Pasadena, California Housing Market

What stands out in Pasadena?

• 12% of sellers have cut their price: among the lowest share of price cuts of 765 tracked cities. Sellers are holding firm on price.
• 55% of occupied homes are rented: among the highest renter shares of 765 tracked cities. The tenant pool is deep.
• The median asking price is $1,118,574: one of the priciest of 765 tracked cities. Entry costs are high, so cash flow is harder. Price growth has to do more of the work.

What does a shrinking population mean for Pasadena landlords?

The population in Pasadena's ZIP codes fell 3.5% over five years. 9.0% of homes are vacant, higher than 68% of tracked cities. Households still grew 3.7% while the housing stock grew 2.3%. Fewer people living in more households means rental demand has held up better than the population suggests. Check vacancy by ZIP before you buy.

Who will rent from you in Pasadena?

Most Pasadena households rent. 55 out of every 100 households are renters. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 56 in 100. Pasadena added about 600 renter households in five years. Renter households average 2.2 people. Two and three bedrooms fit the typical renter.

The median Pasadena household earns $107,102 a year. Incomes here have grown 4.4% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 10.4 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $2,678 a month.

To see what one Pasadena address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

What is the fair market rent in Pasadena?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Los Angeles County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $2,085 a month. Up 0% on last year, up 81% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $2,601 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 75% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $3,298 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 64% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $3,672 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 65% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Los Angeles County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

How much can you negotiate in Pasadena?

For every 100 homes still for sale, 33 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 44. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. Few sellers are dropping their price. Your discount will come from one stale listing.

The typical Pasadena listing has been on the market 53 days. There are 299 homes for sale in Pasadena. That is 2.8 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 346. Supply is growing against last year.

What to do about it

• Start in 91106, 91101, and 91107, where sellers are weakest: in 91106, 15% of sellers have cut and the typical listing has been up 53 days.
• Look for listings older than 60 days with a price cut.

How does Pasadena compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 36th priciest of 141. Pasadena is at $1,118,574. Closest: Thousand Oaks and Orange.
• Buyer competition: 34th least competitive of 138. Pasadena is at 0.33 buyers per home. Closest: Dublin and Encinitas.
• Time on market: 54th longest time on market of 141. Pasadena is at a median of 53 days on market. Closest: Pomona and Rancho Cordova.
• Price cuts: 10th fewest price cuts of 141. Pasadena is at 12% of sellers cutting. Closest: Santa Monica and Indio.

What numbers should you underwrite a Pasadena deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +2.3%/yr. Pasadena has grown about 2.3% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices fell 3.3% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 9. 12% of Pasadena listings have cut their asking price. Underwrite your exit below asking.
• Comp on price per square foot — $773/sqft. The typical Pasadena listing shrank from 2,049 to 1,539 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 46% per sqft versus 14% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — +5%. Homes for sale in Pasadena are up 5% on last year, so your resale faces more competition than today's comps did.

Read how population change affects rentals and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Pasadena?

The median asking price in Pasadena is about $1,119,000 as of Sep 2026, down 15.3% from a year ago. The typical listing is 11% smaller than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is down 3.3%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the drop. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Pasadena figures cover the 24 ZIP codes with a Pasadena mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Pasadena a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Neither side has the upper hand in Pasadena right now. We compare Pasadena with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 33 pending sales per 100 listings, against 44 then; 12% of sellers have cut their price, against 15% then; the typical listing has been up 24% more days.

Are Pasadena home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 17.8% below its Feb 2020 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 5.7% below the May 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.

Which Pasadena ZIP code has the most negotiating room?

91106. Only 20 homes under contract for every 100 still for sale. 15% of sellers there have cut their price, and the typical listing has been up 53 days.

What is the best month to buy a house in Pasadena?

Across 9 full years, Pasadena asking prices ran lowest in January, about 3.7% below the year's average. They peaked in March. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 12% above the yearly average.

What is the fair market rent in Pasadena?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Los Angeles County is $2,601 a month for 2 bedrooms and $3,298 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.