What to know about the Long Beach real estate market
Long Beach, California, is known for its diverse population, arts and cultural scene, LGBT-friendly attitude and Grand Prix auto race. It’s also known for a diverse stock of housing within easy reach of the city of Los Angeles and Orange County.
NerdWallet analyzed March 2016 data from real estate site Agent Ace to determine Long Beach market trends. If you’re considering moving to Long Beach, here’s what you should know about its real estate market.
The Long Beach real estate market
How hot is real estate in Long Beach? Here’s a look at how many homes are on the market and how quickly they’re selling.
Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market?
In part due to the majority of homes moving off the market quickly, Agent Ace considers Long Beach a seller’s market. Many buyers can negotiate below asking price, but the market is more favorable to sellers.
Most popular homes in Long Beach
Although nearly 100 condos sold in Long Beach in March, single-family homes were the most popular type of property on the market, with 177 sales. Only five townhomes were sold. Ocean Boulevard was the hottest street in town for home sales.
How long are houses on the market?
Of homes sold in Long Beach in March, 100 took more than three months to sell, but 166 homes sold in a speedy one to three months. Fourteen homes were snatched off the market in less than a month.
How long are listings active?
In March, 384 Long Beach homes were listed for sale. Homes sold were on the market for a median of 65 days — a significant decrease of 25% from February, indicating that homes in the Long Beach real estate market are moving much more quickly than in the previous month.
How much will a home in Long Beach cost you?
How much should you expect to spend on a home in Long Beach? Here’s what homebuyers need to know.
How much did buyers pay?
Of 280 Long Beach home sales in March, fewer than one-fourth sold for more than the asking price. The large majority of shoppers in Long Beach paid less than the asking price, while 83 paid exactly the asking price. This indicates that although Long Beach is a seller’s market, homebuyers still have plenty of room to bargain. One buyer paid nearly $90,000 less than the asking price.
Cost of a Long Beach home
In March, the median list price for Long Beach homes was $502,000. Good news for homebuyers: This was $19,000 lower than the previous month.
That’s not to say more affordable — and more pricey — homes aren’t available. In March, the Long Beach real estate market saw homes with prices ranging from $90,000 to $3 million.
Resources for moving to Long Beach
If you’re moving to Long Beach, these resources may help you make a smooth transition:
- Real estate, moving and storage companies: Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
- Local news: Long Beach Post
- Things to do: This is Long Beach
Can you afford Long Beach?
You can see yourself living in Long Beach, but do you know how much home you can afford? Try our home affordability tool to determine how much you can spend on a new house. If you’re moving to Long Beach or somewhere nearby, try our cost of living calculator.
Emily Starbuck Crone is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.
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