Long Beach is hosting the annual Grand Prix sponsored by Toyota.  This event brings thousands of visitors and race enthusiasts to the Downtown Long Beach area.  Many of the buildings like Harbor Place Towers and the International Towers will have front row seats to this event.If you haven't had a chance to go, I encourage you to visit at least one day so you can see some wonderful racing on city streets.  With celebrity racing on one day and 55,000 race fans throughout the 3 days it is a must see event. Check out the Long Beach Grand Prix website for ticket information, and hopefully I will see you there! 04/11/2007

Within the many neighborhoods of Long Beach lie areas that have been designated as historic.  These historic areas have a wonderful charm to them and have attracted many families and individuals who want to restore properties to their original glory.  Long Beach has 17 areas designated as historic.  Within these areas you can find wonderful  Long Beach homes of many different forms of architecture.  Some of the areas within Long Beach are as follows:California HeightsBluff ParkBelmont HeightsCarroll ParkDrake ParkSunrise BlvdEliot LaneEach section of Long Beach homes has something to offer.  The Press Telegram has done a great job of identifying each of the areas and providing a description of the different areas.  Our site dedicated to Long Beach Real Estate information will continue t... 04/11/2007

Every city has different events that highlight the year. We find that there is nothing better in Long Beach than the grand prix that comes to town in April.Hopefully everyone is amost done with their taxes so they can take a break. If you haven't finished and want a break there is no finer place this weekend in Long Beach to take a look and auto racing on the actual streets in Long Beach. This is an event that you will want to see. There is a celebrity race and of course the professionals on Sunday. If you live in the area and need an oil change or some other service there is usually a Toyota dealership in town that will give you tickets to Friday and Saturday in exchange for spending a certain amount. So if you have been putting off that new battery or oil change you may want to swing ... 04/11/2007

Sometimes when buyers are looking at properties they only see the price or the exact configuration or maybe the color of the house. Often I believe it is nice to know the history of an area where a property is located. This gives you a better appreciation of an area. In Long Beach an area that is rich in history is bixby knolls real estate.A tiny street in bixby knolls called La Linda Dr has a rich history that I thought would be nice to know the history on. The information in this post has been taken from a great article by Bill Hillburg.This lovely street is actually located behind a secured gates at the corner of long beach blvd and bixby. This is at the heart of Bixby Knolls in Long Beach and located approximately .5 miles north of the Long Beach blvd exit off the 405 freeway.This s... 04/11/2007

I hope that everyone enjoyed the recent holiday. It has been a little slow start to the week but that is ok. Inventory is creeping up slightly in Long Beach. Let's take a look at what's going on. We thought it would be great if we let people know what was going on in Long Beach CA on a regular basis. We are going to try and let people know the statistics in Long Beach as often as we can.Here is what happened as yesterday April 11th 2007 in Long Beach, CANumber of properties that went into a Pending Status - 0Number of Properties that Closed: 0Number of Properties that Expired 8Number of Properties that went into Backup Position - 2Total Active as of today: 1624In all it was a pretty good day in real estate in Long Beach. You can always see the latest condos at www.LovelyLongBeachCondos.... 04/11/2007

Walker LoftsThe Walker Building was home to the Walker Department store.  Originally constructed in 1929 and designed by the architects of Meyer and Holler, this building had a long history with the famed department store. This building is constructed largely of cement and is now one of the premiere loft developments in the entire city of Long Beach.  This historic building now boasts 46 residential lofts and 20,000 sq ft of retail space.  This project was completed in the 2002 when Downtown Long Beach was just beginning a major swing in redevelopment. The Walker Building now boasts a prime location at 115 W. 4th St that borders Pine Ave.  In the true heart of downtown this upscale project is one that is highly desirable among those who want to live in the lofts in Long Beach.  The top ... 04/10/2007

I took a client down to the new development by Lennar, Pacifica, and found out that the pricing won't be released until the 21st officially, although if you get on their interest list, you should get it a few days early.  With 62 Flats and Townhomes available it truly is your opportunity to pick the unit that is right for you!  The development at 133 Promenade is almost sold out, although there are a couple still available at $400,000 and under!Contact us today and we can help you to get registered with the builder so you can get the chance to get early notification of pricing.  Visit our website dedicated to Downtown Long Beach Condos or our website dedicated to all Long Beach Condos so you can learn more about upcoming developments. 04/09/2007

There are various methods used to consummate a real estate transaction. In California, Escrow services are the preferred method. Strictly speaking escrow is an agreement between the parties that provides for the placement of instruments, and money be placed with a third party for safe keeping, pending fulfillment of the conditions of the contract.Basically, a seller places his or her title or deed within escrow and the buyer, deposits money in escrow. The escrow agent is charged with ensuring that all conditions of the purchase agreement are met before the transaction is closed (deed to buyer, and money to seller). Escrow is one safeguard against ‘taking the money & running'.In some cases when a title company is involved, the title company itself my act as an escrow agent. Escrow servic... 04/08/2007

With all the real estate information available to homeowners, its natural that some would decide to ‘go it alone' when selling their home. The primary advantage of selling without an agent is not having to pay the agent's commission.In addition to any potential savings, a homeowner turned FSBO should consider the following in order to increase the chance of a successful sale. First and foremost, its not easy, and you should be prepared to get a little dirty and put in some long hours.Before doing anything, the house needs to be in shape for showing. That means, making sure its clean and clear of clutter, isn't sporting any unpleasant odors, well lit, and freshly painted.When the home is presentable, get the price right! visit local open houses to see what other similar homes are asking.... 04/04/2007

Spring must be in the air. 30 new properties have already been listed in Long Beach this month.  This is 10 a day so far. The activity looks good as well. Take a look at things and let me know your thoughts. We thought it would be great if we let people know what was going on in Long Beach CA on a regular basis. We are going to try and let people know the statistics in Long Beach as often as we can.Here is what happened as April 1st 2007 in Long Beach, CANumber of properties that went into a Pending Status - 8Number of Properties that Closed: 0Number of Properties that Expired 25Number of Properties that went into Backup Position - 10Total Active as of today: 1595Number of new properties added to Long Beach CA inventory since the stat of the month 30. In all it was a pretty good day in ... 04/03/2007

When you are looking to purchase real estate in Long Beach CA we thought it would be helpful if you knew what was going on. For buyers or sellers having the information on what is happening in their neighborhood is extremely important. Check out the stastics so you can see what is going on. We are going to try and let people know the statistics in Long Beach as often as we can.Here is what happened as of March 30th 2007 in Long Beach, CANumber of properties that went into a Pending Status - 16Number of Properties that Closed: 2Number of Properties that Expired 33Number of Properties that went into Backup Position - 17Total Active as of today: 1589In all it was a pretty good day in real estate in Long Beach. You can always see the latest condos at http://www.lovelylongbeachcondos.com/and... 04/02/2007

Business Week televised a couple of good items about the real estate industry as a whole yesterday. Their video can be seen here: http://feedroom.businessweek.com/index.jsp?fr_story=1164424c0c16afd06ab22f7edc11e1b8de2f5ab5 I've pulled information from other current videos as well.Some of the bullet points I thought were important are:Buyers still have an edge in real estate.Seller's are becoming more flexible and responsive to buyers' terms. It was specifically pointed out that buyer's who low-balling the selling price won't produce the desired result and indicated that 10% below asking was a reasonable price reduction to request.Seller's can increase their returns by upgrading with environmentally friendly improvements. Shown by the trend in eco-friendly home buyers.Sellers were direct... 04/01/2007

Belmont Shore real estate is among some of the most prestigious in all of Long Beach.  Belmont Shore enjoys one of the finest locations, close to wonderful shopping along 2nd St. and close to the yacht clubs.  Belmont Shore is home to the Belmont Pier where you can enjoy a cool ocean breeze and great dining, like that of the Belmont Brewing Company.A great local resource to find local business and local events in Belmont Shore Business Assocation.  Their website is nice and helps keep you in the loop on the latest happenings! There is a limited supply of condos in this beach area, but there are many different styles of homes to choose from.  It is a true beach community so the lots are not large, but you will find wonderful architecture to choose from.   We put together a few pages on o... 03/31/2007

New Downtown Long Beach Condo DevelopmentsDowntown Long Beach is changing daily!  The Long Beach Business Journal had an artcile this past week that the Press-Telegram Lofts will be going for city council approval.  Truly exciting as this project is estimated to bring in 542 Lofts into the downtown area with prices starting as affordable as $350,000.In an effort to keep everyone up to date on the latest happenings in Downtown Long Beach we have also put up a page on our site dedicated to Downtown Long Beach Condos to keep track of the latest developments. As more information is released on each project, will be happy to put up more information.  Check out the Latest Developments in Long Beach.Stay tuned as builders from Lennar, to Pacific Homes are building rapidly.  We look forward to ... 03/31/2007

I hope that everyone has noticed that the available inventory in Long Beach continues to go in a positive direction. More properties are coming on the market than are currently being sold. I don't believe this is something to worry about. It is still a gradual pace and it is getting into spring where inventory does tend to build up. We are near the month end report which I always post on www.LongBeachHomeBlog.com so you will be able to see it over there by the first of April. We thought it would be great if we let people know what was going on in Long Beach CA on a regular basis. We are going to try and let people know the statistics in Long Beach as often as we can.Here is what happened as yesterday March 29th 2007 in Long Beach, CANumber of properties that went into a Pending Status -... 03/30/2007

I am not sure how many people like to keep up to date on what is happening in Downtown Long Beach. For the last several years we have kept up to date on the latest buildings that have either been condo conversions or new construction.Lennar, a large builder throughout North America, is building a nice project in downtown Long Beach. I had the pleasure of visiting their broker tour yesterday. This project is located at 200 East Broadway. One of the many great things of this new project is its proximity to Pine St and the heart of Downtown Long Beach. A new buyer will be able to experience the easy access to all of the restaurants of Pine Ave, walking distance to the ocean, and easy access to the heart of the Pike Center. Not to mention if you purchase a property here the ability to get t... 03/29/2007

Long Beach Loft InformationWith all of the new development in Long Beach it can seem tough to keep track of all of the projects.  It doesn't have to be!  We have put together information on each of the Lofts in Long Beach.  We also will have a page up on our site dedicated to Downtown Long Beach with all of the upcoming projects.  Here is a snapshot of the local Loft projects so you can find the one that is right for you!133 Promenade - All new soft loft project, townhomes, and shop keeper units in SOHO style.Temple Loft - Adaptive re-use project with brand new North Tower and South Tower units.Courtyard Lofts - Complete just a few years ago, now we are getting some available for re-saleKress Lofts - One of the projects that started it all! Wonderful exposed brick and right by Pine.Walk... 03/29/2007

Normally I get this out in the morning so there will be some information in this update that happened today. In all congrats to the 14 agents that put properties in a Pending Status between yesterday and this afternoon. My hat is off to you! We thought it would be great if we let people know what was going on in Long Beach CA on a regular basis. We are going to try and let people know the statistics in Long Beach as often as we can.Here is what happened as yesterday March 28th 2007 in Long Beach, CANumber of properties that went into a Pending Status - 14Number of Properties that Closed: 0Number of Properties that Expired 10Number of Properties that went into Backup Position - 6Total Active as of today: 1597In all it was a pretty good day in real estate in Long Beach. You can always see... 03/29/2007

A BLOG is short for a "weblog" which can be interpreted as a journal or newsletter.  Whether you are subscribing to a real estate BLOG or a BLOG on business, you want pertinent information where you can share with other people that have similar interests.  One of the core differences between a traditional website and a BLOG is that BLOGS are traditionally updated much more frequently from daily to a few times a week.  As it has become easier to create BLOGS with free software from great companies like http://www.blogger.com/ and http://www.wordpress.com/ more and more companies and individuals are creating them.The Global Trust Team developed two different real estate BLOGS to focus on issues that pertain to real estate. Long Beach Home BLOG - This BLOG deals with local issues pertainin... 03/29/2007

Yesterday, Localism expert and recognized Queen of Long Beach , Laurie Manny, was quoted in an Inman news article along with Teresa Boardman of St Paul Real Estate Blog.The full content of the article can be found on Inman News but was republished here for those without a subscription. Real estate blogging expert, Mary McKnight, lauded Active Rain for it's meteoric rise to the forefront of social networking in the RE.net.Laurie Manny's SEO accomplishments are astounding :1- 8th in organic results for "Long beach, CA real estate" 2- 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in "Downtown Long Beach Real Estate" 3- 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th for "Belmont Heights real estate"These results have materialized in a short 4-6 months since Laurie started writing her rich content about Long Beach.Teresa Boardman's SEO acco... 03/29/2007