To sell or not to sell that is the question?

To sell or not to sell your piece of Long Beach real estate that is the question? Many times this time of year home owners start to discuss whether they should begin the process of selling or not. They way the pros and cons of the whole process and try to decide if they should subject themselves to the following:

• Having to make sure the home is clean every single day
• Having a post up in your front yard
• Having every neighbor, friend, and family member ask where you are going and what you are doing
• Having the excitement of finding a new place
• Wondering what new opportunities you will find in your new place

It is a roller coaster ride of emotions to be sure when you are looking at selling your piece of Long Beach real estate that you have worked so hard to pay diligently on for years. So how do you decide if you should sell or not? Only you can answer that but a few things you may want to check out that may help you:

• How many homes or condos are for sale near me? - Look at least in a radius of 3 miles to see what buyers can choose from.
• How many homes are currently in some stage of escrow? - This is a closer indication of value these days then homes that sold 6 months ago.
• Am I willing to improve the condition of my home? - think of it like giving your home a detail like you do for a car before you sell it.
• Am I willing to price it as one of the most affordable homes or condos in the area? - There are only two things a seller can change: PRICE and CONDITION. Make sure you are willing to look at both.

Make sure you check out the market long before you have to sell your piece of long beach real estate. Our market snapshot tool is absolutely free and is designed to give you a head start on your home work. Just fill out the form to the right in the right navigation to create your very own market snap shot.

Selling a Long Beach home when someone passes

When someone passes it can be one of the hardest times of your life and the last thing you want to do is talk about what should we do with the home? The best thing do to with loved ones who you know might be near leaving is talk to them and see what their wishes are for their property or multiple properties if they have them.

So why are we talking about this subject on this blog? We have helped many people sell assets after a loved one has left the earth and there are always some common issues that arise. We can't possible cover them all here in this one post but here are some things to think about when you are looking at your long beach real estate when someone leaves the earth.

Questions to Ask Prior to Making any Decisions

1. Do we really want to sell the asset?
2. What is the value of the home?
3. Are there any necessary legal proceedings that need to take place?
4. Are there tax consequences?

It is easy to tell what stock is worth you just check online and you are done in minutes. This isn't so easy to do with real estate. You really need to consultant a professional to find out what it is worth in today's market.

Determining the Value

Make sure you find the local expert or two local experts in the area if the property is not near to your home. Even in Long Beach areas are very different. Try to find one on the Internet first to see who serves that area. Let the real estate agent know you aren't planning on selling yet but just need information. They should be happy to help and it is exactly why we offer the market snap shot on our blog here so you can sign up for it to find out how the market is doing in your area.

Do You Really Want to Sell

Sometimes people want to hold on to the asset for emotional reasons. Make sure you want to either keep the asset or sell it for the right reasons. If you aren't ready to sell emotionally make sure you can afford to keep it. If you have other family members involved make sure everyone is on the same page on whether to keep it or to sell it. Nothing is worse than making a difficult time harder by not having everyone agree on what is happening. It is best if everyone has copies of all information to make sure everyone feels included.

In all selling your long beach real estate should not be the hardest part of your grieving process. Make sure you get the facts and most importantly take your time.

Ask Yourself the tough questions before you list your Long Beach home

Do you think you should ask yourself a few questions prior to listing your home? I mean even before you call a real estate professional to interview for the job. I am not talking about who you are going to use but I am talking about what is important to you. In today's long beach real estate market there are some questions that you should ask yourself prior to picking up that phone or going on to Google to search for the real estate professional who is going to help you.

So what are the tough questions that you should actually ask yourself? That is the topic of today's post and these are always the toughest questions to ask. We will discuss some of these questions in the post and let's open it up to comments for the ones that aren't discussed.

• Do I have to sell?
• What is my motivation to sell?
• How motivated am I to sell?
• Am I committed to selling my home?
• What are my options if I don't sell or don't get the price I hope for?

We want to take a few of these and discuss them. It is important to be brutally honest with yourself prior to selling so you don't get in a situation that will cause you more stress and work.

Do I have to sell?

If you have to sell because of a job change or an adjusting loan make sure you know that you absolutely have to sell. Is there a severance package that you get or can you get a short term loan till your next job. Have you evaluated that you must sell. Make sure that you know the answer to this because often it isn't as bad as one things.

Am I committed to selling?

If you are really committed to selling make sure that you ask yourself this question: If I got 15% less than I was hoping for would I still sell. If it isn't a YES make sure you have all your numbers worked out and really know your motivation level. Use a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being you aren't motivated and 10 is you wish you were gone yesterday. If you are 8 or above proceed with more investigation.

What are my options if I don't get my price?

Remember above I asked you to think about 15% less than you thought? Well if you did get 15% less could you still move? Would you have enough for the next down payment? Can you use your proceeds in a different way or is your future impacted?

It isn't always about how much money you receive from your sale but how you use your money. Keep that in mind when you are looking at accepting an offer or considering a price reduction.

If you want to know what your market is doing fill out the market snapshot form on the right to get an idea of what your home would be worth in today's market.

Where are the home sales occuring in Long Beach?

Despite the fact that the media is overly negative on the housing market, there is still some wonderful activity here in the Long Beach market. With currently just 1,795 available homes and condos throughout the city we don't have as much inventory available as even a few months ago. With 112 sales occuring in February properties are moving, but which ones?

I won't paint a rosy picture as sales have slowed, but I thought it would be appropriate to mention what activity is occuring in the market place.

• Open Houses Near the Beach - Homes in Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights are still getting attention. With limited inventory under $1,000,000 (just 35 homes in Belmont Heights) buyers have been looking to find that right home. In 1 open house on Mira Mar this past weekend there were over 130 buyers through in a 2 day period (6 hours total of having the house open), now that is some activity!
• Entry Level Condos - Condos for the first time buyer that are in good condition are still not easy to get your hands on. In one instance in the past week a buyer actually lost on 3 different condos due to the fact there were multiple offers. This occurs particularly on condos under $300,000. There are still choices available in Downtown Long Beach, Bixby Knolls and more, but if you don't want to wait for a short sale your options will be smaller in number.
• Foreclosures - Although the media paints a picture of abundant foreclosures we aren't seeing them in every area. In particular neighborhoods like the Westside and North Long Beach we generally have more available than in areas like the Plaza. Foreclosures have provided for some great opportunities but act quickly as they are generally priced aggressively and don't last long. Right now they account for just about 5-7% of the total market.

With aggressive interest rates and some pricing pressure you can certainlly find the deal for you using the Long Beach MLS or contacting your Long Beach real estate agent. Have fun finding the property for you!

Long Beach Real Estate "Deals" Still Selling

The well priced Long Beach real estate is still moving quickly. Sounds very different than the main stream media but it certainly is happening in real life. Now, this is not to say that there aren't properties that are sitting on the market for 80,90, or 100+ days, because they certainly are, but the properties that are in great condition and priced lower than their competition are receiving multiple offers and staying on the market less than 14 days.

So what does this mean to you?

As you are looking for properties using the Long Beach MLS or your local real estate agent be aware of the properties that are the"deals". The deals in any market certainly don't last long and with interest rates at still record lows buyers are hungry for the best deals possible. Searching through the inventory will help you to understand what is possible so you can identify the deal along with your agent.

Sounds good, but is it really happening?

If I didn't look through 100's of properties every day online every day I might be skeptical of this post, so let me provide a couple of examples.

• Signal Hill Condo on 20th St - This property is over 1,500 sq ft and was listed as a foreclosure for $299,000. It stayed on the market less than 11 days before it went into escrow.


• Belmont Heights 3 Bedroom Home - This home was just 2.5 blocks from Ocean blvd and priced at $650,000. Within it's first 14 days on the market it received 2 offers and went into escrow.

Whatever area within Long Beach you are focusing on, make sure to understand the inventory that is available. Have your Long Beach real estate agent set you up to view the listings so you can determine what is available and then you can see when that "deal" pops up. Remember don't hesitate too long as the deals certainly are flying off the shelves.

2007 Long Beach Real Estate Market...what did happen?

2007 was an event filled year with the Long Beach real estate market changing dramatically from previous years (as well as real estate markets throughout the country). Realistically it turned to a more "normal" real estate market but due to the difference from the previous strong years it was a shock to many. Here are some of the realities that occured in the past 12 months:

• Homes, condos, multi-units, and land still DID sell! - Sounds crazy but if you listened to the media you would think that inventory just sat around. Buyer and sellers were still active throughout many different cities.
• Home Loans are still available - Although the sub-prime market withered away a great deal, there are still loans that can help individuals and families purchase. Long standing programs like FHA and CalHFA have continued to support 100% loan programs and down payment assistance programs.
• No Crystal Ball - No matter what month we are in, or what year we are in, not the media or your local real estate broker can tell you exactly what will happen. Take the time to be informed and if you purchase get a loan that has a payment that is fixed for 5, 10 years, or more so you can be protected no matter what the changes occur.
• Foreclosures exist...but.. - Foreclosures are available, but not in the record numbers the media portrays. I have yet to see panoramic ocean view properties for 50 cents on the dollar.
• Limited Properties - Yes I did say limited properties available. What I mean is that there are limited properties that have appeal to buyers. Although we have a little over 2,000 available properties listed throughout the city, many are over priced, in poor condition, or not in the areas that many able buyers today desire. Finding just that 1 property (as most people are purchasing just 1 at a time) is a fun process but means focusing on requirements to find it.

2008 looks to be a year that buyers will continue to be able to have choices and sellers will need to have patience. We look forward to keeping you up to date on the latest Long Beach real estate information throughout the coming year!

Long Beach Mid Month Report

OK we are halfway through October and the kids are getting excited about Halloween. So is the real estate market scary? Well let's take a look at what is going on and see if it is or isn't.

Mid Month Report for Long Beach CA Real Estate

• Number of Units in Escrow - 81 (39 Condos, 42 homes)
• Days on Market Year to Date Average - 72
• Days on Market for October -69
• Average Price for a Condo on the Market - $390,000
• Average Sold Price for a Condo -$376,000
• 43 of the properties that went into escrow went in under 60 days of being listed for sale.

So what does all of this means. Well here is what we thing of all of these statistics which were pulled from the realtor MLS system that covers Long Beach.

• The average condo being sold is more affordable than the average one listed. There are 330 active condos under $300,000 so there are affordable choices out there. Don't let averages fool you!
• If sellers aren't getting an offer or enough showings within the first 30 days they may want to revisit their price with their real estate professional as you want to be in escrow within the 60 day mark.
• Days on Market (the average time a property spends on the market prior to receiving an offer) is lower for October. We have the serious buyers and sellers out there wanting to make deals work.

So is the market really scary? Well we don't think so but beware trying to wait too long before responding to buyers requests or a buyer offer.

Today's Real Estate Market vs. The Downturn Of The Late 1980's

We had our last substantial downturn in the Real Estate market back in the late 1980's. USA Today again stated that the National Association of Realtors is still predicting 5,000,000 sales in 2007. This means we are nowhere near the downturn we had in the late 80's and early 90's. If you remember during that Real Estate recession the interest rates went through the roof and buyers wouldn't buy which meant sellers couldn't sell and the sales for the year were under 4,000,000. Today's market is extremely mild in comparison. Money is still cheap by historical standards and there are still great buys out there. If you're a serious buyer looking for a "deal" talk to your agent about softer markets where homes have been on the market for five months. If you're a seller find out where your competition is priced. You can't go off of comps from six months ago and expect to see your house sell for that anymore. If you are truly motivated to sell your home then you'll need to price it below ceilings where there are levels of resistance and seriously think about offering incentives to buyers. To get your home sold quicker you need to attract agents representing buyers by offering a 4% commission to them. They will see that and even if your home doesn't quite fit their buyers needs they're going to make sure it's on the list of homes to show. The industry as a whole is and will continue to go through a steady bleeding of agents, mortgage lenders, escrow offices, title agencies and so on.....so people are hungry to get transactions through and if that means getting their attention by bribing them with an extra percentage point then do it. If you're not willing to price your home competitively and take a few extra steps to get it sold when working with your agent, then you need to seriously consider whether you want to sell right now. I hope you found this informative and happy hunting out there....no matter what side of the fence you're on!

Long Beach Real Estate Results for September 2007

OK the results are in for the city of Long Beach. These are the market numbers for the entire city.

All data comes from the Realtors MLS system that covers the city of Long Beach which is SoCalMLS. If property was sold outside of this system it will not be reflected in these numbers.

So here we go!

September 2007 Real Estate Market Statistics for Long Beach

• Total Active Residential Properties Available as of 10/1/2007 - 2,262
• In Escrow Properties ( Pending & Backup) - 186 ( 117 Pending, 69 Backup)
• Expired Properties - 244
• New Listings in October - 488

OK so what does all of this mean?

• Well if you use the months of inventory barometer. That is the statistic that says how long would it take to sell all the homes currently on the market if no new homes came on. At the current pace of homes sold in Long Beach that would be 12.16 months of supply or just over 1 year. It should also be noted that two areas of the city (Downtown Long Beach and North Long Beach) hold almost 50% of the cities inventory and do not make up 50% of the city in size or population.
• Homes are selling. In fact 186 people got their properties to be sold.
• Homes are expiring or coming off the market. This is happening for a variety of reasons the main one being the price being asked did not get to a point where a buyer could afford or was willing to purchase the property.
• New properties are coming on the market. If you didn't see anything in the past you liked 488 new opportunities came on for you to take a look at.

Please don't hesitate to let us know what you think.