April              vs            YTD# Units Sold84243Dollar Value$58,061,141 $183,351,741 Average List Price$725,432 $783,820 Average Sold Price$691,204 $754,534 Average Days On Market8480Average Square Feet16261685Average Price/Sq. Ft.$425 $448 % of List Price95.28%96.26%This information is provided to all of the Keller Williams Realtors in our Pasadena Office. I thought I'd share this with all Realtors across the United States so you'll know what the housing market is like - out West! 05/05/2008

The Pasadena Police Department will conduct a DUI Enforcement Check Point tonight between 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., said a spokesperson in a news statement. Of course, the location is under wraps...as it should be.Clearly, the Pasadena Police Department's goal is to remove impaired drivers from our streets and this program has shown to be a proven and effective tool. What I don't understand is that funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Shouldn't this just be part of their regular schedule for holiday or special event celebrations?  Maybe the cities just don't have enough people (or money) to man these checkpoints. ???? It just kind of surprised me that the city had to get a gran... 05/05/2008

Now's your chance to meet our local Firefighters. On Saturday, May 10th from 10am to 4pm you can visit any one of the following fire stations that will be open to the public:Fire Station #32, 2424 E. Villa St. Fire Station #34, 1138 E. Del Mar Blvd. Fire Station #36, 1140 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Fire Station #37, 3430 E. Foothill Blvd. Fire Station #38, 1150 E. Linda Vista Ave. Fire Station #39, 50 Avenue 64Fire Stateion #31, 135 S. Fair Oaks Ave.At Fire Station #33 at 515 N Lake Avenue, some of the Pasadena firefighters will demonstrate life saving techniques that include extinguishments, rescuing someone from a vehicle and aerial ladder operations. Fire engines and other equipment will be on display and there will be hot dogs and other refreshments as well as entertainment.For more informat... 05/03/2008

Broker's Open House/Caravan - May 1, 2008I saw number of homes today and here is a great English Cottage I like to introduce.A Charming English located on 2064 Queensberry Road, Pasadena.  Home is price at $689,000. 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms. 2 car garage. It has a white picket fence and a walkway with vibrant colored flowers.  The property is built in 1934.  Highlights commented by the listing agent are:  wood beamed ceilings, beautiful picture window, period wall scones, fireplace, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen, farmhouse sink, custom glass cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, cute breakfast room and more.  A picture perfect home in NE Pasadena, CA. 05/02/2008

When it comes to buying real estate, Pasadena, CA. has become a really popular location in the last few years.  Why is that?  First, Pasadena is situated perfectly surrounded by main cities like, Glendale, La Canada, Arcadia, San Marino, Eagle Rock.  It takes roughly 15-20 minutes to go to Downtown Los Angeles.  The Metro Rail makes it very convenient for those who wish to take the public transportation.   For those who love to shop, there is the South Lake Shopping, The Paseo Colorado, Old Town Pasadena, Hasting Ranch Shopping area. Plus Arcadia Mall has added many more restaurants and shops.  Nearby South Pasadena on Mission St. has and unique boutiques.  There is a Farmer's Market in South Pasadena and Pasadena.If you enjoy the city life, there are number of new constructions going o... 05/01/2008

Earlier today, I had an appointment with a home seller in Pasadena.  He had his home listed on the market and in the period of two months had only a few showings.  His listing expired and he is now in the process of interviewing to find a Pasadena real estate agent that he can trust to handle the sale and marketing of his home.  A very smart move on his part given the diversity of experience in the Pasadena real estate market place. His previous real estate agent entered his home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  Thats great, right?  NO¦  The problem is that his real estate agent added his listing in the wrong MLS.   The Multiple Listing Service that provided listings of home in Los Angeles NOT Pasadena. Pasadena Home Seller Tip: When interviewing your Pasadena real estate agents ... 04/28/2008

Remember so long ago when we were kids? OK for some of us it WAS a long time ago.  But, one of my favorite memories was dressing in our pajamas, piling into our station wagon and heading over to the Pasadena Library for story time.Tomorrow night, Monday, April 28, 2008 at 7:00pm you have the opportunity to do the same thing - for your children. Unless, of course, you want to dress into your own PJs and listen to a story.  The Pajama Storytime will take place at the Pasadena Public Library at the Hastings Branch at 3325 East Orange Grove Blvd.  It's FREE.  Just bring the kids and they can bring their favorite stuffed animal to the library for bedtimie stories that are sue to inspire sweet dreams!For more info, call 626/744-7262 or go to www.cityofpasadena.net/library  04/27/2008

A dear friend of mine, also a fellow musician, Billy Mitchell, will be presenting John Reed at Jones Coffee Rosters in Pasadena.John Reed, a student at Sante High School (LA) member of the All-City Marching Band and SAPPA mentee, delivers his own brand of classic and original RagTime. Jones Coffee Rosters is located at 537 S. Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, just north of California.  The coffee is fantastic and they roast it right there on the site.  Talk about FRESH!!!For more info, call 626/564-9291  04/26/2008

In 2002, Sunset Magazine named Bungalow Heaven the "Best Neighborhood" in the West.Bungalow Heaven is a collection of over 800 homes built in the early 1900's that started the evolution of the American Arts & Crafts movement. It's been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.On Sunday, April 27, 2008 from 10am to 4pm you have the opportunity to attend a self-guided tour of a collection of these historic homes. Unfortunately, strollers are not allowed in any of the homes and there is no disabled access.Tickets are available on Sunday for $20.00 per person at McDonald Park at Mar Vista Avenue and Mountain Street in Pasadena. For more information, call 626/585-2172 or go to www.bungalowheaven.org  04/26/2008

Today, I attended an event called the "Shred and Fed."  This event was held by Coldwell Banker Old Pasadena Office, located in Old Town Pasadena.  It was a HIT.The agents of the office hires a reputable secure and disposal/recycling company to get rid of your e-waste and paper/files.  Such as: computer, monitor, telephone, radio, battery, old bank statement, financial documents, credit card bills, printer, cell phone, VCR, keyboard, fax machines, and the list goes on and on.  This recycling company can destroy hard drives using their "Separation Technology."  Note:  The company does not land fill anything.With all the GREEN MOVEMENT, clients love this, and love the catering.  Yummy, Mexican Food awaits after you toss away all your trash.  Clean out your garage. You drive through and dri... 04/26/2008

If you are a homeowner in Pasadena or any of the Los Angeles County areas and your home value has declined, this article is for you.Today, I had an opportunity to meet with and interview Carol Wong Quan.  Carol is a Special Assistant with Los Angeles County Assessors office.  She was excited about the proactive approach that the Assessor is taking in re-evaluating single family homes and condos for a possible Decline-In-Value reassessment.If your home was purchased between July 1,2004 and June 30,2007, you do not need to do anything.  The assessors office is actively reviewing 316,000 parcels to see if your property taxes need to be lowered due to value decline.  Over 152,000 homes in the Los Angeles County have been reviewed already and close to 72,000 home owners will get the happy ne... 04/25/2008

  Pic courtesy of mymoneyuniversity.com                                                                 Pic courtesy of google,com                               Picture courtesy of google.com                                                                                                         Currently the market is going to start moving again, The investors are coming back, when theinvestor can put 20% down and break even , they will start investing again. This is one chance in a lifetime when it is cheaper to buy than rent providing you have a down payment of at least 10-20%. THe downside is that you have to be extremely qualified becuase the lender's are making it harder to obtain a loan, which just goes with life.  When opportunity knocks only a choosen few are ready..Is it you? ... 04/23/2008

As you can see from the above market statistics, home sales have slowed considerably since March of last year . . . the number of closed sales is just over half. Prices are holding fairly well, though, (down about 4%) but you have to be willing to wait a little longer to close escrow. Still, 63 days on market isn't bad, considering that the national numbers are showing 10 months of inventory (meaning, the average time it takes to sell a home is 10 months). Fewer sales are occurring, but they are occurring, and the sellers that are willing to price their property reasonably are doing better than their national counterparts. The listings insisting on last 2 years' prices are expiring unsold in droves, but the properties priced well are selling fairly quickly. When a bank offers an REO (r... 04/23/2008

Did you know that most Pasadena agents will not show their buyers available homes for sale that are in a ‘short sale' process?Why?Most Pasadena real estate agents do not understand how to work with a ‘short sale'.  They do not understand how to counsel their buyers appropriately and do not want to put in the time or effort into the short sale, thus avoiding any listings that state that they are ‘short sales'. We have been fortunate over the last 6 to 8 years not to work with loss mitigators at the banks in handling these home sales.  It is an art more than a science.  Each bank has thier own idiosyncrasies.  It does get complicated and requires a lot of work on the part of your Pasadena real estate agent.Can YOU buy a home through a Short Sale?  YES¦ I just helped buyers purchase and su... 04/21/2008

Sellers who are willing to offer terms and carry paper can really give themselves a nice seller financing advantage in today's market, but sometimes they get freaked out by the "due on sale" clause. They are worried that if they wrap the existing lien, they'll be in trouble if the bank gets wind of the transfer. Wrapping good underlying financing is a great way to put a deal together, but there can be a lot of fear out there, as evidenced by this email I just received from another real estate agent: Question: "I have a client looking to carry and was just told by Title that the banks could call the loan due at any time. Has anyone ever had that happened and would it be beneficial to contact their mortgage company with a 'heads up' of what they were doing, or would that red flag it? Cann... 04/21/2008

Learning to use public transportation (the metro) was really a stretch in the beginning, but now it's a cherished aspect of travel for my whole family. The gold line's Memorial Station drops you off a block or so from historic Old Town Pasadena, one of the most delightful places to hang out this side of the Mississippi. Holly Street Village sits right on top of the Memorial Station, and has the distinction of being the only apartment community situated within the heart of Old Pasadena's renaissance district. This property is the winner of the prestigious Gold Nugget award for its architectural design and land use planning. The units are 1 and 2 bedrooms each: Monthly Rent From: $1,695 - $2,700151 E Holly St., Pasadena, CAPhone: (888) 699-7938 And, happily, my daughter's cheer gym, Victo... 04/17/2008

And you thought you needed capital gains strategies before . . . Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have called for an increase in the capital gains tax rate. It's currently at 15 percent, and they'd like to see 20 or even 25 percent. Property owners, more than ever before, need to learn intelligent use of the installment sale to avoid the wealth-sapping wonders of the IRS. But hey, we all have to do our part to bail out the speculators, don't we? Where do I sign up? Of course, I want to do my best to be patriotic, yes, of course. But will all the other middle class property owners join me? Both senators have said an increase in capital gains taxes would increase federal revenues, but when the tax was raised in 1986, from 20 to 28 percent, tax receipts went down, not up. People just... 04/16/2008

One of the things I love about Pasadena is the intelligence, creativity and fun-loving nature of the trees. These palm trees behind Pasadena's Gold Shell in Memorial Park are doing a good job of making shadow shapes that definitely look like . . . well, trees. No, wait, I see it now! There's both a front and a side view of a tribal headdress . . . or maybe a couple of turkeys or slightly battered peacocks. The metro's gold line has a station here at Memorial Park, which is very convenient for my daughter, who gets off at this station to get to her down town cheer practice. (Victory Cheer Company) "The Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Memorial Park sits in the hub of Pasadena, truly in the center of the City of Pasadena’s diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Once the home of th... 04/03/2008

Here is the local market overview for the month of March 2008, from our KW Realty, Pasadena Market CenterAltadena, CA17 Units Sold, 98.07% of List Price        Dollar Value  $10,008,000     Avg. List Price  $600,294,    Avg. Sold Price  $588,706 ,   Avg. Market Time  60 days      Avg. Price/Sq.Ft  $357.00    Ave. Sq.Ft.  1648  Pasadena, CA62 Units Sold, 95.72% of List PriceDollar Value  $43,520,500Avg. List Price   $733,338    Avg. Sold Price   $701.944,    Avg. Market Time   81 daysAvg. Price/Sq.Ft   $425    Avg. Sq.Ft. 1651*Information courtesy of J. Daniels, Agent Services.  Information is compiled from Itech MLS. 04/01/2008

Although I always associate this important Pasadena landmark with parking tickets (I never seem to have enough quarters), there's a little more to it. For instance, this is where the Posada Candlelight AIDS Walk begins and ends each year. I first joined the December Posada Walk in 1996. We pulled 4 children (all in diapers or pull-ups) in a little red wagon all over Pasadena that night as they took turns cradling a semi-mutilated, but most coveted Baby Jesus doll. "The Pasadena City Hall was built in 1927 to inspire the city with beauty, boldness and vision, and is an important part of this community’s rich architectural heritage. John Bakewell Jr. and Arthur Brown Jr. designed this handsome domed Baroque structure at the junction of two broad avenues in 1925. Equally impressive are th... 03/27/2008