DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH CONDO MARKET REPORT - MARCH 2007

Posted on 2007-04-03 @ 5.52:34 pm by Laurie.Manny

The Queen of Long Beach CA

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Posted on 2007-04-03 @ 3.13:10 pm by Laurie.Manny

Parkers Light House Downtown Long Beach CA

Parkers Lighthouse

Shoreline Village, Downtown Long Beach California

Located in a dramatic, free standing building in Rainbow Harbor, at the tip of Downtown Long Beachs famous Shoreline Village, Parkers Lighthouse is the key anchor for Downtown Long BeachPike Entertainment Complex.  A 3 story, fine seafood restaurant, Parkers Lighthouse seats up to 500 guests.  An elegant, stark white, 250 seat dining room, a 120 seat third floor Galley Bar and a 144 seat outdoor patio provides choices for all occasions. 

Guests are treated to fabulous and unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean, Long Beach Harbor, the Downtown Long Beach City Skyline, the infamous Queen Mary and out to San Pedro.  There may not be a better view of one of Long Beachs fabulous sunsets or of the Independence Day fireworks display than one from this incredible Downtown Long Beach, U.S. Coast Guard-sanctioned Landmark restaurant. 

The nautical motif, use of rich mahogany and cherry woods, large expansive windows and the use of fresh shades of green and blue combined with the use of mood lighting make this restaurant an incredible dining experience and a wonderful place to entertain that prospective client or seal that big business deal in this relaxed and upscale environment. I had the pleasure of interviewing my current brokerage in this lovely restaurant before deciding to make a change. 

Parkers Lighthouse was formally established, in 1982, to create a lighting beacon for the many large ships and vessels entering Long Beach Harbor.  The current restaurant is the result of a $3 million renovation in 1999. 

Parkers Lighthouse is a full service waterfront seafood restaurant and bar, serving lunch, dinner and private functions it is currently owned and operated by Select Restaurants, Inc. and remains unique among their extensive array of restaurants. 

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Posted on 2007-04-01 @ 7.00:27 am by Laurie.Manny

The Long Beach RiverLink

Have you seen the proposed plan for the land beside the LA River on the West side of Long Beach yet?  It is well thought out, extremely attractive and incredible!  If this plan comes to fruition it will beautify the West Side and increase Long Beach home values substantially. 

This stroke of genius was developed by 606 Studio, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University.  The plan is intended to provide a framework for the city to connect the neighborhoods of the west side of Long Beach, CA with the Los Angeles River. 

The Key Issues prompting this plan include:

• Inadequate amount of outdoor recreation areas
• Loss of neighborhood identity (Residents see Long Beach as a ‘City of Neighborhoods )
• Severed connections between city and river (Residents think it is unattractive, too much vandalism, noisy, underutilized and uncomfortable)
• Lack of nature in the urban setting (The Westside is severely lacking in acres of open space, this plan would provide for badly needed open space)
• Perceived unsafe public places (Perception of unsafe areas is high, much more so in the night-time hours)

The Eastside of Long Beach has the bulk of City parks 16.7 acres per 1,000 residents, the Westside has 4.7 acres per 1,000 residents.  Not a very green Westside.

The Goals and Objectives of The Plan include integrating the parks and open space creatively to blend with and enhance the natural heritage and historical design of the neighborhoods, while reconnecting them with the river.  Initial plans include walking and bicycling paths, mass transit use and more.

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Posted on 2007-03-20 @ 7.07:13 pm by Laurie.Manny

Selling Your Long Beach California Home? Its A Whole New Game!

Selling Your Long Beach Home

ITS A WHOLE NEW GAME

First came the ‘Do Not Call List’.  Soon to be followed by the ‘Do Not Mail List’.  Now the City of Long Beach has Launched a campaign to stop unwanted handbills, which means no fliers and menus on doorsteps.  Even I have to admit that I was very pleased about the ‘Do Not Call List’, the unwanted solicitations were out of control.  The mail doesnt bother me much, I open my mail over a large trash can which is where the clear majority of it lands.  I dont know about you, but I like receiving the take out menus, you never know when they will come in handy.  I also enjoy getting the latest fliers and area information from my local Long Beach  REALTOR.  Its great to know whats going on in your neck of the woods. 

So, if a Long Beach REALTOR cannot call, cannot mail and now cannot drop on some door-steps, how are they going to reach the community to market your Long Beach property, beyond placing it on the MLS?  The local newspaper?  The Grunion Gazette and the Downtown Gazette have been the Long Beach Real Estate Bible and have been great resources in the past, but buyers really dont frequent the Gazette ads any more, and they are very expensive to place.  Same story with the Long Beach Press Telegram, The Real Estate Book, Homes and Land Magazine, etc¦  All of the paper resources, that have been so successful in the past for advertising and marketing your Long Beach Home, just dont work anymore.  Some, like The Real Estate Book and Homes and Land Magazine are moving most of their advertising onto the Internet in order to stay in the game.  The New York Times doesnt even expect to be in print in the coming years says Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times. 

The Internet is evolving so rapidly that companies like Realtor.com, who have been integral in the sale of homes for years now are beginning to fade into the background as major powerhouses emerge.  Zillow, Trulia and many other companies are taking the Internet by storm.  If your Long Beach Realtor  is not a part of the transition into the future of marketing real estate in a big way on the Internet, you will be left in the dust. 

A year ago 70% of all Buyers were beginning their search on the Internet.  Now more than 80% of all Buyers are actively shopping, and finding their homes, on the Internet.  Hiring a local Long Beach Realtor who is Internet savvy, has the technology in place, and can provide you with massive Internet exposure has become an absolute necessity in todays new market.  Internet Marketing has become the only effective venue to sell your Long Beach Home

You would think that all REALTORS would have, Search Engine Optimized (SEO), lead generating web sites, wouldnt you?  A lead generating web site takes a tremendous amount of time, maintenance, knowledge and money to produce. 

As many of these real estate agents scramble to get web sites, technology passes them by unnoticed.  Welcome to the age of Blogging.  Todays top real estate professionals across the country have discovered the many advantages of an amazing opportunity.  Blogs are not like traditional websites.  They are not bogged down by all of the toys and gadgets, and provide a clear path for the search engines to find them and send your message to the top of the search engines.  Savvy real estate agents from around the country have set up local real estate blog sites and are blogging on large national networks like ActiveRain and Localism, driving heavy traffic to their websites.

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Posted on 2007-03-04 @ 4.25:26 pm by Laurie.Manny