A Little Random Data About the Long Beach Market in August 2019

As of August 26th, there were 299 active listings for single family homes in the MLS:

Smallest house for sale = 480 sq. ft.
Largest house for sale = 7692 sq. ft.
Lowest list price = $375,000
Highest List price = $11,995,000
Longest days on market = 525
Listings that mention a bomb shelter = 0
Listings that mention walk score = 4
Listings that mention a pool = 30
Listings that mention granite = 77
Listings that mention an ADU = 7

On occasion, there is a listing that describes a bomb shelter (a 1950s era feature); walk score has gotten a lot of talk in the past, but where is it now?; pools are very much in the market, but not desired by everyone; granite couinters hit the big time for over a decade, but may not be desired by all buyers who may decide other material, such as quartz, is more to their liking.  And ADUs (accessory dwelling units) were passed into law in California as an attempt to help ease the affordable housing crunch--if you are thinking of adding one, be sure to check in with the City's requirements first--the upside is they are good way to have a second legal unit without having to be in an R2 zone.

If you are interested in looking into a property with these characteristics (or without) and want to know more, just contact me!

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

How a Listing Went From $1 Billion to A Low, Low, Selling Price

This story could be the story of many sellers, albeit on an exaggerated scale.  How did a property on the market for $1 billion dollars ultimately sell for .1% of that, or a 99.99% loss?

It's the story of an investor buyer who wanted the 157 acre parcel in Beverly Hills, and to get it he borrowed $45 million from the seller (Mistake No. 1), the Mark Hughes Estate, and bought it in 2004.  In time, the debt surged to $200 million with interest and fees added. The investor transferred ownership to an LLC controlled by the investor's partner, which was unsuccessful last month in declaring bankruptcy.  The Hughes estate could either buy the property back, but lose the $200 million it was now owed, or let it go to foreclosure auction. But any other buyer purchasing prior to the foreclosure auction would have to pay the $200 million in debt, and there were no takers. So the property went back to the Hughes estate, after 15 years, leaving it to absorb the $200 million debt.  However, the LLC, known as Secured Capital, made a last minute offer of $150 million for the property, but the estate ignored the offer, according to the company's attorney (Mistake No. 2).  So last week, the property sold for $100,000 at auction. 

So 1) don't overprice your property; 2) or do a carryback loan to a buyer who can't perform, 3) and, finally, know when to cut your losses so you don't lose out completely (the estate could have at least recouped $150 million) and then, end up selling at a below market price that you can't even buy a condo for.  And last but not least, check your days on market, and keep checking your market value.


Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

July 2019 Market Prices for Houses in Long Beach

No matter what is said about housing affordability up to this point, the house prices continue upward overall.

In January 2014, the average price of a single family home in Long Beach was just under $500,000. Following the peaks and valleys all along since then, the average price in July 2019 was $775,352, while the median (midway point of all SFR's sold) is $660,000, vs $455,000 in January 2014.

Days on Market:  July, 33 average days on market. This is time before an accepted offer, so what does this mean? You can't waiting around forever before making an offer.

List to Sold:  In the last 5 years, houses have sold in the range between 97% of list price to 100% of list price, with the July average at 98.6% of original list price.  So what does this mean? That you have to make your offers strong.

Months Supply:  This is the amount of inventory on the market before it would run out at the current rate of sale, and this has been ranging, since 2014, between 1.5 months and 3.5 months.  It's been a long time since the 6 month supply level, considered the market norm, has been around. So what this this mean? Limited supply helps drive prices up, less inventory,  continued demand.

Closed Sales:  Since 2014, this varied  between monthly lows of 102 and 106 SFR closings a month, to 259 a month.  In July, 212 single family homes sold.  What does this mean?  It's not unusual for low sales in January and more sales in the summer.  Since 2008, the highest number of sales were in August 2012 (260) and June 2017 (259).   Per data on the MLS, just to compare, going further back to January 2000, 183 SFRs were sold; in July of 2001, 350 SFRs were sold.  So our market volume has slowed consideredly since that time, and prices have gone up.

But buyers are still looking to buy, so if you are thinking about selling, even if you're not sure when, whether you have a house, condo, or unit properties, please contact me. I can work with trust and probate properties also!

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996