Hello Everyone, Good news for those who are rebuilding and really are upset about not being able to build a wood-burning fireplace. The AQMD is now allowing owners who lost their homes in the fire to build a woodburning fireplace if their home had a wood burning fireplace originally. Here is the link to the community meeting and they explain it about 11 minutes into the video. Now on to real estate! I hear a lot of complaints from a lot of agents that feel that the market has slowed down and true it certainly is not what it was last year. Whenever you have this kind of uncertainty in the job market and in the economy, people don’t like to make huge financial changes in their lives and buying a house is one of the biggest! In our area though we are still getting multiple offers on the nicer homes, but I think a lot of that is fire victims who would rather buy something than rebuild…other areas are definitely feeling the slowing more. I was speaking with an agent the other day who has been in this business even longer than I and I was saying how some stuff was sitting and other stuff was selling with multiple offers so maybe we are just getting into a more stable…more normal market. He reminded me “Cariy all this means is that we are transitioning from a Seller’s market into a Buyer’s market.” My real estate career has only seen insanity….1999 coming out of the foreclosure market/ 2004-2007 crazy highs/ 2008 -2012 unprecedented price drops but still tons of buyers wanting to buy/ 2013-2017…..crazy highs again/ 2017-2019…..flatter market similar to now/ 2020 to 2022…COVID and even crazier highs/ 2023….really slow/ 2024….back to COVID peak .. .so I wouldn’t even know what a “Normal” market looks like. 380 California Ter. Pasadena $2,950,000 3bd & 2.5ba 2,666 sq.ft 12,027 lot Open Saturday & Sunday 2-4 pm It is just so nice to see a house that was beautifully built to begin with and beautifully restored and renewed in keeping with the original feeling of the home! Remodeling is so tricky! How do you remodel an old house so that it has the modern amenities and newer finishes that we all crave but not lose the charm and the old world feel of the home. Well just follow the example of these owners! This is definitely worth seeing and then buying if you can afford it! 1601 El Rito Ave. Glendale $1,799,000 3bd & 2.5ba 2,578 sq.ft 15,582 Open Saturday & Sunday, 2-4 pm The Verdugo Woodlands is also another great neighborhood in Glendale and this one on El Rito looks very well-priced for what it has to offer! By the pictures I really like the open flow and the upgrades and then you have a nice patio area and a pool surrounded by mature landscaping and gorgeous trees at the upper level! I see that they have the master downstairs and then 2 bedrooms upstairs which again is not ideal in addition the upstairs is very pitched so I have to get in to see if the spaces are big enough or if all that pitching makes the rooms upstairs feel claustrophobic. Still it’s definitely worth a peek if you are looking in this price range! 421 N Grove St. Sierra Madre $1,695,000 4bd & 3ba 2,106 sq.ft 7,471 lot Open Saturday & Sunday, 1-4 pm This one just hit the market so I haven’t seen it, but it’s a good sized home with nice upgrades in a lovely neighborhood in Sierra Madre. From the pictures it doesn’t look like it has much of an open flow and of course the backyard is all pool ….which is not my favorite. Still it gets nice light and the kitchen is so pretty! 535 Arch Pl. Glendale $1,599,000 2bd & 1.5ba 1,890 sq.ft 6,272 lot Open Saturday 1-4 pm This street in Glendale is in the Glen Oaks Canyon. I like this little pocket because it feels more remote but you are really a hop, skip and a jump from all the fun things to do that Glendale has to offer! I really like the curb appeal….I’m a sucker for a Monterey Colonial style home. Spanish looking on the outside, but usually a more open flow on the inside. This house looks like a huge house from the front, but it’s under 1900 sq.ft but because it’s so grand from the front usually you can add-on and get the size you need……just not sure if it can be done on that lot. I haven’t seen it yet, but I wouldn’t buy it unless I could add-on at least another 600 sq.ft. and still have some yard space. 2270 E Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena $1,485,000 3bd & 1ba 1,862 sq.ft 8,859 lot No scheduled open houses. Please contact me for a private showing! So this one is not having an open house but I want to talk about it because I liked this house and am intrigued by the possibility of a nice deal! The seller is in escrow with another house and really wants to sell. They did not have the time or the desire to prep the house for the market so it doesn’t show well, but it’s a good house with lovely architectural detailing and some nice potential……their mistake might be your opportunity! 369 S Roosevelt Ave. Pasadena $1,195,000 3bd & 2ba 1,347 sq.ft 6,243 lot Open Saturday & Sunday, 2-4 pm This one just hit the market but at this price in the Cal Tech neighborhood it won’t last long! Despite the fact that everything needs updating and that the floor plan is super wonky. It would need to be completely reworked in my opinion. The fact that you have to go down a hallway from the living room to get to the dining and kitchen sucks! This one is going to need a lot of creativity and what would really help is if you could convert the attached garage to become part of the house and then build a garage someplace else! 476 E Calaveras St. Altadena $1,089,000 3bd & 3ba 1,425 sq.ft 7,043 lot No scheduled open houses. Please contact me for a private showing! I remember this house from last year! The owners were first time buyers and super excited about it, but then the fires devastated the surrounding neighborhoods and they just don’t feel they can stay. Mostly I like the price for the area….it’s a decent value. I don’t like the floor plan as it stands….because it feels choppy. The bedroom layout is fine, but you really need to blow out the living areas so that you can see the pool & yard space right as you enter. It just feels claustrophobic right now to me. Of course that means a complete kitchen re-do and I would re-do the flooring because I’m just not a fan of parquet floors. Still if it stays around that price…..it’s worth it. 314 May Ave. Monrovia $1,050,000 2bd & 2ba 1,178 sq.ft 6,230 lot Open Saturday 2-5 pm So a lot like the Calaveras house…..this is not my favorite, but there’s so little under $1.1 that it deserves a mention! Mainly because this is a great North Monrovia neighborhood which reminds me so much of Northeast Pasadena! I like that the living room opens to the side yard so that you have a little bit of an open flow. The pictures don’t help sell this house at all so maybe you might be able to get a little deal on it!
