What's happening in Downtown Long Beach?

Long Beach, CA is a large city. I mean to us it is. The total population is just over 500,000 and as a result has many different areas located within this fine city. The 2000 census reported 461,000 so I am adding an increase in the population. As a result we want to make sure that everyone is aware of what is happening in the different areas of this city. So today we thought we would discuss what is happening in downtown long beach. Hopefully everyone had a chance to read the last blog on the monthly statistics for February. If you didn't please do and let us know what you think. More information on downtown can be found at www.LovelyDowntownLongBeachCondos.com in case you wanted to know more about the area. We will discuss today the statistics and what that means for the market. Another great website to find out what is happening in Long Beach as a whole is http://www.longbeach2030.org/. This website is run by the city and will definitely keep you up to date on the future of Long Beach.

Please note that all statistics are pulled from the MLS and that in the MLS system downtown is also associated with nearby Alamitos beach. For our purposes we will use the MLS defined area so if you ever run into other statistics they will more than likely be the same.

Statistics in downtown long beach for February

Closed Sales - 40 - This means that the property actually changed from 1 owner to the next
Number of condos - 24 of the closed sales in downtown long beach were condos
Number of homes - 16 of the closed sales in downtown long beach were homes
New listings - 52 - This means that 52 sellers chose to put their home on the market in downtown long beach in February
Total amount of properties going into escrow - Both Backup & Pending Status - 30
Total properties Expired - 32 - Where contracts expired on the property
Total Active Listings - 291 total properties available in downtown long beach

So now that we have our data out there what does this mean. One of the numbers that is used to judge the health of a market is the number of homes available on market in comparison to the time it would take to sell those properties. Now that is referred to as days on market. For more explanation on this please see the post on February statistics.

The number that we use is the number of properties that went into escrow in the month in both a backup or pending status. Using closed would mean a property would have to be bought and sold in the same month which is usually not the case as escrows are traditionally 30 days.

What this means is that in downtown long beach we have a 9.7 month supply of homes and condos. A sellers market is 6 months or less and a buyers market where the supply is over 12. What this means is we are just fine in downtown right now. We are an even market. As long as sellers price appropriately they should average the 62 day average stay on market prior to receiving an offer. I would recommend pricing more aggresively to attract more buyers.

In all things are not as bad as the media would like us to believe. I do believe both buyers and sellers must be realistic. I don't think that is such a bad thing. Let's here what you have to say.

As usual, you decide the truth!

You be the judge of the real estate market!