Happy Holidays to All

 

 

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | 

California Lic. #01188996

Long Beach November 2023 Residential Market for Condos and Houses

 The November average sales price for a single family home continued up from November 2022 (on a monthly basis), as did the median price, by over 12%! However, the overall average decreased slightly compared to the same time last year.

Condo prices went up on both a monthly comparison and for the over all year compared to one year ago.

New listings for SFRs were down compared to November of last year, showing the inventory crunch (a pattern found in just about all markets); but for condos new listings were up, but pending sales and closed sales were down from one year ago.  And for both types of sales, the number of days on market are longer.

 The good news is that the 30-year interest rate has recently decreased, which makes a difference on the buyer's prospective monthly payment! So we hope to see more of this in 2024.

 For an estimated value of your property whether it's one, two, three or four units, please contact me. I can help you plan before you take any actual steps.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Holiday Events for December 2023

Looking for fun things to do in December? Here's a partial list of local activities!

 Dec. 7-9 - Rancho Voices: A Holiday Celebration - https://www.rancholosalamitos.com/events.html

 Dec. 8 - Homeschool Holiday - https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/homeschool_holiday

 Dec. 8 - Versa Style Dance Company - https://www.carpenterarts.org/event/versa-style-dance-company-0

Dec 8 - 17 - The Nutcracker - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/american-ballet-theatre-s-the-nutcracker

Dec 9-23 - A Christmas Carol Long Beach Playhouse - https://lbplayhouse.org/event/a-christmas-carol-2023/ 

 Dec. 9 - Long Beach Symphony Holiday Swing - https://www.lbentertainmentcenter.com/events/long-beach-symphony-5/

Dec. 9 - 10 - Huntington Harbour Boat Parade - hhboatparade.org 

Dec 10 - Maker's Market Long Beach Museum of Art - https://www.lbma.org/mc-events/makers-market-2/?mc_id-420091

Dec 10 - Chanukah Celebration - https://2ndandpch.com/portfolio/chanukah-celebration/

Dec. 15-16 - Celtic Woman Christmas - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/celtic-woman-christmas

Dec. 16 - Breakfast with Santa - https://2ndandpch.com/portfolio/breakfast-with-santa/ 

Dec. 16 - The Long Beach Nutcracker - https://www.lbentertainmentcenter.com/events/the-long-beach-nutcracker-2/

Dec 19-24 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas!-the-musical 

Dec. 30 - New Year's Eve Party Queen Mary - https://queenmary.com/tours/new-years-eve/

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Are You Considering Creating an ADU on Your Property? New Law Allows it to be Separate Property

New ADU law now allows Californians to create and sell as a separate property, whereas previously  they were only rental properties.

Accessory Dwelling Units have been allowed for several years now, and were created under state law.  

"ADUs come in all shapes and sizes — for example, a converted garage, a small home in the backyard, or, as often seen in San Francisco, an unused portion of the main house, said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who drafted the legislation.

"Under AB 1033, which was signed into law this week, property owners in participating cities will be able to construct an ADU on their land and sell it separately, following the same rules that apply to condominiums. It gives homeowners more options for building on their property, and “the hope is, it would create more homeownership,” said Ting."

The idea is that this may allow more affordable homeownership including existing owners who could move into a rear property while renting out, or selling, their existing home. 

This has been successful in several other states, and in California, each city will be opting in to the plan in order for it to be an owner option locally.  Interested parties need to go to their local government to discover current plans for this owner option, and follow the local guidelines to create an condominium-style ADU.  For a recent article on this ADU law, go to the link.

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Rental Relief for Eligible Residential Landlords in Los Angeles County

 

Downtown Long Beach

Are you an owner of residential 1-4 units in Los Angeles County?  A program is now launched to assist landlords impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and tenants who fell behind in their rents. 

Landlords may begin applying in mid-December and multilingual support will be available. This program is offered through Los Angeles County Rent Relief and administered by the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. The program will offer grants of up to $30,000 per unit to eligible landlords for expenses dating from April 1, 2022 to now.

More information is available at www.lacountyrentrelief.com.

If you would like market information on your rental units for potential selling value, please contact me via text, email or phone call!

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Long Beach Year-to-Date for Single Family Homes as of September 2023 (and LA County Information)

Year to Date Stats September 2024

 

 Long Beach Market, September year to date:  

• Existing home sales total 796 (down almost 30%)
• Monthly average of active listings total 94 (down over 26%)
• Active listings with reduced prices total 31.4%  
  

Sales to list price is 100% with the median price of $900,000.  There's still competition out there and at the same time sellers need to be realistic on pricing and offers for their local market.

As of 11/7/2023: there are 153 active listings of single family homes in Long Beach, with a median of 32 days on the market (yes, at this time of year timing is usually slower).

September Los Angeles County Inventory Report showing city prices and market information:

 

Contact me for your real estate needs!

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

New Real Estate California Laws for 2024

Here are some of the laws pertaining to real estate (although this is not all inclusive) that parties to a sale or purchase of a  home may want to know about.

 

• Property "flippers" must disclose recent repairs and renovations. This applies to residential 1-4 units, if property was closed within 18 months from prior sale, and renovations were performed by the contractor with whom the seller entered into a contract. For more complete information on this law, feel free to contact me, or review Assembly Bill 968.
• The Natural Hazard Disclosure statement now "expands the disclosures required by the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (NHD) to include High as well as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) by explicitly highlighting three new subcategories of FHSZs. If the property is located in any of these zones, the defensible space and (for properties built before 2010) fire hardening disclosures would then be required."  Assembly Bill 1280.
•  ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) may now be sold separately as a condominium from the primary residence. Assembly Bill 1033

 There is now a permanent prohibition on requiring owner occupancy of a parcel containing an ADU.  Senate Bill 976

The California FAIR Plan Association (fair access to insurance requirements) plan will be extended to commercial properties by July 1, 2024, and the new law requires the Association to reduce the number of existing policies by allowing admitted insurers to offer homeowner policies to current FAIR Plan policy holders. Senate Bill 505

Allows a jurisdiction with local rent control to require an owner of a rent-controlled unit to allow a tenant with a permanent physical disability to relocate to an available comparable or smaller unit located on an accessible floor of the property and retain their same rental rate. Assembly Bill 1620.

Landlords may collect no more than one month’s rent for either furnished or unfurnished units in addition to first month’s rent. There is an exception for small landlords, defined as a landlord who is a natural person or LLC and owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than a total of four units offered for rent.  Assembly Bill 12

Vacation Rentals: Beginning July 1, 2024, AB 537 prohibits a place of short-term lodging, as defined, from advertising, displaying, or offering a room rate that does not include all fees or charges required to stay at the short-term lodging, except government-imposed taxes and fees. Assembly Bill 537

Listing Agreements. This law prohibits: 1) exclusive listing agreements lasting longer than 24 months from the date the agreement was made; 2) renewing an exclusive listing agreement for longer than 12 months from the date the renewal was made; and 3) recording or filing an exclusive listing agreement of any duration.  Applies to residential one to four properties, condos and manufactured homes. It also deems any licensed real estate professional who violates these prohibitions as having violated that person's licensing laws.  Assembly Bill 1345

 There are numerous additional laws concerning tenants/ owners, housing laws, short term rentals, and more.  For the complete summary, please contact me via text, email or phone call.  I will be happy to help!

   

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996