Market Stats – Feb 2020 – Long Beach, California and rest of southern California

Happy March, everyone, it’s the start of the 3rd month of a very interesting year!

This past week saw the financial markets plunge in a way we have not seen since the financial crisis of 2008… and we don’t know what holds for us this coming week. Though what we do know is: housing prices have held steady, and interest rates for mortgages continue to plunge to historic lows, causing lenders to be very, very, very busy!

At a quick glance, these are the events characterizing the real estate market here locally in Long Beach, all of Southern California, and across the nation:

1. Very low inventory levels – inventory levels of homes for sale not increasing
2. Increased buyer activity – buyers interested in buying
3. Very low interest rates and possibly declining interest rates in the weeks to come
4. Escrows – transactions – taking a long time to close due to lender delays – because lenders are so backed up with refinances clogging up their pipeline – rates are so low, those with loans already are refinancing to lower rate loans

Right now – the answer to the question I get the most: “How is the market?” is “It depends….. are you a buyer or a seller?”

If you are a buyer:

It is a very challenging market – most buyers are getting beat out and beat up in multiple offer situations….

You’ll need a very experienced and skilled agent to help you navigate this market and win in multiple offer situations.

If you are a seller: 

Life is very good – one of my sellers had 11 offers on her home this past week, getting her $26,000 above asking price for her house that she bought 6 years ago for much less. Another seller got full asking price in less than a week on the market.

Let’s look at the numbers from February in Long Beach:

Let’s look at the numbers in the city of Long Beach from the last 29 days, in February 2020:

Number of residential properties on the market (active listings): 387 today on March 1, compared to 368 a month ago (normal levels between 500 and 600)

Number of residential properties that went under contract in February: 251 vs 219 in January

Number of residential properties that closed in February: 228 vs 221 in January

Average price of property sold in Long Beach in February 2020: $624,551 vs $658,967 in January 2020 and $568,544 in January 2019.

Overall, the real estate market in February has been as strong as in January, with number sales being limited mostly by lack of supply in the market especially at the entry level and average price points at $650,000 and below.

If you have been considering making a move this year, have I mentioned that now is the time to start this process?

If you are a buyer, it’s the time to get prequalified for a mortgage with low interest rates in place. It will take time to get the right property in this competitive market.

If you are a seller, it’s time to get ON the market in this low inventory, low competition market, to get sold for the best possible price.

Call me – I am available! Or email me. Reach out!