Incoming Pasadena Foothills Realtors Association President Shahe Seuylemezian says Pasadena is a great place to be a realtor even though the Baby Boomer generation of homeowners is staying put and contributing to a city-wide real estate scarcity.
“Pasadena has been seeing a shortage of real estate for some time now and it’s mostly due to a lot of the Baby Boomer homeowners not selling their houses. Homeowners used to sell their houses on average every six years, now it’s closer to ten,” Seuylemezian said last week, speaking on his own behalf and not as an officer of the Association.
Seuylemezian is scheduled to be installed as the President of the Pasadena Foothills Realtors Association on Friday, December 9 when the organization celebrates its 110th year at its Annual Inaugural and Awards Luncheon.
One phenomenon seems to contribute the most to Baby Boomer homeowners’ “stick–to–itiveness,” Seuylemezian said.
“Younger generations are coming back home to live because a lot of them cannot afford to buy new houses until they get more decent jobs,” he explained.“That, in my opinion and experience, is creating a shortage of supply.”
According to an analysis of census data by the Pew Research Center, living with parents is now the most common arrangement for people ages 18 to 34.
“People are staying much longer. It’s happening right here in Pasadena. However, that doesn’t mean that realtors don’t sell as many houses, it just makes it more difficult for people who want to move here, to move here,” said Seuylemezian.
The Los Angeles Times reported that nearly one-third of millennials live with their parents, slightly more than the proportion who live with a spouse or partner. It’s the first time that living at home has outpaced living with a spouse for this age group since such record-keeping began in 1880.
Similarly, the California Association of Realtors 2017 Housing Market Forecast reported that “Boomers aren’t moving.”
What are buyers buying specifically? Seuylemezian says that the demand is very high for Pasadena real estate and that Pasadena continues to be an attractive destination for homeowners.
“We have buyers for everything — single family homes, large homes, condos and property in Old Towne,” explained Seuylemezian who mentioned that foreign investors tend to buy luxury condos.
These factors make Pasadena it a great place to be a realtor.
“I have no doubt about that. Realtors do very well here,” said Seuylemezian.
Despite the continuing shortage of property, Seuylemezian said Pasadena’s real estate market is expected to perform very well in the near future due largely to the impacts associated with two new development projects: the $77 million state-of-the-art facility Shriner’s Hospital for Children scheduled to open in mid-2017 on the campus of Huntington Memorial Hospital, and the new Kaiser Permanente Medical School, which has not yet begun construction.
“I think these two developments will bring a lot of new buyers and new people that will move to Pasadena without a doubt. Anytime you have a big project popping up, people want live near where they work,” explained Seuylemezian about the predicted influx of employment-driven buyers.
Seuylemezian’s sales pitch to buyers is simple but it creatively paints a picture of Pasadena’s culture.
“I always tell my buyers that Pasadena is a small town that puts rovers on Mars,” said Seuylemezian.
Seuylemezian has 18 years experience in Pasadena real estate. He cites the use of the internet as the biggest change in how the industry operates since his early days selling properties.
“Thirty years ago we used to have a book and people needed us to tell them what properties are for sale and what properties are not for sale. Nowadays, the consumer does not need us for that aspect, but they still seek out experienced agents because of the range knowledge and expertise they are we can offer as they prepare to make one of the biggest investments of their lives,” said Seuylemezian.
The Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors will celebrate 110 years at the Annual Inaugural and Awards Luncheon themed “Raising the Bar” on December 9 as it gears up to install its 2017 President and fellow Board of Directors.
PFAR 2017 Officers also include President-Elect Emilie Broughton, Secretary Crystal Narramore, and Treasurer Sid Karsh. Board of Directors include Lisa Christine Diaz, Chelby Crawford, David Booth, and Marilyn Simon.
PFAR will also unveil this year’s recipients of the following titles: Affiliate of the Year, Realtor of the Year and President’s Award.
The 2017 Officers and Directors will be sworn in at the PFAR Inaugural and Awards Luncheon on December 9, 2016 at the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Avenue.
For more information visit http://www.pfar.org/110th-inaugural-awards-luncheon-set-dec-9/
