Have real estate prices finally hit bottom? Some experts think so.

According to this article from the influential Dataquick organization, the stats show that the bottom may have arrived.  No one has a crystal ball, and whether the housing market maintains stability will depend on, among other factors, employment and foreclosure backlogs (just how many are there/will there be in the next few years?).  But looking at the numbers we do have, at least the downward slide appears to be over for now.

Read the entire article here:
Southern California Home Prices End Slide in November from Bloomberg.com

Buyer Discounts Inch Downward in October

My personal observation over the last few months, especially in the entry-level home market, is that the days of negotiating a substantially lower purchase price off the asking price (assuming the list price is realistic) are over, at least for the moment, in our area.  This article from Zillow confirms that in California buyers are paying at or over the asking price these days.  So there is now a disconnect between buyers, who still think they are in the proverbial “buyer’s market” and sellers who are pricing their homes to sell. 

In fact, it still is very much a buyer’s market in the sense that home prices have fallen sharply from their peak and interest rates are still at historic lows, making this an excellent time to buy.  However, if a home is priced well, realistic buyers cannot also expect to negotiate a substantial discount off the asking price, and may even need to bid slightly more.  At the entry-level, we are seeing multiple offers for nice, well-priced houses.  Buyers, do not worry — this is not the crazy feeding frenzy we saw in 2004-2006 where houses sold wildly over the list priced, fueled by adjustable rate  loans for anyone with a pulse.  It just means that if you are serious about buying, you are going to have to study the comps and pay fair market value if you want to buy a house.

Check out the article:

Buyer Discounts Inch Downward in October

This Weekend in Pasadena

Some fun things to do in Pasadena this weekend, enjoy!

Holiday Look In and Home Tour
December 5th and 6th, from 9:30 to 4:30.  The Holiday Look In Tour will offer visitors a chance to view four distinctive homes in the Pasadena area decorated for the holiday season.

City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
December 8th, from 5:30 to 8:30, in the Grand Entrance of Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue.  There will be music and refreshments served.  Everyone is invited to bring gifts to be placed in the Spark of Love Toy Drive boxes provided by the Pasadena Fire Department.

Thanksgiving in Pasadena

Here is a great opportunity to help in our community: Union Station Homeless Services’ annual Dinners-in-the-Park, held on Thanksgiving Day. 

From Pasadena Now: This is the biggest potluck in the nation, and celebrities and thousands of volunteers will purchase, prepare, and serve more than 5,000 meals to homeless adults and families, senior citizens, and those who are alone at the holidays or unable to afford a holiday meal.

Click here for more information, including how to volunteer.

Have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Another Lake Front Home in Pasadena!

A few weeks ago I posted about a home on Johnson Lake.  It received multiple offers and is pending sale.  This week there is another lake front home for sale in Pasadena — who knew? Okay, this one is more of a pond – Glen Summer Pond.

The home was built in 1951 and kind of looks it in terms of wood paneling, kitchen and baths, but it is in good shape.  Most amazing is the meadow out back that leads to the pond, complete with paddle boats!

Priced at $2.386 million — hard to know what the value is — the lot is nearly 30,000 square feet and it is absolutely unique.  Call me if you are interested.

To see pictures of this amazing property, visit 380 Glen Summer Road, Pasadena

U.S. Home Buyers’ Negotiating Power Falls: Zillow

My observation over the last few months in the Pasadena area is that homes priced under $750,000 are increasingly being sold in multiple offers, many times selling for over asking price.  This is creating a real disconnect between buyers and sellers.  Buyers are hearing in the media that is is a “buyer’s market,” but the experience in this area does not play out that way.  Savvy buyers realize that the combination of low prices and interest rates make this the time to jump.  Even if you have to pay slightly over the asking price, you are probably paying 20-25% less than you would have at the peak of the market.  Here is an article from Zillow about how this is happening in other pockets around the country:

US Home Buyers’ Negotiating Power Falls: Zillow
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Home buyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below asking prices in September, but had slightly less negotiating power than in August, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

According to the September Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, buyers paid 2.9 percent less, or a median of $6,161, below the listing price on homes bought in September, down from 3 percent, or $6,525, for homes bought in August.

Buyers’ negotiating power peaked in January, when buyers paid 4.5 percent below list price, a median of $10,096, Zillow said.

Meanwhile, 22.7 percent of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had at least one price reduction as of the end of September. The median U.S. reduction was 6.5 percent off the original listing price, the reports showed.

Despite the overall weakness in prices, buyers paid more than asking price in seven metro areas. Most of these were in areas of California that have been hardest-hit by foreclosures. In Stockton, buyers paid a median 2.4 percent, or $4,564, more than asking price. In Las Vegas, buyers also paid more than asking price, at a median 0.5 percent, or $836, the reports showed.

Vero Beach, Florida, saw the biggest discounts off list prices again in September, with buyers paying a median 8.1 percent off the final price of homes. Based on a median listing price of $235,000, that translated to a discount of nearly $19,000, Zillow said.

The Florida markets of Naples, Sarasota and Panama City were the other top negotiating spots, with buyers negotiating more than 7 percent off the final listing price, the reports showed.

(Reporting by Julie Haviv; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Home Buyer Tax Credit Changes

Here is a great summary from the National Association of Realtors on the home buyer tax credit and the changes from the prior credit:

For a PDF version, click here: 2009 NAR Issue Brief Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes 1104 1107

Senate Extends Home-Buyer Tax Credit and Jobless Aid

Not a done deal yet, but promising news.  The Senate approved extending the new home buyer tax credit through April of 2010, including certain existing home owners in the credit, and raised the income ceilings on those who qualify for the credit.  Read the article from the Los Angeles Times here:

Senate Extends Home-Buyer Tax Credit and Jobless Aid

Halloween in Pasadena

From Pasadena Now:

Ghouls and ghosts, witches and warlocks will be prowling the streets of Pasadena this Saturday. There are many Halloween activities to choose from, here are some of the highlights: The PCC Orchestra will be performing A Sesame Street Halloween, Vroman’s will be holding their annual Halloween Party, there will be Goblins in the Garden at the Arboretum, Kidspace is offering a spooky time, Old Pasadena is offering tricks or treats and much more.

For more Halloween Happenings visit Pasadena Now’s event calendar.

Have a happy Halloween!

Is the Housing Market Finally Starting to Stabilize?

See the article below regarding the S&P Case Shiller Housing Index.  In our area, we are definitely seeing a pick-up in activity which is leading to price increases in some cases where there are multiple offers.  I had clients just last week who were one of 14 offers on a house in Eagle Rock.  Last week there was a house in San Marino that received twenty offers (!).  Not all houses are moving at this rate.  The key is pricing.  If a house is perceived as a great value it will attract multiple offers and may sell over the asking price (those two examples did — substantially).

Housing Continues to Stabilize: S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indexes
by Alexander Miron

First Take

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index fell by 11.3% during the three months ending in August from the same period last year. This decline was slightly smaller than had been expected. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 20-city index recorded a 1% increase from the three-month period ending in July, continuing its recent trend of month-ago increases that began earlier in the summer. The 10-city composite index also recorded an improvement on a year-ago basis, falling by 10.6% in August.

The Numbers

• The seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index climbed 1% during the three months ending in August from the three months ending in July, extending a string of increases that began in June. The 10-city index experienced similarly encouraging improvement over the month, also showing a gain of 1%.
• On a year-ago basis, the 20-city composite index suffered its smallest decline in 19 months, falling by 11.4%. This marks a substantial deceleration in the year-ago rate of depreciation from July, when the 20-city index stood 13.3% below its year-ago level. The 10-city index decreased by 10.7% from a year ago in August, compared with a 12.7% decline in July.
• Between July and August, existing-house prices rose in 16 of the 20 metro areas tracked by the seasonally adjusted 20-city composite index. Of these, San Francisco (+2.6%) registered the sharpest increase, followed by Minneapolis (+2.3%). Meanwhile, Cleveland (-1%) and Las Vegas (-0.8%) experienced the largest month-ago declines.
• From August 2008, existing-house prices suffered the largest decline in Las Vegas, losing nearly 30%. Although severe, this was a slightly smaller decrease than that reported during July. Phoenix (-25.2%), Detroit (-22.7%) and Miami (-18.9%) also showed large decreases in existing-home prices. Meanwhile, house prices in Dallas fell by a mere 1.3% over the year, as the house-price correction has largely bypassed this metro area.
• Measured from peak, the seasonally adjusted 20-city index has fallen by 29.9%, while the 10-city composite has declined by 30.9%.

Behind the Numbers

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index fell at a slower rate from July to August, as the majority of metro areas tracked by the index experienced modest increases in existing-home prices. As measured by the 20-city composite, existing-house prices increased for the third consecutive month in August, marking a significant departure from the steady decline in the average price recorded earlier in the year. The sharp change in pricing comes amid a steady increase in single-family home sales that has siphoned off some of the nation’s excess housing inventory. Still, the picture is far from rosy, and existing-home prices are in jeopardy of resuming their decline later this year.

A rising wave of foreclosures and the removal of the federal government’s tax credit are two factors that could cause house prices to suffer additional setbacks this year. Even after accounting for the recent decline in the existing-home inventory, supplies of homes for sale remain elevated, and foreclosures are apt to increase as lenders attempt to sell repossessed properties. In addition, the success of the first-time homebuyer tax credit over the summer has likely pulled forward some sales of pre-owned homes that would have occurred later in the year. As a result, sales of existing homes may dip when the tax credit expires at the end of November, causing house prices to give back some of their recent gains.