The Federal Reserve this morning announced it will maintain its target for the federal funds rate in the 0 percent to 0.25 percent range, and expects economic conditions to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period of time. “Information . . .  suggests that economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn,” the Fed said in a prepared statement.

Interested in seeing Pasadena homes for sale?  See all Pasadena MLS homes listings here.

“Conditions in financial markets have improved further, and activity in the housing sector has increased. Household spending seems to be stabilizing, but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. With substantial resource slack likely to continue to dampen cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some time.”

To provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve also said it will purchase a total of $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and up to $200 billion of agency debt, and will gradually slow the pace of these purchases in order to promote a smooth transition in markets.

Pasadena real estate housing market has been on a bumpy ride in 2008, as we enter 2009, it’s always interesting to look at historical trends.

Every month, we, at Pasadena real estate blog, try to bring you a statistical report highlighting Pasadena housing trends. For comparison purposes, we’d like to look at December’s 2008 Pasadena real estate statistics. You can see the analysis at Pasadena housing trends and real estate market report for December 2008.

Read the latest Pasadena real estate housing analysis review at Pasadena Real Estate and housing report.

Looking at historical data and trends is critical in understanding what the Pasadena future real estate market can bring.

So, without further ado, here’s the analysis of where Pasadena real estate has taken us:

First of all, the most significant change each year has been the volume of Pasadena homes and condos sold:

• 2003 has seen the highest number of Pasadena homes sold – 1,402 units. Compare that to 657 Pasadena homes sold last year in 2008. That’s a drop of over 50%.
• Pasadena condo and townhome sales have peaked in 2004 at 744 units sold. Again, the volume of condo and townhome sales in 2008 has dropped by more than 50% from 2004.
• Each year, it’s taking longer and longer to market Pasadena homes. Still, the average days on the market was a bit over 3 months for both Pasadena homes and condos/townhomes. We are still very much in the seller’s market even though it doesn’t feel like it to those of us that has experienced the real estate market over the last several years. The official definition of a buyer’s market is when properties stay on the market for six months or more.

Pasadena real estate is still selling close to asking price:

• 2008 closed at 96.7% of asking prices for homes sold and 95.2% of list to sold price of condos and tonwhomes sold in Pasadena California.

Price per square foot for Pasadena Real Estate:

• Pasadena real estate started seeing price per square foot decreases in 2007 where it dropped slightly to $489 per square foot for homes sold and then a more significant drop in 2008 of 12.5% to $428.
• Pasadena condos and townhomes sold price per square foot was pretty flat from 2004 through 2008 and dropped by 11% this year.

Average Pasadena home sale prices:

• Pasadena home sale prices are back to 2005 levels, ending 2008 at $851,702.
• Pasadena condos and townhomes are paralelling, Pasadena single family homes and are also back to 2005 levels at $504,093.

So what can we anticipate in 2009:

• More foreclosures and short sales – no surprise there.
• Great interest rates for Pasadena home buyers and refinancing.
• Banks tightening up lending requirements and making financing dollars more difficult to get.
• Buyers needing to come up with more down payment funds.
• Home sellers providing more incentives to buyers.
• A much longer marketing period to sell Pasadena homes.
• Internet marketing and social media playing a significant role in selling homes.

Read More: Pasadena Real Estate Outlook for 2009
South Pasadena Real Estate Review – 2003 – 2008
San Marino Real Estate Review – 2003 -2008
Duarte Real Estate Review – 2003 – 2008

See which Pasadena homes and condos/townhomes are listed for sale:

Posted by Irina Netchaev, your Pasadena Realtor.

Trending real estate prices is always interesting especially if you are in the process of finding your next South Pasadena home or are considering selling your home. Information below is for housing prices in South Pasadena from 2003 to 2008.

For the most current South Pasadena housing pricing and trend report, please visit South Pasadena Real Estate Reports and Analysis.

South Pasadena real estate has experienced an amazing five years of growth and 2008 has proven that values for South Pasadena homes are holding fairly steady while adjacent cities are seeing declines.

Single family homes in South Pasadena fared much better than condos and townhomes, but overall the real estate market held.

Read More: South Pasadena Real Estate Market Report for December 2008

San Marino, adjacent to South Pasadena, another very affluent city has done extremely well in 2008 as well. With San Marino property values declining just slightly from an already high numbers of previous years.

Read More: San Marino Real Estate Analsyis – Five Years in Review

Here are the statistics for your review (analysis is below this chart):

Data gathered from ITEC (Pasadena Foothill Association Multiple Listing Service)
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Here’re my thoughts and observations on the data for South Pasadena’s last 5 years in real estate:

• The volume of units for both Single Family Residences (SFR) and Condos and Townhomes was drastically lower in 2008 compared to previous years. South Pasadena volume of sold homes dropped almost 50% from 2007.
• Price per square foot of sold homes remained pretty much stable and ended the year at $510 per sq. ft. That is only 1.4% lower than the selling price per square foot in 2007.
• Condo and townhomes didn’t do as well as single family homes and the price per square foot dropped 9.1%, but has been dropping each month in the 4th quarter of 2008. December closed at $346 per sq. ft.
• Last quarter of 2008 has been tough for both South Pasadena homes, condos and townhomes, with prices moving below the average sold prices for 2008. Take a look at December 2008 South Pasadena Statistics.
• It is taking longer to market and sell South Pasadena real estate.

How will South Pasadena real estate market do in 2009?

• South Pasadena home prices will move down a bit more in 2009 especially for condos and townhomes.
• Inventory of homes for sale will increase due to additional short sales and foreclosures on the market.
• Homes will stay on the market longer due to lenders tightening of funds.
• South Pasadena home buyers will need to come up with more cash: conforming rate limit dropped to $625,000 and 2nd Trust Deeds will be more difficult to get and will be a lot more expensive.
• South Pasadena schools will continue to be the #1 driving force for home sales in South Pasadena.

Read more: South Pasadena City Guide

If you are interested in seeing the homes for sale in South Pasadena, the list below will contain all available South Pasadena listings in the Multiple Listing Service:

If you have questions about any of the data listed above or would like a private consultation to sell or purchase your South Pasadena home, please call Irina Netchaev at 626-204-3340.