Downtown Huntington Beach Home Sales

Downtown Huntington Beach, a small sub market of the overall Huntington Beach Real Estate market saw 31 sales in the first quarter of 2012 ending March 31, 2012.  This compared to 19 sales for the same period one year ago.  The first quarter tends to be a slower time for real estate sales overall when compared to the 2nd and 3rd quarter.  The 31 sales for the Downtown Huntington Area sold at an average of $899,581 with an average per square foot price of $391.44 per square foot as compared to the prior year when these numbers were $762,263 average sales price and $410.71 per square foot. 

These numbers are comparable to the other beach communities, were we are seeing higher priced homes being sold.  The data from one year ago included many condos and smaller homes with few larger homes at the higher price point being sold. The most recent quarter indicates a more equal balance between the lower and higher end.  The good news is that the increased sales, 31 homes this year vs 19 homes in the same period last year, is coming in the from more sales in the higher end indicating that the higher end market is coming back slightly.

Currently there are 39 active homes (47 when including short sales being negotiated) in for sale in Downtown Huntington Beach.  This number will increase as we enter the spring and summer selling seasons. 

There is still a high number of short sales and reos in the market, these distressed properties account for 11 of the current 47 properties for sale.  When looking at the recent sales they accounted for 9 of the most recent 31 sales vs 9 of the 19 homes sold last year.  This is a good indicator of the bank's strategy of manipulating the market by only releasing limited inventory through short sale or reo.  The increase in sales came from standard sales, meaning people moving up, moving out or just moving, which is good for the market.