Snapshot of 2011 Belmont Shore Home Sales

Typically the real estate market is a little slow over the holidays, with homeowners waiting to put their properties on the market after the first of the year. This year has been no exception. This past week there were just two new listings in the area:

6304 S Marina Pacifica Dr - $459,500 – This top floor unit with two bedrooms and two baths is located in Marina Pacifica and has over 1,200 square feet. Features include fireplace, balcony in living room and master bedroom, inside laundry and two parking spaces.

7317 Marina Pacifica Dr Key 12 - $220,000 – Located in Marina Pacifica, this top floor studio unit plus den features vaulted ceilings, new appliances and paint and views of Alamitos Bay from every room. This unit also has a wrap-around patio and comes with one parking space.

Meanwhile, a review of year-end numbers showed that sales remained steady year over year, but the average home price in Long Beach declined slightly last year compared to 2010.

In 2011, some 2,139 houses sold in Long Beach with an average sales price of $406,889 and average time on the market of 83 days, according to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Comparatively, 2,137 Long Beach houses sold in 2010, with an average sales price of $416,541 and average time on the market of 75 days. The average price per square foot declined from $290 to $280.

If you delve deeper into the numbers, however, you find that price trends vary significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood. For example, average home prices in the Belmont Shore-Naples area declined from $1,003,931 in 2011 to $976,667 in 2010, while the Rose Park neighborhood of Long Beach saw an increase in average home prices – from $379,735 in 2010 to 395,717 -- and Lakewood Village home prices fluctuated very little, going from $544,641 to $543,854.

Information is from the Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.