Huntington Bayshore Condos

When I first move to the Orange County and was looking at homes the word that a lot of real estate agents would use was that the home was "turnkey."  At first I had no idea what they were talking about since it seems to be real estate lingo but quickly understood what they were talking about.  Basically, the phrase means to turn the key and enter the home without having to do any repairs, etc.  This phrase is used so much that it's the one keyword to look for if you are in the market to find a home that doesn't need any work done to it.  Huntington Beach has several homes currently on the market that are in this condition with a wide range of prices from smaller residential condos to single family homes.

Buyers in this current real estate market are

Arguably considered one of the best neighborhoods in Huntington Beach is the Huntington Harbour area.  Located at the very north end of Huntington Beach is a collection of luxury residential homes and condos that are very much sought after no matter if you are looking to buy or lease a home.  Within the area is a collection of 5 islands with many homes offering stunning water front views.  Homes located on the water command a huge premium in price especially if the home comes with it's own private boat slip.  The inventory of these homes is currently very limited with single family homes starting at $5,800 a month with direct water front homes starting at over $15,000 a month.

Some of the key places to look for rentals include the five man made islands

One of the common requests we get from our clients is finding a home that comes with inside laundry.  Of course, for larger homes this a pretty much a common thing to have as many luxury homes even come with their own individual laundry room.  For smaller homes and condos this is a common question as laundry areas can be located in the garage and for residential condos you may find the laundry in the community laundry facility.  In fact, one of the first questions we get from condo buyers is regarding the laundry and having inside laundry is a huge selling feature.  You will sometimes see in condo listings that a unit comes with laundry hookups which often equates to having inside laundry as well.

Probably, the most asked question for those looking to

There is a wide variety to residential condos available for sale in Huntington Beach from the very low end to luxury ocean front units.  One of the common requests that we get from our clients is being able to find an end unit in order to maximize view and to only have one neighbor with the attached adjoining wall.   One of the things I love about finding an end unit is the amount of light that comes into the condo.  The end wall is typically filled with lots of windows where there normally would be a wall.  This allows for a lot of extra light that floods into the condo.  This also means for select condos in having an extra viewpoint whether it's looking at the water, ocean and/or trees.  

There is also another perk in buying an end unit is the

Home buyers love buying a home that has many upgrades found throughout the home.  Many home owners often forget to upgrade a garage as it's seen as the last thing to do to update the look.  Having a clean and modern garage can add to the value of the home, especially for those buyers who are car enthusiasts or expect everything to be modernized throughout the home.  One easy way to upgrade a garage is to add an epoxy finish to it.  Epoxy floors have a very clean look with a variety of colors that one can choose from.  Once complete, epoxy flooring can add value to any home for a minimal amount of cost.

We did a quick search for homes that are being offered with epoxy floors and found a wide range of properties.  This ranges from small condo communities

Huntington Beach offers a wide range of housing opportunities from residential homes, condos, townhouses and even manufactured homes.  Our office gets a lot of calls from renters who have the ability to buy but would like to test out the market first before making the big purchase.  They often ask about properties that are available for lease that can be purchased down the line.  This is typically called a lease option where the renter has the ability to purchase the home at a later date.  Here is a brief explanation on how this works.

First, you find a rental home in Huntington Beach where the owners are open to selling the property as well.  A lot of times owners will have their property up for sale and for rent at the same time and take whatever

An interesting term that you may have heard of in the real estate community called "Broker Preview."  Broker Preview is basically a day designated for real estate brokers and agents to view new listings as they come on the market in the Huntington Beach area.  Not all new listings will be held open for the broker preview as it is completely on a voluntary basis from the listing agent on the property.  Basically, it's an open house for real estate agents.  The theory is that Realtors who have seen a large majority of the listings on the market can quickly identify the correct property when a buyer gives them an exact criteria on the type of home that they are interested in finding.

Even though the Broker Previews are designated for real estate agents

Huntington Beach has an abundance of condos that are available for lease.  Different beach communities in Orange County will have a mixture of vacation weekly rentals combined with longer term rentals.  Longer term is usually determined if the rental period is for a period longer than 6 months.  The highest concentration of rentals can be found in the downtown area and are considered some of the most affordable rates in all of the Orange County beach city towns.

Condo rental prices in Huntington Beach will typically start in the $1,200 a month range.  This will be for a one bedroom, one bath condo that will normally be located approximately 3 miles to the beach.  If your budget allows then you can find one bedroom condos closer to the beach for around

If you are looking to buy a condo near the Huntington Beach Pier then plan to spend anywhere from $350,000 to $750,000 for one to two bedroom condo.  This is considered the prime downtown area which is the hub of Huntington Beach.  Plaza Almeria, Huntington Bayshore, Townsquare Condos, Pier Colony, Huntington Pacific are just some of the condo buildings you will find near the Huntington Beach Pier.   The closest to the beach are the Pier Colony and Huntington Pacific buildings where supringsly you can get a one bedroom condo in the $400,000 range.  The Pacific sits directly on the sandy beach and is one of the rare condo buildings that is located on the sand in Huntington Beach.

Many of the condo buildings in this area will also have community

Huntington Beach Condos can be found in all different price ranges.  Buyers who have a healthy budget when looking for a condo will have a wide variety to choose from.  Condos in the Huntington Beach area will normally in the mid $100,000 range with luxury waterfront condos reaching up near the $1 million dollar mark.  For those in this upper price range you have many condo buildings to choose from.  Here is a quick guide to the most popular locations:

Pacific Coast Highway Condos - Condos located on the street "Pacific Coast Highway" near the downtown area is where you should start your search.  Many of these condos are located in small condo buildings that are not widely known.  What you do get is a great location near the Huntington Beach Pier and

For those looking to lease a home instead of purchasing a home then Huntington Beach provides many of great choices at affordable prices.  Water Front rentals are a popular choice due to the large number of properties that sit on the water front.  Rentals are normally long term and will vary in terms from six to twelve months or more.  These long term rentals are best found in the Northwest area of Huntington Beach where you will find many condo and single family homes near the Huntington Harbour.

Rentals prices for condos on the water will typically range from $3,000 to $4,000 and are best found in the Portofino Cove, Weatherly Bay and other condos that reside in the Northwest area.  If you are looking for a boat slip then you are most likely to find

The Huntington Beach Real Estate market is on the rebound and that includes the million dollar plus range as well.  In Jan 2013, there were a total of 8 homes that sold over the $1 million dollar price point.  The highest sale reported in at $1,825,000 for a french Normandy estate home located in the downtown Huntington Beach area.   The home was on the market for a total number 84 days and closed from the original list price of $1,999,500.  Other sales over the million dollar mark included new construction homes in the new Huntington Beach community of Pacific Shores.

The two sales came in at $1,193,128 and $1,137,514 for their four and five bedroom homes with square footage's of 3,585 and 3,608 respectively.  We were noting on our last blog that

Everyone wants to find a good deal when buying a home in Huntington Beach. With the shortage of homes up for sale it has become a seller's market and buyers have less room to negotiate for the best deal. There are still good deals to be found and you just have to know where to look. Here is a quick guide to where you can find them.

1) Huntington Beach Inclusionary Program - We love these homes since they help low income buyers who need financial assistance in buying a home. Since most applicants can qualify for these homes the buying and negotiating buyers is really good. The first step is to see if you qualify for the program. You can visit the official website by just entering into any search engine the phrase "Huntington Beach Inclusionary

If you are thinking about renting a home in the Huntington Beach area then you may want to consider renting in the next several months.  The winter months always have the best rates as this time of year is always considered the low rental season.  Landlord that have their rental homes up for lease are typically more willing to negotiate with you in price and terms than in the summer months.

If you are not sure you want to stay in the lease property for over a year then offering to do a 6 month rental is truly a win-win situation for everyone.  The landlord is able to have his home rented during the winter months and will come back on the market in the more marketable summer months.  We see a lot of renters doing exactly this with great success.

Key

There is a lot of speculation on what the real estate market will do in 2013.  With the upcoming Presidential elections coming up next month many buyers are sitting on the fence and waiting to see the outcome before making any buying decisions.  This is typically during an election year as many home buyers are skeptical in making the wrong move.  There have been many reports that indicate 2013 will be a strong year for real estate and prices will slowly continue to go up. 

We have already started to see this happen here in Huntington Beach as well priced properties are receiving multiple offers.  The banks are also gearing up to flush out any distressed properties that may have in their portfolio and focus on helping these owners short sell their

Huntington Bayshore condo community is a great place to live no matter if you are looking to buy or to lease.  The gated community is conveniently located just three blocks to the beach and the Huntington Beach Pier and just a block away from the main street shopping district.   Currently condos range in the high $200,000 range to the low $400,000 range.  If you are looking to rent then condos consistently rent between $3,000 to $3,500 a month in Bayshore. 

One of the special properties in the Huntington Bayshore is 310 Lake St unit #106.  This condo is currently being offered for lease for $3,300 a month and is a highly upgraded and furnished two bedroom, two bath condo.  The condo does offer peek views of the ocean with one of the prime locations

Within every city and community you will find hard to sell properties. These homes typically have some unique feature which causes it to be difficult to sell. Some of these factors may include located near a freeway, homes with some kind of functional obsolescence and those that require major renovation. When looking for a realtor to handle these kind of properties it's important to understand how these homes get sold. One of they ways to sell a home in today's market is exposure. If the home is not exposed to the right buyer then your property will never sell. Magazine and newspaper advertising only results in a very small percentage of homes sales today. Roughly 45% of all homes are sold by another real estate agent then the agent you hire. What this

Finding a Huntington Beach condo or home is all about location.  Since the city of Huntington Beach is a very large city and spread out upon many square miles finding a property by the beach at an affordable price can be tricky.  If you have never heard of Bayshore Condos then they are definitely worth a look.  Huntington Bayshore is a private gated community where you can find many condos for sale for under $400,000.

From this location you are just a couple blocks to the beach in the West part of Huntington Beach.  The condos listed for sale are 2 bedrooms and 2 baths with just over 1,000 square feet.  At first glance you may think these may be too small but the floor plans are well thought out and every square inch is utilized very well.  2