Long Beach Condos For Sale: September 28, 2008

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Long Beach Condos For Sale: 
September 28, 2008

 

 

What’s available?  

 

YIKES! There are 539
Condos for Sale in Long Beach!

 

Need a little perspective? 
464 Long Beach condos have sold (closed escrow) between 1/1/2008 and today
9/28/2008!  This means that it will take
about 10.5 months to sell off the existing inventory of homes.  That does not take into account new listings
entering the Long Beach Real Estate market. 

                                                           

11 Studio condos for sale in Long Beach ranging in price from $75,000 to
$497,000, square footage 215 to 527, 143 average days on market.

• 1 condo
  for sale in Belmont
  Shore
• 1 condo
  for sale near PCH & Bellflower
• 6 condos
  for sale in Downtown Long Beach
• 3 condos
  for sale in Alamitos
  Beach

Buyers are looking at these units with a new perspective
lately.  Some are buying these for
weekend getaways, others are using them to run small businesses from and
parents have been purchasing them for students. 
Be sure to check the CC&R’s to make certain that your purpose is
allowed. 

 

160 one bedroom condos are for sale in Long Beach ranging in price from $64,000 to
$740,000, square footage 471 to 2,461, 111 average days on market. 

• 2 condos
  for sale in Bixby
  Village on 7^th St.
• 2 condos
  for sale in Marina Pacifica Condominiums
• 1 condo
  for sale in Belmont
  Shore
• 16 condos
  for sale in Belmont
  Shore
• 1 condo
  for sale is actually in Lakewood
• 18 condos
  for sale on the Eastside
• 3 condos
  for sale near PCH & Bellflower
• 97 condos
  for sale in Downtown Long Beach and Alamitos Beach
• 9 condos
  for sale in Bixby Knolls
• 11 condos
  for sale in North Long Beach

 

Lowest Priced one
bedroom condo for sale in Long Beach?

$64,000, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 660 sq ft in Bixby Knolls.  But don’t go getting all excited, its not a
real price folks, it’s the starting price for an auction and there are other
costs involved as well.  You remember the
old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true…. It’s probably too good to be
true!” 

 

 

Highest Priced one
bedroom condo for sale in Long Beach? 

133 N The Promenade #405 in Downtown Long Beach Condo for
Sale is a 1 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,461 sq ft Penthouse, with HOA dues of $604 and
central air and heat which has been on the market for a short 10 days.  This unit went on the market this time at
$689,000 the price was changed the same day to $740,000.  Yes, that is curious!  This is a Short Sale believe it or not, built
in 2007. City lights view. 
Hmmmmmmm…………..  What? No ocean
view for that price???  Can you smell
another foreclosure coming? 

While only on the market for an apparent short 10 days, this
property was actually recently removed from the market to be put back on as
new.  Previously listed on 6/10/2008 for
$950,000, reduced the same day to $789,999, then reduced to $740,000 on
9/12/2008 and removed from the market the same day. 

Can you say psychotic? 

 

There are 303 two
bedroom Long Beach
condos for sale ranging in price from $80,000 to $1,495,000. 

• 40
  have 1 bathroom
• 249
  have 2 bathrooms
• 14
  have 3 bathrooms

• 55
  indicate no parking (some of these have parking but it is not indicated on
  the MLS)
• 117
  indicate 1 available parking space or garage
• 130
  indicate 2 available parking spaces or garage combination
• 1
  indicates 3 available parking spaces or garage combination

Since 3 parking spaces are so very rare here in Long Beach here is
further information on that particular unit:

2121 E 1st
Street #307 is 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,264 sq ft, HOA
$183 Long Beach Condo located in the heart of the Bluff Park Historic District
and is just 1 short block to the beach.  
It is a Probate sale, being sold as is, and is not subject to court
approval.  This unit has been on the
market for 109 days, originally priced at $524,900 back on 2/13/2008, reduced
several times to its current list price of $420,000. 

Since 2 bedrooms so rarely are available at anywhere near $80,000
here is further information on the 2 that are available at that incredible
(realistic?) price:

3245 Santa Fe Ave #71 is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 730 sq ft
first floor unit with a carport and HOA $215. 
This is a Short Sale that has not been approved by the bank and has been
on the market for 160 days. 

3265 Santa Fe Ave #138 is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 730 sq ft,
HOA $185, no parking indicated which is likely incorrect.  This unit is a bank owned foreclosure and has
been on the market for 51 days. 

 

 

I found an interesting blog in Virginia about Condo ownership which you might want to read. 

 

Home or Condo Buyer Information:

• Home Buyer
  Information
• Long
  Beach Home Search-Where do I start?
• Home
  Buyer Tips – Don’t Make Any Major Purchases 
• Home
  Buyers Tips – Changing Jobs Affects Your Ability to Purchase a
  Home 
• Long
  Beach Home Buyer Tips – Things to Avoid Before Purchasing a
  Home

 

 

Long Beach Condos For Sale

 

• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $1,500,000 and higher
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $1,000,000 to $1,500,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $900,000 to $1,000,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $800,000 to $900,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $700,000 to $800,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $600,000 to $700,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $500,000 to $600,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $400,000 to $500,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale $300,000 to $400,000
• Long
  Beach Condos For Sale Under $300,000

 

 

Naples Island and Belmont
Shore Luxury Condos For Sale

• Belmont
  Shore and Naples Condos For Sale
• Marina
  Pacifica Condos for Sale Long Beach CA
• Bay
  Harbour Homes For Sale Long Beach California

 

 

Belmont Heights Condos For Sale

• Belmont
  Heights Condos For Sale $300000 to $400000
• Belmont
  Heights Condos For Sale $400000 to $500000
• Belmont
  Heights Condos For Sale $500000 to $600000
• Belmont
  Heights Condos For Sale $600000 to $800000

 

Related Posts:

• Belmont
  Heights Neighborhood of Long Beach California Resource Guide
• Belmont Heights Neighborhood Market Report
• Long Beach – Best Neighborhood for Walking
• Space Saving Ideas for your Long Beach Homes
• Selling YOUR Long Beach California Homes and Condos
• Long Beach California Beach Communities – Area Information
• About Long
  Beach California
• Relocating to Long Beach California-Resource Guide

 

 

 

Long Beach Condos For Sale: September 28, 2008

Belmont Heights Condo For Sale-3935 E Livingston Dr-Long Beach Real Estate For Sale

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Belmont Heights Condo For Sale

Long Beach California Real Estate

PEEK-A-BOO OCEAN VIEWS

Enjoy beach living at the “Pacific Ocean Condos” in the Belmont Heights neighborhood of Long Beach California, just adjacent to Belmont Shore.

3935 E. Livingston Drive

Belmont Heights

Long Beach California  90803

Light and airy Belmont Heights Condo is a front corner upper unit with a nice open floor plan, hardwood floors and a wide expanse of windows to enjoy peek-a-boo ocean views and sultry ocean breezes.

Located within a short walk of Belmont Shore shops and restaurants this lovely Long Beach condo is just 2 short blocks to the sand and the Belmont Pier.  Walk over to the Belmont Brewing Company for a great sunset dinner or to La Palapa for dinner and light entertainment.  Head into
the very trendy Belmont Shore for shopping, entertainment and the many great restaurants on Second Street or walk up to Broadway for a fantabulous java fix at the Library Cafe, it’s all just a short walk from home.  Not in the mood to go out?  Swing by the nearby newly renovated Von’s
supermarket and pick up fixings to barbecue on the patio for a nice quiet dinner at home.

• 2 Bedrooms (Front Bedroom has Peek-A-Boo Ocean Views)
  
• 1 Bath
• 969 Sq Ft
• Built 1952
• HOA $173
• Living Room (has Peek-A-Boo Ocean Views)
• Dining Room (Peek-A-Boo Ocean Views)
  
• Large Kitchen with lots of Windows (Peek-A-Boo Ocean Views)
• Hardwood Floors
• Crown Molding
• Central Heating
• Air Conditioning in Living Room
• Newer Triple Pane Windows
• Kitchen features corian  countertops
• Ceiling fans
• Private garage
• Window Coverings

This great Belmont Heights Condo has 2 large common area patios, one in the private interior of the complex and another adjacent to this unit.  Catch some rays, barbecue, read a book or enjoy the fireworks and ringside seats to Ocean Blvd parades, marathons and other events without leaving home.  None of the other owners use the large upper deck adjacent to this condo at this time, so it is like having your own.

Just a couple of short blocks to the beach; walk down to enjoy one of our beautiful sunsets, take a walk on the beach, or bike into Downtown Long Beach on the bike path.

This complex is comprised of 8 condominium units, built in the 1950’s retro style, these units are very appealing.  Most have separate entrances and are quite private from each other.

Many homes and condos close to the ocean, here in Long Beach, do not have air conditioning; we just don’t need it most of the time.   This condo does have a wall unit air conditioner in the living room, which the seller plans to leave for the new owner.   The seller will also be leaving all window coverings.

Have you been dreaming about moving down to the beach?  Are you craving clean ocean air?  Looking for a walk-able neighborhood?  Long Beach offers some of the friendliest, desirable and most affordable beach living in all of Southern California.

Long Beach waterfront neighborhoods surrounding the bay:

• Downtown Long Beach
• Alamitos Beach
• Bluff Park
• Belmont Heights
• Belmont Shore
• Naples Island
• The Peninsula
• Spinnaker Bay
• Marina Pacifica

If you are thinking about Relocating to the Long Beach area you will find this Relocation  and City Resource Guide very helpful.

This lovely condominium is being offered at $399,000.

This is NOT a short sale and it is NOT bank owned, it is a conventional sale and is priced to sell.  It is the lowest priced 2 bedroom condo, with any kind of ocean view, currently on the market in the Belmont Heights and Belmont Shore neighborhoods.

Co-listed with Wendy Rich-Soto

Call Laurie (562) 212-5420 or Wendy (562) 606-4040 today to
view this lovely Belmont Heights Condo.

View Larger Map

Home Buyer Information:

• Home Buyer Information
• Long Beach Home Search-Where do I start?
• Home Buyer Tips – Don’t Make Any Major Purchases
• Home Buyers Tips – Changing Jobs Affects Your Ability to Purchase a Home
• Long Beach Home Buyer Tips – Things to Avoid Before Purchasing a Home
  

Related Posts:

• Belmont Heights Neighborhood of Long Beach California Resource Guide
• Belmont Heights Neighborhood Market Report-Long Beach California Real Estate
• Long Beach – Best Neighborhood for Walking
• Space Saving Ideas for your Long Beach Homes
• Selling YOUR Long Beach California Homes and Condos
• Long Beach California Beach Communities – Area Information
• About Long Beach California
• Relocating to Long Beach California-Resource Guide
• Belmont Pier – Long Beach California

 

Belmont Heights Condo For Sale-3935 E Livingston Dr-Long Beach Real Estate For Sale

Long Beach Mortgage Rates Report: September 18, 2008

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Remember when I talked about the whipsaw effect, yesterday? Rates with no lender compensation to the broker, called “par” rates in the industry *, are 5.875% now.  That’s .375% higher than the 5.5% I reported yesterday. Will mortgage rates come back down? Maybe.  They SHOULD since they are backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury.  They SHOULD start behaving like the 10-year treasury bond yield, which is down .06% in yield today.  They SHOULD be at the 5.5%  mark….but they’re not.   The mortgage default crisis spread to the world’s largest insurance company, prompting yet another government bailout.  Mortgage bond traders are starting to think that the US Treasury is going to have to start offering classes of debt, to deal with the crisis. Stratification of debt, like the old Resolution Trust Corporation bonds, will most likely take us back to where mortgage-backed securities trade at a wide premium to Treasury debt.  This isn’t happening but mortgage bond traders are speculating that it might. If it does, then the demand for a 30 year mortgage, loaned to you, the American borrower, is not as high as a direct obligation of the US government.   What we seek to discover is how IRRATIONAL this fear, conjecture, and speculation is.  While it doesn’t seem rational, it isn’t quite irrational at these price levels.  If the 10-year treasury bond stays under 3.5% yield, and the mortgage bonds sell-off pushes mortgage rates up over 6.0%, then I think the fear isirrational and will change my recommendation- I’m still suggesting that you lock your mortgage rate at application. * A par rate is where the originating mortgage broker does not receive any yield spread premium from the lender.  Borrowers can negotiate a fee for the mortgage broker to give you access to “par rates”, which are typically lower than the “retail” rates banks offer. Long Beach mortgage rates report is offered courtesy of Brian Brady.  Contact Brian for more information about a home loan Brian J. Brady World Wide Credit Corp (858) 777-9751 PS- Please check out my references on LinkedIn

 

Long Beach Mortgage Rates Report: September 18, 2008

Long Beach Own Your Own-OYO-Owners Are Organizing for Condo Conversion-Breaking Long Beach Real Estate News

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Breaking Long Beach Real Estate News:

Long Beach Own Your Own (OYO) Owners Are Organizing for Condo Conversion.  Back in May the Long Beach Real Estate Home Blog published an article on OYO’s.  So many buyers were inquiring about this form of ownership it made sense to publish an article, explaining this form of ownership, to be found on the Internet.  Well it has been found, by several thousand Long Beach and potential Long Beach residents who have indeed read it, including many frustrated Long Beach OYO owners.  Several days ago I was contacted by the lovely Deb Dobias, a Long Beach OYO owner who is a major contributing force in the quest to organize OYO owners to push state and local officials to loosen the reigns and convert the last of the existing Long Beach OYO’s to condos.  Deb went on to explain what these owners have been up against and the efforts they have put forth.  We invited her to write an article here and are very pleased that she accepted our offer. 

 

It is our sincere hope that the District Weekly, Curbed LA, the Grunion and Downtown Gazettes, the Press Telegram, the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register will also pick up this article or will contact Deb and assist in this noble effort with an article of their own to help these troubled OYO owners. It is our further hope that both California state and local officials will get out of the box and make this happen. 

Please understand that many of these owners are in deep trouble.  They cannot sell their Own Your Own (OYO) homes because there is little or no financing available.  Due to the problems plaguing this form of ownership many owners have rented their units out and have moved on.  In doing so they have decreased the level of owner occupied units in the remaining OYOs which has eliminated any chance for a Long Beach buyer to obtain financing to purchase. 

 

In July 2008 the Long Beach Real Estate Blog offered the communities of Long Beach a place to be published.  This is another in a series of articles by Long Beach residents.  Do You Want to be Published?

 

 

 

OYO
Conversions – An
untapped resource for Affordable Housing

Author:  Deb Dobias

 

The City of
Long Beach Housing is under-served in providing affordable housing to
“first-time home buyers” and seniors on fixed incomes. “While Long Beach Housing Trust” continues to
build new projects for affordable housing, low income or fixed income buyers
are still unable to have enough funding to pay the down payment. Building costs
keep the price of these “Affordable” Long Beach homes high.

Purchasing Own
Your Own Apartments (OYO) in Long Beach is a means to becoming stakeholders and being
able to afford to buy apartment homes for reasonable sums.  OYOs were the pre-cursors to Condos, usually
built before the 1960s.  Long Beach has a large number of these
charming, well-kept, usually small buildings. 
Most Long Beach OYOs, even after Condo Conversion, would sell for less than newer
“Affordable Housing”; this could
significantly add to the City’s Affordable Housing.  Best of all, making it possible for people to
buy these affordable Long Beach homes would leave the Housing Trust funds for more
housing in Long Beach.

Little Problem…

 

Someone
who wants to buy a Long Beach OYO usually cannot get financing like Condos can.  When a bank does offer loans, it usually
requires a high owner-occupancy in the OYO complex.  For the past few years, only Long Beach investors could
cough up the cash to buy these places, so owner-occupancy is often low.

 

Which causes more problems…

 

• One lady in our building got sick and
  couldn’t work for a while.  Our building, a Long Beach OYO,
  had some serious maintenance issues so we had to levy some special assessments,
  which she couldn’t pay.  The City of Long Beach has Rehab Loans for low-income owners of houses or Condos, but not for
  OYOs.  This poor lady wound up having to sell
  her OYO home for a very low price and move in with family.  Had we been able to convert, she could have kept
  her home.

• Many Long Beach OYO owners are elderly.  Reverse mortgages are not available to OYOs in Long Beach.

• No home equity loans are available to
  OYOs.  This often causes owners to vote
  against maintenance assessments or to avoid maintaining their own units.  These are older buildings, so this affects
  Long Beach neighborhoods and tenants as well as owners.

 

• A lady who lived in her OYO home told me that she wanted to take out an
  equity loan so she could invest in another property.   Renting that property would help her to pay
  bills when she retires.  She has
  excellent credit and owes nothing on her OYO.  
  She cannot do this simply because her OYO complex can’t prove who lived
  there in 1982! 

 

 

Why can’t OYOs just convert to Condominiums?

 

California has an outdated law that prevents many OYOs
from converting.  This law requires that
an OYO complex prove that they were at least 75% owner-occupied in 1982. 

Why? 
Since OYOs are already individually owned, there is a section of laws
that allows OYOs to convert in a different way than rental buildings.  Part of this law was written to prevent
developers from owning OYOs, then converting them to condo for profit more
cheaply and easily than converting a rental building.  They figured this 1982 owner-occupancy
requirement would close that loophole. 
Twenty-six years later, this law not only doesn’t serve its intent but
very few people can come up with that kind of proof because no one keeps
records that long.

 

 

We
tried to fix it. 

 

Long story short -
the City of Long Beach won’t grant exceptions to this because it’s a California State Law.  We couldn’t get the California State Law corrected via
an Omnibus Bill sponsored by Senator Lowenthal because a Tenants Rights group
objected.  The next step is to try to get
separate bill sponsored by a legislator.

 

 

Wait.  Why would a Tenants Rights group object?

 

Understandably,
they worry about the large number of rental buildings that have been converted
to Condos in Long Beach.  When they do that, it boots
people out of their Long Beach homes and makes fewer rental apartments available so the
rents are higher.  When it comes to OYOs,
though, it’s a matter of converting units that have already been individually
owned for 50 years.  Who owns these
places won’t change with conversion. 
Some OYO owners may sell their unit/s after conversion; many of those would sell
whether they are converted or not.

 

 

Conversion
helps tenants, too!

 

 

Rental Availability 

 

OYO’s in Long Beach provide an
approach for “Mom & Pop” owners to enter into the investment/rental market
which can continue or increase the availability of rental units.   Once loans are made available, these new
rental unit owners will be motivated to maintain and upgrade their units.

 

 

Maintenance 

 

Of course,
maintenance isn’t a tenant’s job since they are paying rent.   Because there is no financing available to
OYO buildings, owners have less money available to them for maintenance and
upgrades.  It lowers the quality of life
for everyone.

 

 

Owning your own  

 

 

There’s a guy in my OYO building who has
rented his unit for 23 years through 3 changes of ownership.  He wants very badly to buy his place, and
could afford it now, but there is no financing available. 
His landlord charges as much rent as the market will bear, which is
typical.  His housing costs would
increase at a much slower rate if he could own his home.

 

The new legislation would ease the condo conversion issues so
that there are loans available for these “self owned
apartments”.   There are great loan
programs out there for first-time home buyers in Long Beach, some with no down payment.  The new proposed legislation will help these
kinds of Long Beach properties get the financing needed to make them available to those of
us who need affordable housing. 

For more info on
this law and our efforts to correct it, visit our website. 

www.OwnYourOwnCondo.org

Contact us with
your comments, questions, or if you can help us to change this law.  We are gathering a list of OYO buildings for
the sole purpose of helping change the law. 
If you own an OYO home, please add your building to the list!

Deb Dobias

Deb@OwnYourOwnCondo.org

 

We
have supporters from the following OYO complexes,
as well as Realtors and HOA Property Managers.

Our list is growing. This list only partially covers
the Long Beach area but we are expanding our search. 
Please contact us to add your name to our list of
supporters or if you can help us change this law.

700 E 1st St

Ocean View Apts or Ocean Gardens.
1311 E 1st

2225 E 2nd street

The Montclair
1250 E 3rd

1250 E 4Th St

1280 E 4Th St

Clarendon OYO Apartments
1739 Appleton

Palm Garden Apts.  
617 Cedar

354 Chestnut Ave

Welles Apartment HOA
325 Elm Ave

Princess Apartments
82 Lime Ave

Lime Ave OYO
 337 Lime Ave

Villa Aqua
1101 E Ocean Blvd

 

 

 

*Disclaimer:  The opinions and statements in this article are not necessarily the sentiments or opinions of the Long Beach Real Estate Home Blog, its author’s, owner, or any affiliated persons or entities and we accept no liability for them.*

 

 

Related Posts:

• Long Beach Own Your Owns-OYO-OYOs-Condo Conversions-Income Properties in Long Beach
• Downtown Long Beach Stock Co-operatives

 

Long Beach Own Your Own-OYO-Owners Are Organizing for Condo Conversion-Breaking Long Beach Real Estate News

California Heights Cancels 2008 Annual Home and Garden Tour – Long Beach California

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The California Heights Historic District has decided to cancel this years 12th annual Home and Garden Show and postpone it until October 2009. 

Few are unaffected by the events leading to the current condition of our economy, this wonderful event is no exception.  Homeowners have postponed projects that would otherwise have been completed before placing their homes on the tour.  Attendees who would normally take the tour for improvement and restoration ideas are placing home improvements on hold and are finding themselves on restricted budgets due to inflating gas and food costs as well as, in some cases, large overhead costs due to increased mortgage payments, none of which bode well for anticipated attendance. 

The event has traditionally provided funds for projects in and around the California Heights Historic District and will be sorely missed. 

 

 

Are you considering a move to the lovely California Heights Historic District?  Here are several home searches for your quick reference:

 

California Heights Homes For Sale

• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $500000 or less
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $500000 to $600000
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $600000 to $700000
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $700000 to $800000
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $800000 to $900000
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale $1000000 to $1200000
• Bixby Knolls and California Heights Homes For Sale from $1200000

 

 

California Heights Cancels 2008 Annual Home and Garden Tour – Long Beach California