Historic Properties & Charming Neighborhoods | Tracy Macrum – A Local Realtor with an Eye for Community

Compass realtor, Tracy Macrum, talks all things South Pasadena, arts and history

PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Realtor Tracy Macrum at the South Pasadena Lofts
PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Realtor Tracy Macrum at the Mission District Lofts in South Pasadena.

If you live in South Pasadena, you no doubt have heard of Tracy Macrum. If you haven’t, well, let us take this opportunity to introduce you to this dynamic and dedicated member of our community! We recently sat down for lunch with Tracy at one of her favorite local spots, Mike & Anne’s, to talk about all things South Pasadena and the work she loves.

Originally from the Bay Area in Northern California – specifically “The Peninsula”, in the San Carlos area. “It was an ideal place to grow up. I recently went on a trip to South Carolina with ten of my BFFs from those days. It was a special time in my life,” says Tracy. In 1998, after having her first child, she and her family moved to LA and she stayed home to raise her kids. Having first lived in the Hollywood Hills area, in 2002, Tracy heard tell of a special town called South Pasadena. “When it was time for our oldest to start kindergarten, we knew to start looking in South Pasadena and it was a no-brainer – the charming downtown – it reminded us of Palo Alto, a town near where we both grew up and we immediately loved it. We stopped in The Dinosaur Farm and started asking them about the neighborhood, got all kinds of information on the town, and some toys, then made the move!”

Twenty years later, South Pasadena has lived up to her expectations and exceeded them. “I love it here. Different circumstance now – no longer married, kids are done with the schools – so no more SPEF, Little League, AYSO boards, but I just love where I live and now I’m involved with the arts and the music scene. It’s an amazing place.”

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PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Brad Colerick and Tracy Macrum at Wine & Song
PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Brad Colerick and Tracy Macrum at Wine & Song

Tracy is deeply involved in all things arts and music in her town and calls it her creative outlet. She sponsors the wildly popular Wine & Song evenings produced by Brad Colerick, volunteers and is integral to the success of our Arts Crawls, Eclectic Music Festival and is a passionate cheerleader for the arts in the community. Although she attended the event well before (Wine & Song has been going strong since 2009), her involvement began when the event moved to the Arroyo Seco Golf Course many years ago. “It was just a really easy, comfortable thing to do and I got hooked on the singer/songwriter music I heard there. I started going regularly and was eventually introduced to the folks at SPARC (South Pasadena Arts Council) which led me to work with the Arts Crawls and the Chamber of Commerce events. Something I especially love about Wine & Song is pretty much every show there is something – a voice, an instrument, a lyric – that brings me emotion, and often a moment that moves me to tears.” So much so that when they lost their last sponsor, Tracy was thrilled to step in to ensure that this weekly musical event that had given her so much would continue to bring joy to South Pasadenans and our neighbors. “Now I’m hooked,” she laughs, “I want to make sure it sticks around and share it with everybody else.”

PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Lynn Clark, Ross Silverman, and Tracy Macrum at the Eclectic Preview Party.
PHOTO: Alisa Hayashida | The South Pasadenan | Lynn Clark, Ross Silverman, and Tracy Macrum at the Eclectic Preview Party.

In this moment of her life she says it has become about the people. “I think we get more protective of our time and where we donate it. We get to choose what exactly it is in town that we connect to – so it’s the people and these extraordinary events. I love the arts crawls, and in particular the Eclectic Music and Arts Festival, this is an epic event and I get to walk out my door and be in the thick of it. I’m just so thrilled that I get to walk,” she emphasizes, “walk(!) to see music, theater and art, not to mention our wonderful restaurants. It’s a lovely town.”

After being a stay-at-home mom for 11 years, Tracy dipped her toe back into the work force and was looking to do something that was flexible. Local realtor and friend, Michele Downing, told her she should think about real estate because of her love of detail and history. “I absolutely love the detail. It’s such a varied job with a little bit of everything – research, which is one of my favorite things to do, analyzing, negotiating and a bit of creativity. I meet all sorts of people and I get to use my legal knowledge” (Tracy has a background in law and urban studies). As one can already surmise, Tracy enjoys the social aspect of her job and going to bat for her clients.

Patience, persistence, creativity, and attention to detail are some of the qualities that clients like her past client David J. mention when talking about working with Tracy. “What stands out most,” says David, “is that I can tell that she truly loves what she does.” He goes on to talk about how her attention to detail and history helped him visualize living in the property. It’s something Tracy is passionate about, she says “I like to get into those weeds – all the details are very important. I tend to dig deep and I think the care and time I take with my clients can go deeper than what is generally expected.” Tracy explains that it’s a relationship and that she listens to their human story. It is something that comes up again and again when speaking to her clients – the personal relationship, the care and attention to detail and how much she clearly loves the job.

PHOTO: Tanveer Badal | The South Pasadenan | Compass realtor Tracy Macrum with Megan Spargo-Ferrell at Compass Real Estate.
PHOTO: Tanveer Badal | The South Pasadenan | Compass realtor Tracy Macrum with Megan Spargo-Ferrell at Compass Real Estate.

Circling back to her love of research, Tracy is waxing rhapsodically about the history of neighborhoods. “I love researching the history of a home. I could do that all day long because it fascinates me. This whole area has so much rich, architectural history – the Craftsman, the Mid-Century modern, the Batchelder tile, and all the famous scientists and artists who’ve lived here. Sometimes it’s already been discovered and is in the house description – but sometimes we discover new things. You can find permits from 100 years ago! There’s something about seeing a document and getting that window into a home and the people that lived there.”

PHOTO: Tanveer Badal | The South Pasadenan | Compass realtor Tracy Macrum with Megan Spargo-Ferrell at Compass Real Estate.
PHOTO: Tanveer Badal | The South Pasadenan | Compass realtor Tracy Macrum with Megan Spargo-Ferrell at Compass Real Estate.

After years as part of the Megan Spargo-Ferrell team at Compass, Tracy has now struck out as a solo agent for the company. “We have a gorgeous office and Compass really knows how to take care of their agents – we have so much experience and support backing us up. And everyone is very down to earth.”

What becomes clear is that Tracy Macrum has found her purpose and her place living in South Pasadena and serving the community as a trusted realtor who knows her history and loves bringing all of those things together for her clients.

You can reach out to Tracy through her website and follow her on Instagram and Facebook

Below is one of the beautiful properties Tracy is featuring. Contact her for more information on this and other listings. Tracy tells us, “this breathtaking five bedroom, five bathroom, corner lot home is located within the gated community of La Vina, in the foothills of Altadena. In our area, it’s not often that you find a 3,300 square foot house, built in 1998, at this price point.”

3716 N Hollingsworth Rd, Altadena, CA 91001 listed at $1,895,000