Best Buys in the Southern California Beach Cities Market
Living along the coast in southern California is the dream many folks, especially in the summer when inland temperatures linger over 100 degrees while the coast remains a balmy 75 degrees. But under our current market conditions, where are the best coastal areas for investors and homebuyers? We will compare the stats for Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Newport Beach and Pacific Palisades.
The median sales price of a home in Huntington Beach in 2007 was 6K and today it is 3K. A whopping 30 percent of all homes sold in the past year sold for a loss. That compares with 25 percent a year ago and about 6 percent in 2007. Huntington Beach is an area of middle and high-end singles and families. About 40 percent of the residents are renters and about 60 percent are homeowners.
To the north of Huntington Beach, Long Beach is a larger and more diverse area. In the past year, about 35 percent of all homes that sold went for a loss. A year ago that figure was 32 percent and in 2007 it was 3 percent. Currently the median sales price of a home in Long Beach is 0K and in 2007 it was 5K. Long Beach is a much more diverse city than either Huntington Beach, Newport Beach of Pacific Palisades. In Long Beach about 40 percent of the residents are homeowners and 60 percent are renters. This is a complete switch from the Huntington Beach statistics.
In Newport Beach about 55 percent of the residents are homeowners and 45 percent are renters. In 2007 the median sales price of a home was .36 million and today it is .17 million. The rate of homes that sold for a loss during the past year is 23 percent. The residents in Newport Beach are mainly high-income singles and families.
The median sales price of a home in Pacific Palisades in 2007 was .65 million and today it is .3 million. Only 14 percent of homes that sold in the past year sold for a loss. Compare that with 27 percent a year ago and about 8 percent in 2007. The people who live and buy in Pacific Palisades are uniformly wealthy, high-income singles and families.
If you focus strictly on the loss ratio, you see that in the past year the number of homes that sold for a loss in Pacific Palisades was 14 Percent; that number was 23 percent for Newport Beach, 35 percent for Long Beach and 30 percent for Huntington Beach. So, while Pacific Palisades and Newport Beach are both in the million-dollar range when it comes to median sales price, the percentage of homes that sold for a loss is lower in Pacific Palisades. These figures also show that there are large percentages of homes in all four areas that did not sell for a loss, which makes the coastal area a good bet for homebuyers. Just be careful to study the market for any specific area before you decide to buy.
Noel Markham, MA
By the way, for more information about Huntington Beach real estate or any coastal city in southern California, visit http://www.ray4homes.com
