Long Beach, California Housing Market

What stands out in Long Beach?

• 58% of occupied homes are rented: among the highest renter shares of 763 tracked cities. The tenant pool is deep.
• Asking price per square foot is down 5.9% on the year: among the fastest-falling asking prices per square foot of 763 tracked cities. Falling asking prices give you room to offer below list.

What does a shrinking population mean for Long Beach landlords?

The population in Long Beach's ZIP codes fell 2.2% over five years. 5.7% of homes are vacant, lower than most tracked cities. Households still grew 2.7% while the housing stock grew 3.3%. Fewer people living in more households means rental demand has held up better than the population suggests. Check vacancy by ZIP before you buy.

Who will rent from you in Long Beach?

Most Long Beach households rent. 58 out of every 100 households are renters. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 60 in 100. Renter households average 2.5 people. Two and three bedrooms fit the typical renter.

The median Long Beach household earns $89,785 a year. Incomes here have grown 6.1% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 8.4 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $2,245 a month.

To see what one Long Beach address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

What is the fair market rent in Long Beach?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Los Angeles County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $2,085 a month. Up 0% on last year, up 81% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $2,601 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 75% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $3,298 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 64% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $3,672 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 65% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Los Angeles County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

Is now a good time to buy in Long Beach?

The median asking price is 13.0% below its Aug 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 7.2% below the Mar 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower. Long Beach prices have risen in 100 of the last 112 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

There is no rush. Prices are still coming down. Watch the homes you like. Come back after they cut. Let the seller move first.

How does Long Beach compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 68th cheapest of 141. Long Beach is at $752,839. Closest: El Cajon and Chino.
• Buyer competition: 30th least competitive of 138. Long Beach is at 0.29 buyers per home. Closest: Rancho Palos Verdes and Pleasanton.
• Time on market: 30th longest time on market of 141. Long Beach is at a median of 61 days on market. Closest: Hemet and Lake Forest.
• Price cuts: 63rd fewest price cuts of 141. Long Beach is at 19% of sellers cutting. Closest: San Jose and Whittier.

What numbers should you underwrite a Long Beach deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +1.5%/yr. Long Beach grew 4.1% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Long Beach grows about 1.5% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices fell 5.9% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Competition when you exit — +21%. Homes for sale in Long Beach are up 21% on last year, so your resale faces more competition than today's comps did.

Read how population change affects rentals and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Long Beach?

The median asking price in Long Beach is about $753,000 as of Oct 2026, down 5.0% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Long Beach figures cover the 21 ZIP codes with a Long Beach mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Long Beach a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Buyers have more room in Long Beach than usual. We compare Long Beach with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 29 pending sales per 100 listings, against 59 then; listings spend 59% more days on the market; there are 13% more homes for sale.

Are Long Beach home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 13.0% below its Aug 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 7.2% below the Mar 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.

Which Long Beach ZIP code has the most negotiating room?

90802. Only 15 homes under contract for every 100 still for sale. 22% of sellers there have cut their price, and listings there spend a median 72 days on the market.

What is the best month to buy a house in Long Beach?

Across 9 full years, Long Beach asking prices ran lowest in February, about 4.4% below the year's average. They peaked in July. The most homes for sale show up in August, about 16% above the yearly average.

What is the fair market rent in Long Beach?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Los Angeles County is $2,601 a month for 2 bedrooms and $3,298 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.