End of 3rd Quarter/Beginning of 4th Quarter State of the Market Address: Long Beach, California

Market Snapshot October 1, 2017

So here we are, closing the books on the 3rd quarter of 2017, what a year so far! On September 30, 2017, our local Multiple Listing Service showed 466 residential homes are listed active for sale in all of Long Beach, California. $620,000 is the median list price, which means 50% of the homes are listed under $620,000 and 50% of the home are listed above $620,000 in Long Beach (including condos, townhomes and single family homes)

In the month of September 2017, 307 homes sold/closed escrow in Long Beach. Of those homes that closed in the last month, the median price is $540,000. 

This gives us a ratio of 1.5 month supply of inventory. Yes, it is true, the inventory is low still in this area, just like you have heard on the news – because the fact is there are not many new homes being built and the demand for homes is outpacing the supply in this area. Perhaps in the future, we will see some new home construction in our area, but for now, it’s a resale market defined by a low number of homes for sale.

Let’s look at the Pending Sales and Homes Under Contract, which gives us the Absorption Rate. That number of Pending Sales and Homes Under Contract today on September 30, 2017 for the area Long Beach is 395. So the Absorption Rate is 85%. The median price of homes that are currently Pending or Under Contract is $500,000. 

So while I’m not a statistician, you can see that the Active listings are being listed higher than people are actually buying the properties at.

A further breakdown of the Active Listings vs What is Actually Selling in Long Beach shows (and yes, M = million):

Out of 466 listings, 94 are listed above $1M (20% or one in 5!)

Out of 307 closed in September, 28 closed above $1M (9%) – slight mismatch here.

Out of 395 pending sales, 19 are for listings over $1M (5%) – slight mismatch here.

Out of 466 listings, 143 are listed between $600,000 and $1M (31%)

Out of 307 closed in September, 100 closed in the price range $600,000 to $1M (33%) – much better

Out of 395 pending sales, 109 are for listings between $600,000 and $1M (28%) – good

I could break things down further, but I think you are getting the picture – buyers are price sensitive! If you have a property you want to sell this year, price your property under $1M. There could be additional advantages to pricing under $800,000 in this market.

Remember, you can price it where it sits, or you can price it where it sells.

If you live elsewhere in Southern California and you’d like me to give you a breakdown of your town, please let me know!

And finally, whether you are Selling or Buying real estate: Wouldn’t you rather be working with a Real Estate Agent who knows her market stats? Don’t hesitate to give me a call! Or an email. I’m working – you’re not bothering me! 🙂