real estate

Long Beach is a great place to own real estate. For the past few years home prices have steeply climbed and owners have reaped the rewards of growing equity. A house you bought in 1999 for $200,000 could now be worth over $500,000. In the past few months this has changed but history tells us that a temporary fall in prices will correct itself within a year or two. Slower growth is the norm and provides for a more stable home market. What this change in the market provides is an opportunity for buyers.

In the rest of the country sellers are prepaired to have their home sit on the market for a number of months and this is normal. In California we are not so accustomed to waiting for buyers as we got used to our desirable homes being sold in days or weeks, not months. This may be changing but we are still well behind the national average for days on market. What buyers can expect is for sellers to be getting desperate after about 60 days and there can be deals to be had.

The mistake many sellers make is overpricing. Even a slight overpricing can make your house sit on the market for months on end. After two or three months some overpricers will lower their price but the newness of the listing is gone and buyers will wonder what's wrong with this stale listing that has been sitting for 60+ days. Those buyers who have already seen your house will most likely not return. It's for this reason that it's critical to price your house very stragically at market rate or just below market rate in this type of market.

Compared to other parts of Los Angeles County, like Santa Monica, the Hollywood area or the Southbay, Long Beach can be a little more affordable for both houses and especially condos. Most first time buyers will be priced out of the house market and will be looking at condos to build their initial equity. The saying goes, your first home will probably not be your dream home but your second house could be. In just a matter of 3-5 years you could be on your way to upgrading to your actual dream home.

Long Beach has plenty of both "starter homes" and "dream homes". Starting in downtown and sweeping east toward Belmont Shore there are scores of conds for sale that fall into the starter home budget. At this time you could pay anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 for a condo. Houses in Long Beach can be had in the price range of $400,000 all the way up to over $1,000,000.

As for the dream home, Long Beach has many great historic districts that offer some of the most beautiful craftsman bungalow style houses you've ever seen. There are also gorgeous spanish style and mediteranean style houses that would qualify as someone's dream house. For a tour of possible dream houses look to the neighborhoods of Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights as well as Bluff Park and Heights. There are also gorgeous neighborhoods inland like California Heights (next to Bixby Knolls), Virginia Country Club (grand old mansions) and El Dorado Park (on the East side). There are lots of wonderful neighborhoods in between to please every buyer.

Of course, we'd love to help you find your current dream home in Long Beach. If you're interested in having us send you some properties by email please don't hesitate to fill out our CONTACT US form.