Long Beach Real Estate-Downtown Long Beach Condos

Here on our Long Beach Real Estate site I usually write purely real estate related articles targeted at educating and informing buyers and sellers of Long Beach Real Estate. Today I would like to give you a little peek into the business side of things and explain how they can affect the sale or purchase of your Long Beach homes.

In a recently published post I disclosed the 2008 closed sales in Long Beach; 674 of them, through 4/30/08. While the chart shows the sales increasing each month, the sales figures are still very low. (Includes sales of homes, condos, lofts, co-ops, Oyos, 2-4 units and 5+ units as recorded on the MLS)

• Jan 130
• Feb 153
• Mar 179
• Apr 212
• Total: 674

These are difficult times for those of us surviving in the real estate industry. Going into this down market there were about 2900 licensed Realtors on record, there are currently about 1600 licensees active in the Long Beach area. Every market will support a certain amount of agents based on the closed sales of that market. Each agent needs a certain amount of closed sales in order to survive. Lets assume that 8 to 10 closed sales for the year are required for a Realtor to even survive this market; 674 closed sales would produce 8 to 10 sales for the year, for between 200 and 250 Realtors. Those sales are currently spread across 1600 current licensees, which would equate to less than ½ of a sale for each Realtor for the first 4 months of 2008.

In the real estate industry we have an 80/20 saying. It states that 20% of the agents do 80% of the business. 20% of 1600 agents = 320 which would equate to about 2 closed sales for the majority of the 20% still doing business.

So how are 1600 Realtors surviving a market with sales that will currently only support 200 to 250?

• Some have other income, or a spouse or significant other with income.
• Some have taken on Part or Full time jobs, while trying to juggle their real estate.
• Some have anticipated this market and made plans to survive it.
• Some are making enough sales to manage.

What of the 80%? That is 1280 agents, still active, for the last 4 months. How are they surviving with little or no sales? Well, they either have spousal support a trust fund or they have accepted salaried positions. Lets take a look at that. Real estate is a more than full time job; it is a commitment which permeates every hour of every day of our lives. Real estate transactions require a lot of attention on a daily basis. Escrow, title, lenders, inspections, appraisers banks and more need to be attended to, mostly during normal business hours. Buyers need to see properties around their schedules which often means after work or weekend showings. Sellers properties often need tending, flyers run out; keys go missing from a lock box or end up in another box on the same property. A pipe may burst on a listing with an out of town owner; anything can happen. How is an agent who has accepted employment elsewhere, with a set schedule, going to be able to deal with the schedule and responsibilities of a full time Realtor? How does that affect the buyer or seller? Has the agent even disclosed to the buyer or seller that they are not fully available? Do you know if your agent is available to conduct business, full time on your behalf?

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8 Deadly Selling Mistakes

Selling Your Long Beach Homes and Condos

1 - Overpricing Your Property

Every seller wants to get the highest possible price for their Long Beach homes. Ironically, the best way to do this is NOT to list your property at an excessively high price!  A savvy seller will understand the long term damage that chasing the market down will inflict upon them.

Read also: 

• My Long Beach Home Won't Sell-Are YOU Chasing the Market Down?
• Chasing the Market Down - Are You Guilty?
• Selling Your Long Beach Home 
• Top 5 Tips for Selling Your Home in a Down Market 
• Downtown Long Beach Condos Wont Sell... 
• Selling Your Long Beach California Home? Its A Whole New Game! 

An overpriced home or condo will cause prospective Long Beach buyers to choose to view other more reasonably priced properties.  As a result, overpriced homes are not selling, and sellers are finding themselves chasing the market down.  Never a good position to be in. 

Read also:

• The 7 Dangers of Overpricing Your Long Beach Homes and Condos

Overpricing your Long Beach home and chasing the market down will eventually cost you much of the equity in your home and could send you into a short sale or foreclosure situation.

Read also:

• Hiring YOUR Long Beach Realtor 

2 - Confusing a Re-finance Appraisal with Actual Market Value

When equity is present re-finance appraisals often reflect overly high prices.  Unfortunately quite a bit of this has gone on in recent years leading sellers to believe their Long Beach properties are more valuable than they actually are.  Lenders allowed this tragic behavior to encourage re-financing.  Naturally many sellers want to believe the re-finance appraisal is a real indication of their homes value, however nobody is better qualified to determine market value than your local Realtor®.

Working with your Long Beach Realtor®, looking at the comparables, and properly assessing the value of your home is the safest way to insure that your home is priced competitively for today's volatile real estate market. 

3 - Not Staging Your Home

With so many homes on the market in Long Beach, and so few qualified buyers shopping, it has become critical to put your best foot forward.  Staged Long Beach properties just look better than their competition.  Buyers are no longer interested in purchasing homes or condos that need much in the way of upgrading, nor do they always have the after purchase funds to do so.  Most are barely willing to paint.  They no longer have to do any of this to get a good buy in today's market, nor do they always have the after purchase funds to do so. 

Read also:

• Long Beach Homes-Issues for 1st Time Home Buyers 

A messy or dirty home is a turn off to buyers, they will either leave or make a very low offer, it will cost you a lot of money in the sale, if you sell at all. 

If you cannot afford a professional stager the many articles below will assist in placing your home in the best possible condition prior to placing it for sale. 

Read also: 

• Why Stage Your Long Beach Home or Condo?
• Curb Appeal On A Budget
• Preparing Your Long Beach Homes for Sale - Home Staging Tips
• Long Beach Home Staging-Define Your Long Beach Homes with Color!
• Redesign Home Staging for Your Long Beach Homes
• Staging Your Long Beach Homes
• Stage Your Long Beach Home to Sell
• Long Beach Home Kitchen Remodels
• Long Beach Home Bathroom Remodels
• Remodeling Your Long Beach Homes?
• Long Beach Real Estate - Seller Tips - Preparing Your Home For Sale 

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Spring Real Estate season has begun in Long Beach. The clocks have been changed, it is light out into the evening hours, making it easier to show properties after the work day, and buyers are liking this springs Long Beach housing prices. 

Prices are way down, foreclosed properties (bank owned) are being placed for sale on the MLS daily and investors are buying. Sellers are realizing they have to compete with short sales and forclosures on price.  There are some very nice homes for sale on the market here in Long Beach at the moment, and buyers are shopping. 

Many real estate sales in Long Beach are being made to out of area buyers.  After searching in areas that remain unaffordable to them, Long Beach has proven to be a great option in its ability to provide great housing at affordable prices. 

Until recently buyers had the luxury of time when they found a home or condo they were interested in, this is no longer always true.  We are currently working with many Long Beach buyers.  In just the last 3 weeks 6 of our buyers decided to think on it for too long and lost the homes they wanted to write offers on - to buyers who were quicker than they were to write the actual offers.  Many buyers have been looking on and off for quite some time and have been conditioned to the slower winter market, it is different now.  Strategy is important. 

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Long Beach Real Estate Market Statistics

Sales 2001 - 2007

January 1, 2008 - March 21, 2008

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There are currently approximately 133 Long Beach properties selling per month (closing escrow)

352 ÷ 2.66 = 133

2245 ÷ 133 = 16.8

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352 Long Beach Properties have closed escrow ‘SOLD’ in 2008.

133 Average sales per month.

There are currently 2245 Long Beach Properties for sale.

It will take almost 17 months with no new properties entering the Long Beach Real Estate market to sell the existing inventory of properties for sale. Homes, condos and income properties in Long Beach are being placed onto the market daily adding to our existing inventory and increasing the length of time it will take for the current real estate market to absorb these new properties for sale.

The numbers tell an interesting story, one that I recall all too clearly. As single family homes became financially unattainable to first time home buyers in 2005 and 2006, many purchased Long Beach Condos instead, it was better than remaining in rent and gave them badly needed tax write offs. The above chart shows a significant decrease in single family home sales in 2006 and again in 2007, as condo sales remained strong into the latter portion of 2007 when they too began to taper off.

You will notice the sharp decline in closed sales in the first quarter of 2008, its not that the buyers have not been out shopping, many have been. Many just have not been able to wrap themselves around exactly what it means to get a deal. I dont know if it is the media or a misguided idea of what a deal is in todays real estate market. Others are realizing that the after purchase costs of badly needed upgrades on many of the homes are beyond their reach.

Long Beach Homes-Issues for 1st Time Home Buyers

Prices on real estate for sale in Long Beach are currently all over the place, it is a bit messy, which indicates a good hard look at the comparables before deciding what to offer on any given property. Some homes are priced to sell at the price offered, some sellers have priced their homes based on fantasy and wishful thinking. While it cant hurt to place a reasonable offer on one of these homes, the sellers are often not very responsive. Many buyers have decided to offer low, whether the listing price is fair or not. This is a sure way to not get your offer accepted. There are many good buys on the real estate market in Long Beach right now and the smart buyers and cash heavy investors are picking them up.

Real Estate Investors with a lot of cash have entered the market. Prices are finally dropping to the price range they have been waiting for. This is making it more difficult for buyers who intend to purchase with loans and occupy the homes to get their offers accepted. We placed an all cash offer for a bank owned Alamitos Beach Condo about a week ago, there were multiple offers, one was higher than ours. We opened escrow on that condo on Monday. The bank knew they would not have any problems with a lender that might not be able to perform, may disappear or may discontinue their current loan programs.

Bank owned properties are beginning to appear in larger numbers and a better selection of homes is now available. Buyers have started getting a little excited now that homes they actually want to buy are finally starting to become available, they are writing offers and are often being rejected because the investors are liking these homes too, are placing all cash offers and are walking away with the prize. Multiple offers are occuring on the better properties that are being made available which is making that potential purchase more competitive now, and less incentives are available on these purchases. Some of these properties sell quickly for around asking price, with no incentives.

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About the Beach Communities of Long Beach California

Beach Communities of Long Beach CA Business, Schools, the Arts, Marinas, Parks, or just easy beach living¦Long Beach has it all! If you work in Los Angeles or in Orange County commuting is easy from here, we are centrally located. Do you prefer waterfront living or an inland lifestyle? You can choose your dream home from our downtown urban condos, co-ops, lofts, etc. all the way to Alamitos Bay homes with a resort hideaway setting.

Long Beach California Real Estate

Beach Communities of Long Beach

• Marine Stadium - Alamitos Bay
• Alamitos Beach 
• Belmont Shore and Naples Island
• Belmont Heights Neighborhood
• Bluff Heights
• Bluff Park
• The Peninsula

Resort Style Living at the Heart of Long Beach

Want to live in a luxurious resort community without giving up the conveniences of an urban lifestyle? Head to Belmont Shore and Naples Island along the Long Beach Peninsula. Youll find resort style living at the heart of Long Beach! Here, rows of sailboats bob at docks along the waterfront. Palm trees are massaged by cool ocean breezes. Look no further for top notch shopping, entertainment, beaches, water activities, and unsurpassed dining opportunities. And its all just minutes away from bustling, vital, Downtown Long Beach.

Waterfront Enchantment

Do you like the beach? Theres plenty of it here! At the southern end of Long Beach land stretches and thins into a finger shaped wedge of waterfront enchantment. On one side of this peninsula graceful East Coast shingle style homes overlook the vast Pacific Ocean. On the other, lovely Alamitos Bay caresses the three luxurious water encircled bundles of earth that are Naples Island. At the tip of the Peninsula is the Long Beach Yacht Club.

Lovely Belmont Shore

Travel just around the bend at the Second Street/Livingston/Ocean Boulevard stoplight in Long Beach and youll find yourself in friendly.   Belmont Shore. Youll be in good company! Youll enjoy meeting neighbors as you stroll by the boutiques, businesses and shops of the popular Second Street shopping area. Grab a cappuccino at Starbucks and enjoy the day. The fun doesnt stop just because the sun goes down! People travel from all over the country to visit this lovely four mile area. 

Graceful Yachts and Elegant Mansions

Follow Second Street across sparkling Alamitos Bay and youll be at the center of quaint Naples Island. Here, graceful yachts float before elegant waterfront mansions. Flower-lined walkways, five Venetian inspired bridges and a city full of palm trees line a mile of tranquil canals. Youll view spectacular ocean vistas from patios in some of the most sought after places to live.


Be sure to meander along the waterfront where sidewalks are shaded by tall palms and garnished with colorful flowers. Here, children play in the sand and paddle about in brightly hued kayaks. In the summer, one bay front street is closed so children can safely travel to and from the beach.

Romantic Naples Island

Youll love the canals, bay and beaches that surround Naples Island! Naples consists of three individual islands¦and all have canals that pour into Alamitos Bay. Just like its European namesake, streets in this popular seaside community have Italian names. And since 1971, La Bella Fontana di Napoli, a large fountain at the center of Naples, has been a popular meeting place. Looking for a romantic getaway? Take your sweetheart on an Italian style Gondola Cruise along picturesque canals.

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