Ticket Price Remains High For Beach Living

It has long been understood that the coast is a highly desirable place to live.
Anyone who has ever had the good fortune to plunk down a beach chair, stake the umbrella in the sand and kick back with a good book, magazine or Kindle understands this.

It could be a day at the beach with the kids, family or friends -- a ritual most have experienced, and one which we wish that we could repeat far more often than our hectic schedules allow. 

For us fortunate souls who get to load the car or truck with chairs, boards, blankets and coolers then journey a few minutes towards the coast, we can count our blessings. There are MANY others who love the beach just as much, maybe even more.

But for them, the dream is still yet to be realized, they need to either sell what they currently have or there are those who are ready to enter into the realm of home ownership for the first time. For buyers in today's market, the challenges come in varying degrees.

Those that are trying to buy for the very first time are faced with an extremely tight market with continued shrinking inventory. You can see by the graphic that if you are looking to buy a home and have up to $400,000 you have some competition. The investors are alive and well and their pockets are deep and flush with cash. 

If you consider that there are a total of 29 homes that are available at $400K or less from Laguna Beach, through Dana Point and south into San Clemente, that figure is astounding!

Who are the 29 lucky ones that may actually close escrow for these? They should indeed count themselves as lucky because I know almost 29 people alone that are looking in those price ranges. My greatest challenge right now is the lack of homes at many of the price points.

Between $400,000 and $800,000 you can see a much more balanced availability of homes -- not usually the realm of first time buyers but certainly those looking to move up to a larger home to accommodate an expanding family or maybe those that continue to thrive in this challenging economy.

The competition from the investor segment is again present and well represented here. Their favored prey are the long neglected homes that have fallen into disrepair and are ready to be taken back by the bank. We are still seeing homes priced under market garnering multiple bids, the winner sometimes separated by less than $1,000.

Have a million bucks burning a hole in your pocket? You have come to the right coastline!  To say the market is "top heavy" may be a bit misleading. After all, you can't expect your beach front sand palace to come cheaply, can you? 

But in looking at the sheer numbers of homes available over $1,000,000, there are 363 of them, and they clearly outnumber the rest of the market priced at $1,000,000 or less. From $1,000,000 all the way to the little condo on the hill in San Clemente for just $149,900, they only account for 264 homes.

So, it is really your choice, what will be the cost of admission? That short drive to the beach, the books, boards, umbrellas and chairs, can be had. And with a little determination, luck, skill and of course the cash, you too can pick your price.

To start your journey, click here to get your ticket.