June Home Sales in Long Beach CA

Well it is important that we be able to track the history of what is happening. After all if we don't learn history we are destined to repeat it right? So let's take a look at the sales data for June. Shortly the July numbers will be available so we will have a really good idea of what is happening.

All data is taken from SoCalMLS which is the area that services the Long Beach area. Properties not listed for sale in the MLS or sold private party without going into the MLS system will not be reflected in these figures.

Sales figures are for residential sales. No commercial properties (properties above 5 units, vacant land, or other commercial property are not included in these figures).

June 2007 Sales Data

• New Listings - 466 new
• Active Listings at the End of June - 1,520
• Properties that went into Escrow (Pending and Backup) - 110 (35 Backup & 75 Pending)
• Closed Sales - 273
• Expired - 143

So if you look at the data it would look like there were very few new properties that went into escrow and many that were closed out from a fairly decent May. It appears that the sellers who want to sell are still putting there homes up. I have a feeling that July numbers will tell a different story so stay tuned for that.

How did May finish in Long Beach, CA for Real Estate?

You know the old saying "It doesn't matter where you start it matters where you finish."? Well that is what hopefully everyone will think by the time 2007 ends in regards to real estate in Long Beach CA. So where did things finish? Well let's take a look at the numbers and see!

All data below comes from the realtor multiple listing service that covers the Long Beach area which is the SoCalMLS. The numbers below will not include any owners that sold their homes without going onto the MLS system.

Activity for May 2007

• Number of Properties that went into a Sold status - 239
• Number of Sold last May - 374
• Number of Properties that went into a Pending status - 221
• Number of Properties that entered into a Backup Status - 90
• Number of Active Properties at the endof the Month - 1,769
• Active as of today is 1,939
• Number of Active Properties at the begining of May - 1,231

So what does this all mean? Well if you take number of properties that are currently available in means Long Beach has a 7.4 months supply of inventory. This is a great thing! Now I am not recommending all sellers in long beach ca increase the prices of their homes but it is certainly not as bad as some media outlets would lead us to believe. Now some might say well 36% fewer properties were sold in May this year as compared to last. I would say you are right! Now last year was a record year. This year isn't necessarily a bad year just not a record year. So we can read into it there are less homes being sold so make sure to price accordingly. Let's here what everyone else has to say!

What happened in March in Long Beach?

It is always important to take a look back every month and see what happened in the market space. When buyers and sellers are looking out a property it would help to know how all real estate in Long Beach is performing. Performance of real estate in long beach can be looked at many different ways. We like to look at how many new properties came on the market in Long Beach and how many properties were sold during the month.

If a market has inventory growing at a pace that is too rapid for the market could absorb there may be an economic issue in the market place. For the month March we had a 27% increase in the number of properties that came on the market. This is not terrible considering we are entering spring time.

• We still had a very healthy 265 properties close during the month and 189 properties going into escrow.
• Number of properties that went into a Pending Status - 189
• Number of Properties that Closed: 265
• Number of Properties that Expired 135
• Total Active as of today: 1589
• Total Active at the start of March 1252
  

As a whole things in Long Beach are moving in a positive direction. One might want to think otherwise as a result of the data above but the market continues to have sellers selling and buyers buying.

5 Things to do before you sell your Investment Property!

Often we get asked what should we do to prepare our property for sale? When people are preparing their primary home for sale there usually isn't much that people don't know about doing. We know we have to have a clean yard, clean up the clutter, make sure the paint looks good, and make sure things smell good. So since everyone knows about those we thought it would be good if we spoke about how to get your investment property ready for sale. Let us know what you think. There is an investing section on the following website that is helpful as well at investing in Long Beach.

Investment Property Prepareness list

1. Make sure you have all of your repair records in order - This is critical to your escrow going smoothly and no surprises being found. Make sure that any and all repairs that you have done you have a record for it. After all you should be taking repairs as a deduction against your income. Even if you have purchased small items don't hide anything.
2. Make sure that you are in compliance with all local mandatory city ordinances - We never like to see transactions blow up because someone didn't check to see that the city requires wired smoke detectors instead of just the battery ones. Check with your city website they will let you know. An great example at: http://www.ci.la.ca.us/ or http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/. Both cities give plenty of information and phone numbers.
3. Make sure you have signed lease agreements and copies of them for prospective buyers - If you aren't using a lease of any sort we recommend that you do. You can purchase sample ones at Staples and other office stores. Please make sure everything is accurate and never misrepresent anything!
4. Get a preinspection of the property completed by a certified inspector - We recommend knowing your problems ahead of time. An inspection of $500 and repairs ahead of time could save you thousands in a transaction. Make sure they are certified by an organization like http://www.nachi.org/ or one endorsed by your state.
5. Make sure you know what you are going to do with your proceeds - We always advise clients to plan ahead of time. If you are going to be doing a tax deferred exchange (Commonly referred to as a 1031) plan ahead for where you are going to go and don't wait till the last minute. Make sure your realtor presents you all of your options.

There are more things one can do but these top 5 things to do before you sell your investment property will save you lots of headaches! Let us know what you think!

How many homes sold in March in Long Beach CA?

We thought that it would be a good idea to post the vital statistics of the housing and condo market that happens every month. This way everyone can see what is happening and we can all discuss what is good, bad, or indifferent for the Long Beach, CA market.

For this blog article we have not broken up the difference between homes and condos. We will be doing that in the future though so stay posted. The statistics only include residential housing so no multi-family properties are included in the statistics. There may be a possibility that a duplex is included in the statistics if it was listed under the heading of residential properties.

All of these statistics came from the MLS(Multiple Listing Service). We did do the searching so it is as accurate as possible. All information is based on data from 02/01/2007 to 02/28/2007
So here we go.

• Total residental properties available: 1,264
• Total new properties that came on the market: 407
• Total properties that went into escrow (Both Pending & Backup Status) - 237
• Total properties that Expired - 137

So what does that mean. Let's take a look and then hear what people have to say. At the current pace of sales (237) a month that means Long Beach as a whole has 5.3 months of inventory. Now in different areas of Long Beach this sometimes means the level of inventory is beyond 6 months and in others it is below 6 months.

The reason I mention 6 months is that below 6 months of inventory a market is considered a sellers market, between 6 months to 12 months the market is considered a level field for buyers and sellers, and above 12 months the market is considered a buyers market.

Now I don't think that this is a seller's market and seller's should just rush out there and price to the sky. What I do believe this data is telling us is that the market is becoming more balanced and that Long Beach as a whole is not experiencing a massive fallout as the media has been saying is across the country.

So upcoming we will continue to post more statistics about the different areas of Long Beach so that homeowners in all areas can see what is going on in their particular area.

As usual, you decide the truth!

You be the judge of the real estate market!

Is the worse over? - for the housing market

Well as you know we always try and bring the latest information to light. A great article in the Long Beach Business journal appeared in the Real Estate section by Thyda Duong. The article is entitled "The Worst is Over" As Housing Market Begins to Stabilize.

So how are things in Long Beach, CA. Well I can tell you that our average price in December was $514,000 for a single family home. That is up 5% from 2006! Those who don't think 5% isn't a great return please not that the 5% was on rouhgly $500,000 which means the average Long Beach, CA homeowner made $25,000 in appreciation. I am not sure about everyone else but I know these two bloggers think that $25,000 is quite a bit of money!

That also means that at $514,000 we are still below the Los Angeles County Average of $525,000. We believe that this puts Long Beach in a nice position to continue to rise or at the very least maintain value. It is still the most centrally located city for those commuters who have a family where one goes to Orange County and the other to Downtown Los Angeles.

In all the outlook for 2007 looks to maintain at where we were for 2006. The interest rates are still extremely low considering history and there are still quite a few things for buyers to buy.

Let us know what you think!

Caught off Balance - LA Times Oct 8

Home Prices Falling
The good news is that the artcile stated that home prices are not falling rapidly. They quote Raphael Bostic, associate professor at USC's school of Policy, Planning and Development, as stating that prices are in for "a long, grinding slowdown, not a drop off a cliff". They do state that there are 12 metro areas where the price per sq foot has fallen from last year. It would be important to note, that appraisers do not use price per sq ft to do an evaluation of value, although the LA times seems to think that is the most relevant.

Crash Coming?
The article highlighted 12 "communities" that have had price declines from last year. The highest being a 6.7% drop in Eagle Rock. They also highlight that the Los Altos area of Long Beach had a 1.6% decline.

The facts on the smaller table!
What you are not really drawn to in the article is the table that is on the following page of the article where they list zip codes that had at least 50 or more single family home sales this summer. The striking fact in Long Beach is this:

• Zip Code: 90806 -> 6.2% Gain
• Zip Code: 90805 -> 7.9% Gain
• Zip Code: 90807 -> 8.1% Gain
• Zip Code: 90810 -> 9.2% Gain

Of 6 Long Beach zip codes that had at least 50 sales, only 2 had declines, but those were not highlighted in the article.

You Be the Judge of the Real Estate Market!