March Real Estate Market Update

The start of the year ushered in a wave of good news about a hot stock market, higher wages and an active home sales environment. At the same time, housing prices have continued to rise, and the low inventory situation and affordability crunch has been particularly hard on first-time buyers struggling to get into the market. Nevertheless, buyer activity is easily outpacing seller activity in much of the country, culminating in relatively quick sales and low supply. Demand has remained strong so far this year.

Unemployment has reached pre-recession levels, and Americans remain optimistic about finding quality employment. This matters because job growth and higher paychecks fuel home purchases. Unfortunately, that won’t matter for potential buyers if price appreciation outpaces income growth and if mortgage rates continue their upward trend. Many sellers are receiving multiple offers in this market. The worry for sellers then becomes that there will not be a plentiful selection of homes to choose from when they become buyers. Coordinating timing for selling and buying becomes crucial in this market environment.

Local Market Statistics for Long Beach

The median price for single family homes in Long Beach rose to $590,000 in February, up 7.3% from the same time a year ago. The inventory of homes for sale declined to a 1.9 month supply, down 13.6% from the same time last year. Not suprisingly, homes have been selling reasonably quickly as a result, with an average 52 days on the market for February closings.
long_beach_february_2017

Local Market Statistics for Lakewood

The median home price in Lakewood was $534,000 in February, up 7.4% down from the same time last year. Meanwhile, inventory declined to a 1.4 month supply of homes, a decrease of 22.2% from the same month last year. Time on the market decreased as well, shortening to an average of 34 days on the market.

lakewood_february_2017

Local Market Statistics for Seal Beach

Unlike many surrounding communities, home prices in Seal Beach showed a slight decline last month, with the median price for a single family home dipping to $890,000, 6.3% below the same time last year. Closed sales were also down for Seal Beach and the time on the market lengthened 58%, from 43 days in February 2016 to 68 days last month. The inventory in the area declined,  however, by 26.3%.

seal_beach_february_2017

Local Market Statistics for Los Alamitos

Median home prices in Los Alamitos climbed to $632,500 in February, up 5.9% from the same time last year. And while many areas in the region are experiencing a low inventory of homes for sale, the available homes for sale in Los Alamitos as of February represented a 4 month supply, up 166.7% from the 1.5 month supply this time last year. The time to sell a home climbed from an average 27 days on the market in February 2016 to 44 days as of last month.

los_alamitos_february_2017

What Does This Mean For Your Home?

Individual home values are a function of condition, location, area and the supply and demand in any given neighborhood. From city to city, and from neighborhood to neighborhood, markets can vary greatly. If you’d like a current evaluation of your home, please fill out the contact form below and we’d be happy to provide you with a custom report.

About the Author

Shannon Jones has been selling real estate since 1998 and specializes in listing and marketing homes. She has consistently been one of the top Realtors in the Long Beach area. Prior to her award-winning career in real estate with the Shannon jones Team, Shannon has had successful careers in journalism and public relations. She holds a bachelors degree from UC Irvine and a masters degree from UC Berkeley. Shannon holds E-Pro, CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert), and PSC (Pre-Foreclosure Specialist) certifications. Shannon is very personable and maintains a very strong moral compass, always putting the best interest of home buyers/sellers above monetary goals. A California native, Shannon enjoys gardening, travel, reading, cooking and poker when she’s not selling homes MY DESIGNATIONS Lic# 01247705 | CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) | E-Pro | PSC (Pre-Foreclosure Specialist) MY SERVICE AREAS Anaheim Bellflower Buena Park Carson Cerritos Cypress Downey Fountain Valley Garden Grove Huntington Beach La Palma Lakewood Long Beach Los Alamitos Los Angeles County Norwalk Orange County Rossmoor San Pedro Seal Beach Signal Hill South Bay Westminster

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.