Long Beach Homes for Sale Declining, Prices Rising

Long Beach homeseekers may need to step up the pace of their house hunting with the number of homes on the market declining and prices increasing.

Active listings for Long Beach homes fell by 27 percent between January and February while the median home price rose by 17 percent from March 2012 to March 2013, according to Nationwide Real Estate Executives based in Buena Park, CA.

Last month, the median price of a Long Beach home rose to $379,500 compared to $324,000 in March 2012 and $310,000 in March 2011. With available homes declining, will prices continue to rise?

"I think it will keep going up through summer, but will start to decline around next winter," said Mark Jensen, investment property specialist with Nationwide.

Southern California home prices have recently been driven up in part by foreign investment, which nationally made up 8.8 percent of total residential market by dollar volume over the period March 2011 to March 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Long Beach home sales for January increased by 18.6 percent year-over-year, then fell by 15 percent in February and 11 percent in March as inventory shrunk.

The average days on the market for Long Beach homes fell from 65 days in March 2012 to 37 days in March 2013.

Have you been looking for a home recently? What's been your experience? Tell us in the comments.