if a home seller or a real estate agent negotiating on their behalf, can bring an offer to the bank, the lender will cancel or delay the auction date.

So... if you are a Pasadena neighborhood home owner ready to walk away from your home and leave it for the bank...  Wait... there might be a way to have you walk away with a smaller dent on your credit.  Contact a reputable real estate agent experienced with working short sales.

California Foreclosure Statistics for December 2008 through December 2009:

The orange line shows the number of homes that were purchased by investors or 3rd parties.  As you can see the numbers are significantly lower - less than 1 in 6 homes that are up for auction fall into this category.  Reasons are many - investors need all cash, they accept tremendous risk and inherit any and all title claims to the property.

READ MORE:  What happens to your credit after foreclosure or a short sale?

Pasadena Foreclosure statistics

If you are interested in seeing more data on foreclosure statistics in California, please visit our Foreclosure Search site.  If you are home owner that is having financial difficulties and need to understand your options, please do not hesitate to give us a call.

IRINA NETCHAEV & ASSOCIATES

Pasadena Real Estate Agents

445 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

(626)629-VIEW(8439)