Properties are Selling in Southern California

It's that time of year when the weather is warmer, and traditionally there is more market activity, so what's happening now in local area cities? How many properties are currently in escrow?
For residential properties (houses, condos, townhomes, own-tour-owns, coop units) as listed in the MLS:

1. Long Beach - 397 (March closed esrows - 165)
2. Huntington Beach - 215 (March closed escrows - 104)
3. Cerritos - 42 (March closed escrows - 24)
4. Lakewood - 121 (March closed escrows - 49)
5. Seal Beach - 33 (March closed escrows - 30)
6. Los Alamitos, including Rossmoor area - 16 (March closed escrows - 16)
7. Bellflower - 50 (March closed escrows - 14)
8. Cypress - 49 (March closed escrows - 15)
9. Costa Mesa - 74 (March closed escrows- 44)

If the above figures are any indication, the sales activity has increased overall. There are factors such as length of escrow time and seasonal activity, however, the overall decline in the median sales price combined with higher loan limits available are factors as well. Check the March zip code chart for sales trends in your area.

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Distressed Listings in Long Beach, Cerritos and Huntington Beach

Some buyers are thinking that foreclosure and/or short sale properties (they owe more than they will net from the sale) are in every neighborhood where the buyer would most like to live. Not true, and it's been the source of misunderstanding, and sometimes frustration, for people who might otherwise make a move right now. A short sale is not necessarily the way to go: There are "normal" listings of non-distressed properties priced just as advantageously; plus, a short sale is in the hands of the bank, not the seller, and the bank. Fathom7's 3/31/08 entry on the Redfin site says, "Add to this the matter of the short sale taking a long (sometimes interminable time to complete) and these properties become amazingly undesirable. What I don't understand is that rather than take a rational offer for the home, the bank and the still-present-owners appear to prefer foreclosure over accepting a short offer on the short sale. somebody is getting something but nothing gets accomplished for the buyer," (It's true, some banks are not clearly understanding that foreclosure is usually a more expensive process than accepting a buyer's offer and taking a loss), and,
"Here's one example of what I have been dealing with: I have had interest in a particular house – the asking was outside of what I wanted to spend for that house (too many compromises for the premium price). Then , the price took a drop. No sooner had I discovered this when I learned that it too is a short sale. The “listed” price is also short of what is owed and thus is not the real price the bank is going to take. This one too is likely on it's way to foreclosure."

First of all, the short sale status should always be disclosed up front in the MLS so that it's not a surprise to the buyer (however, the price reduction could have been the beginning of the short sale), and second, Fathom7's observation that it's on its way to foreclosure is probably very accurate, because if there's a non-distressed property at or near the same list price, it's going to be an easier pick; third, there are plenty of distressed properties in some areas, but maybe not in the ones you want.

Distressed properties may be ranging from 1.5% of the market up to a 33% or more, in different areas.

Market samples:

Zip code 90803 (Bluff Park, Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples) - Single family: 5 properties listed as short pay and/or pre-foreclosure, out of 109 single family listings, or 5.5% of the MLS listings are distressed. Condos: 6 properties listed as short pay/NOD (notice of default), out of a total of 55 listings, or about 11% are distressed condos.

Zip code 90802 (downtown Long Beach, Alamitos Beach) - Single family: 8 properties listed in short pay and/or NOD, out of 19 houses, or 42% are distressed. Condos: 36 short pay properties, an additional 6 also as pre-foreclosure, are listed out of 278 condos, or about 15% are distressed properties. (This zip code has a higher percentage of multi-unit housing compared to other areas in Long Beach.)

Zip code 90807 (California Heights, Bixby Knolls and adjacent areas) - Single family: 26 short pay/NOD properties out of 115 houses, or approximately 23% of houses are distressed listings. Condos - About 14 short pay/NODs out of 42 listings, or 33% are distressed condos.

Zip code 90814 - (Bluff Heights, part of Belmont Heights, Carroll Park, Rose Park South) - Single family: About 7 out of 45 MLS listings are short pay/NOD listings, or 16%. Condos - 1 short pay/NOD listing out of 39, or less than 1.5% is a distressed property.

Long Beach - There are a total 1158 single family listings (including the above zip codes) for the entire city in the MLS, 291 are listed as short pays, or 25% are distressed listings.

Huntington Beach - For the entire city, 462 single family homes are listed, 67 are short pays, about 15% of the total market -- this is spread across 4 zip code areas, where some zips may have a higher percentage. Condos - 256 listings, 27 listed as short pays, about 11% of all condo listings.

Cerritos - 90703 zip code - Single family: 112 listings of which 25 are short pay, or 22% are distressed listings; 26 condo listings, 5 are short pays, about 19% are distressed listings.

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East Long Beach Still Sells

Zip code 90815 (excluding Park Estates and Bixby Hill areas) closed 37 transactions since January 1 to today's date in prices ranged from $355,000 to $715,000 for a single family home (data from the Southern California MLS)--one property reflected as a short sale (this data is only recently being reflected in the MLS). The same period last year closed 51 sales ranging from $476,000 to $930,000.


Currently, in these same 90815 areas of east Long Beach, Los Altos, Stratford Square, Lakewood Plaza, the Ranchos, La Marina, and Artcraft Manor, there are 83 active listings ranging in price from $380,000 to $1,095,000.


About 18 of these are impacted by short pay situations (meaning the seller is requesting the lender to accept a loan loss), however this area is far less impacted on the whole than other areas which may be as high as one-third of the active listings will require lender approval of the seller's short pay request.


It's opportunity time if you're ready to make a move! For a buyer- or seller-directed property search, please go to http://www.longbeachrealestate.listingbook.com/, or go to http://www.juliahuntsman.com/ to search properties on the market by zip code, or price!



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Market Activity in East Long Beach 90815 for September 2007

According to residential resale transactions recorded at the Los Angeles County Recorder's office for August, there were 306 transactions in zip codes 90802 through 90815--a decrease of 18% in sales for the same period in 2006 for the same area which shows 372 transactions.

California Association of Realtors reports a 27.8% decline statewide in numbers of sales for August compared to the same period last year, and an approximate 5% decline in median sales price.

Locally, though, it appears that all trends as showing in the Southern California MLS are down except the price:

Taking just the one zip code 90815, generally considered East Long Beach and including the varied housing characteristics of Los Altos, La Marina, Park Estates, Bixby Hill, Artcraft Manor, College Park West, and Stratford Square neighborhoods, 17 single family homes closed in September selling at 95% of the list price at an AVERAGE (probably very close to the median) price of $754,911 after an average of 55 days on the market--a decrease of 23% from September 2006.

The 90815 area for September, 2006, 22 single family homes closed at an average of $711,318, at 97% of the list price, after an average of 74 days on the market

For the 90815 in 2003 there were 39 sales, after 19 days on the market, selling at 99% of the list price at an aver sales price of $497,038. 2003 is the year showing the most recorded transactions from the Los Angeles County Recorder for the 11 zip codes mentioned above in the last 5 years at 423 total transactions.

The 90815 house at the right does not fit the average sale picture above--It features many interior upgrades including kitchen and bathrooms, has an earlier room addition which makes a den or a 4th bedrom, yet remains on the market after a year. The current asking price is $668,950--it's a great house for a young family because it's within walking distance to the elementary and middle schools, near shopping and the airport. If you would like to know more contact me, or find this property (it now has a little tree in the front) here.

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Sales Activity Comparisons for Long Beach and Cerritos

The number of houses selling over $1,000,000 in the 90803 zip code now equal about half of total sales of single family homes during July and August. While there are those who say that this fact skews the overall median price, it's still a fact that there is a market in this price range where it did not exist a few short years ago. In August, the AVERAGE sales price of 17 closed escrows, per the MLS, was $1,283,876 at an average of 64 days on market with the selling price about 91% of the original list price. In July, 25 properties closed escrow after an average of 68 days on the market at an average selling price of $1,408,653, at 92% of the original list price. The lower end of sales in this area was around $600,000, and up.

If these prices shock you, just look at the blue-footed doobie for a minute.

The story for July and August of 2006 for 90803 was almost the same for average price and number of sales (18 for both months), but the average time on market was MUCH longer: 124 days on market in July and 97 days on market for the average sale of $1,175,000 in August.

The story in Cerritos is similar: August of 2006 saw 53 days on the market, July was 42 days on market. August of 2007 was 26 days on the market (half the time to sell from one year ago) and July of 2007 the average sale time was 29 days on the market.

For both years the sale to list price percentage is higher than Long Beach--in July of 2006 it was 97% of the original list price and in July of 2007 it was 95% of the original list price. The average sale price has declined in those two months to $715,789 for August and $747,754 for July of 2007.

If you still want to be in Long Beach near the beach, the house at the right is on the market for $689,900 in Belmont Heights. For more information, call me or go to www.juliahuntsman.com and find 261 Grand on the property search engine.

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Not All Pricing Trends Are Down ...

. . . in fact, some are up. Writer Kenneth Harney, based in Washington D.C., reported August 12 about median price increases in Chevy Chase-Bethesda areas, by zip code.

In today's Los Angeles Times, a convenient interactive zip code finder is an interesting feature for finding median prices comparing July 2007 to July 2006. For instance, 90803, a Long Beach area of affluence, ocean views, and mixed single family residences, residential units, and condos, adjacent to the shoreline and a few blocks in, shows a median price increase from under $1,000,000 last year to over $1,000,000 this year, and an increase in the number of sales as well. Go to nearby zip code 90815, an area of mostly single family homes near a shopping center, schools and local libraries, and see the price and number of sales change upward only slightly since last year. On the other hand, Cerritos zip code 90703 has seen an 11% decrease in number of sales with a 3% median price decrease from $690,000 to $668,000 this year.
North Long Beach area 90805 has an 11% decrease in price and an almost 40% decrease in number of sales. This would be more the land of opportunity for the right buyer in the $400,000 price range for a house.

You may find, however, that data is different depending on which source you use: See the zip code chart published in Sunday editions of the Los Angeles Times.

While certain areas are more connected to subprime loans than others, an area of affluence is still not totally immune, since some borrowers stretched themselves to the limit to get into their new home of choice.

According to the Los Angeles Times article using data from Dataquick, "Los Angeles County's median price rose 5.3%, to $547,000, and sales slid 23%, and Orange County's median was flat at $640,000, as sales fell 19.8%."

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May Sales in the Long Beach Area and Statewide

The May 2007 median price for a single family home in zip code 90803 which borders the ocean and inland water areas, according to Dataquick, was $915,000, a 4.5% drop compared to May 2006. The neighborhoods in the inland and adjacent 90814, however, experienced an increase of 10.1% (median price of $765,000) compared to May 2006. Areas including Carson Park (90808) experienced the highest number of sales with a median price for a single family at $560,000, a decrease in price of 6.7% from last year.

Dataquick's report for the 6 counties in Southern California single family median price was up 4.9% compared to last year, and the same as March and April, 2007. The California Association of Realtors in its midyear report forecasts a statewide increase in the median price of a single family home to $566,500 (1.8% increase) for 2007, even though overall sales volume will fall by 14%. Currently, Los Angeles County tax data figures published by Realist are showing $565,000 median price for April of 2007, an increase from $532,000 from April 2006.

If you would like a report on recent sales in your neighborhood, please contact me by phone or e-mail, or go to www.juliahuntsman.com and complete a seller's request form or my Guestbook form and I will respond quickly.

Long Beach

Number of Sales Goes With Seasons?

Condo sales by quarter



While all we seem to be hearing about is that sales are down, historically, the time of year has something to do with it, too.

If you compare 2007's condo sales for zip code 90803 (Belmont Heights, Bluff Park, Belmont Shore areas) as shown in the local MLS, with 2006's sales at the same time last year, even more have sold with about the same number expiring. Sold condos per quarter range from 23 to 42, with the second quarter of 2006 highest in sales. Although not reflected on this chart, the median prices from local tax data for Los Angeles and Orange Counties has increased over last year's prices.

While not exactly a scientific study covering all parameters, this does show sales are continuing actively in the current market. We'll see if the second quarter of 2007 echoes last year's.
Long Beach

Median Home Price in Long Beach

Dataquick's city by city chart tells us the January, 2007 median. For Long Beach it's the combination of condos and single family homes (remember, condos usually sell less than houses overall and may sell at greater numbers) which in January sold 8.41% higher than January 2006 at $490,000. Then scroll further down the chart
and find Long Beach zip code 90810--that section next to Wilmington--included under Southwest Los Angeles to see the incredible rise in price there since 2006--over 15% to the current median price of $462,000.

It's important to understand that prices vary widely by area--to check areas within Long Beach by zip code, go here. Some examples:

Naples, Belmont Shore, Bluff Park, Belmont Heights = 90803.
Belmont Heights, Alamitos Heights = 90814
California Heights area = 90806
Wrigley = 90806
Westside = 90810
Downtown, Alamitos Beach, West of Belmont Heights = 90802
North Long Beach areas = 90807

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