What are Short Sales, Foreclosures and REOs, and Do They Matter to Me?

They are all the rage in real estate these days, but most consumers don’t really know what they are.  Here is a quick run-down on pre- and post-foreclosure terminology and whether they make sense for individual home buyers:
Short Sales:  A short sale is a negotiated sale of a property where the market value of the [...]

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Deal of the Week in Pasadena

450 Allendale Road, in the Madison Heights neighborhood of Southwest Pasadena, is my personal favorite if you are looking for both a beautiful home and a great deal.
The current owners purchased the home in September 2006 for $1,295,000, and did extensive renovations — new kitchen, baths, beautifully decorated and landscaped. They listed it for sale [...]

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Good News for First Time Homebuyers in L.A. County

More than a third of Los Angeles County families had the income needed to purchase a starter home in the first quarter, a 66 percent increase over a year ago, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported Tuesday.  The affordability figure is the highest since 2003 and was heralded as a hopeful sign for the troubled [...]

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High End vs. Regular Folks in Pasadena Real Estate

The high end of the residential real estate market in Pasadena and San Marino seems to get more and more expensive, while the prices of average-size homes (2,500 square feet or less) declined in most areas of Pasadena, South Pasadena, La Canada, Altadena, and Sierra Madre in the first quarter of 2008.
I have been tracking [...]

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Jumbo Mortgage Rates becoming affordable now?

Per Kirk Thompson, mortgage broker:
Those new jumbo-conforming mortgages, created by Congress to make homes in high-priced areas more affordable, are finally getting cheaper. Late last week, many lenders slashed their rates by about one-half of a percentage point on jumbo-conforming loans – mortgages between $417,000 and $729,750 that can be guaranteed by Fannie Mae and [...]

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Amazing Sale in Linda Vista

The talk of the brokerage community was last week’s new listing at 820 Chula Vista in the Linda Vista neighborhood of Pasadena.  The beautiful and tastefully updated Theodore Pletsch traditional sits at the end of the cul de sac with incredible views of the Rose Bowl.  Still, at $4.950mm ($1,054 per square foot for a 4,695 sq. [...]

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Pricing to Sell

While prices continue to drop (except in San Marino) and the number of sales of single family homes and condos continue to decrease, there were several bright spots in the local real estate market last week.  Three homes that were new on the market received multiple offers and sold right away.  The key to all [...]

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Welcome to my blog!

I will check in a couple of times each week to update you on the greater Pasadena area residential real estate market — what’s selling, what’s not, which areas are holding their value, which are falling. 
If you have a specific question or topic you would like me to address, please e-mail me at kcantwell@coldwellbanker.com.  Thanks [...]

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