Best Time to Buy by City

Best Time of Year to Buy a House in Long Beach

Updated November 2, 2026

By Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Reviewed by:

Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Kevin Kretzmer

Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822

The best time to buy a house in Long Beach is September. Buyers who went under contract in September paid a median 1.6% below the original asking price, and 59% of homes sold below asking, compared with the full original asking price in January, the most expensive month. That gap is 1.6 percentage points, or about $13,440 on the $840,000 median home in Long Beach. The trade-off is choice: May brings about 318 new listings a month, December only about 125. Here is the month-by-month data from 3,984 closings in Long Beach in our MLS feed.

TurboHome Market Analysis · Long Beach, CA · Contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 · Published November 2026

Key findings

Best month: September. Long Beach homes that went under contract in September sold for a median 1.6% below original asking, and 59% sold below the original asking price.
Most expensive month: January, at a median at original asking, with 50% of homes selling below asking.
Best vs firmest season: Fall (1.2% below original asking) versus winter (at original asking).
New listings: May brings about 318 new listings a month; December only about 125.
Price cuts: 34.7% of homes that went under contract in September had taken a price cut first, versus 26.0% in January.
Days on market: the typical winter listing sat 19 days, versus 15 in spring.

Long Beach home prices by month: what buyers actually paid

"Contract month" is the month the buyer's offer was accepted, not the month the sale closed. That is the date a buyer can actually time. The chart shows how the median sale in Long Beach compared with the original asking price in each contract month, and the table below it has every figure.

Below original asking

Median close vs original asking, by month. Every figure is in the table below.

Long Beach home prices by month: what buyers actually paid, data table
Contract month	Closings	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median $/sq ft	Median days on market	Median sale price	Avg new listings per month
January	285	at original asking	49.5%	26.0%	$640	17	$800,000	266
February	322	at original asking	48.1%	24.8%	$679	15	$829,000	239
March	372	at original asking	48.1%	24.7%	$665	14	$845,000	286
April	353	at original asking	47.3%	21.5%	$648	14	$825,000	292
May	439	0.8% below original asking	52.2%	31.0%	$663	17	$880,000	318
June	381	0.8% below original asking	53.0%	24.7%	$664	18	$875,000	291
July	391	1.4% below original asking	58.3%	33.2%	$649	20	$832,000	284
August	372	1.2% below original asking	55.6%	33.3%	$660	19	$830,000	273
September	317	1.6% below original asking	58.7%	34.7%	$638	25	$875,000	245
October	219	1.2% below original asking	56.2%	32.9%	$627	19	$820,000	274
November	283	0.9% below original asking	54.8%	28.3%	$653	21	$872,000	189
December	250	at original asking	47.6%	30.0%	$628	26	$767,500	125

New listings swing just as hard. May averages about 318 new listings in Long Beach, while December averages about 125.

Avg new listings per month

Average new listings per calendar month over two years. Hover a point for its value; every figure is in the table above.

Best season to buy a house in Long Beach

Best season to buy a house in Long Beach, data table
Season	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median days on market	Avg new listings per month
Winter	at original asking	48.4%	26.9%	19	210
Spring	0.2% below original asking	49.2%	25.7%	15	299
Summer	1.1% below original asking	55.6%	30.4%	19	283
Fall	1.2% below original asking	56.6%	32.0%	22	236

Fall was the best season to buy in Long Beach: the median home closed 1.2% below original asking, and 56.6% of homes sold below asking. Winter was the firmest, at at original asking with 48.4% below asking. Listings sat a median 22 days in fall versus 19 in winter.

Winter is December to February, spring March to May, summer June to August and fall September to November.

Which neighborhoods in Long Beach get cheaper in the off-season

Median close vs original asking by season in the neighborhoods with the most closings in Long Beach in our feed.

Which neighborhoods in Long Beach get cheaper in the off-season, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median sale price	Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
Bixby Knolls	188	$984,500	1.5% above original asking	0.7% below original asking	at original asking	at original asking
Alamitos Beach	182	$611,000	2.5% below original asking	2.5% below original asking	3.2% below original asking	3.1% below original asking
Carson Park (Plaza East)	143	$1,029,000	at original asking	1.4% below original asking	1.1% below original asking	0.1% above original asking
Belmont Heights	143	$1,080,000	1.3% below original asking	2.1% below original asking	at original asking	at original asking
Los Altos South	143	$1,100,000	at original asking	at original asking	1.0% below original asking	at original asking
West Village	124	$449,500	2.5% below original asking	3.1% below original asking	2.3% below original asking	1.1% below original asking

Alamitos Beach was the softest of Long Beach's busiest neighborhoods, with the median sale at 3.2% below original asking in fall. Bixby Knolls moved the most with the seasons, from 1.5% above original asking in spring to 0.7% below original asking in summer. Neighborhood figures rest on fewer closings than the citywide numbers, so read them as direction rather than a price quote.

Why the season matters in Long Beach

Long Beach stays close to asking price in every season, so timing buys you a modest edge rather than a bargain. September is the best month, with the median sale 1.6% below the original list and 59% of homes selling under it, while January through April contracts closed at full price. Alamitos Beach condos are the most negotiable segment in any season, and Bixby Knolls still carries a spring premium.

Is winter a good time to buy a house in Long Beach?

Not on price. Winter (December to February) was Long Beach's firmest season: contracts closed a median at original asking, versus 1.2% below original asking in fall, and 48.4% of winter sales went below the original asking price. December closed a median at original asking, with 47.6% of homes selling below asking.

The trade-off is thin inventory. Winter brings about 210 new listings a month versus 299 in spring, and December only about 125. The typical winter listing in Long Beach sits 19 days versus 15 in spring, so winter sellers have usually had time to rethink their price.

Does the season matter more than mortgage rates?

In Long Beach, the spread between the best and worst month to sign a contract was 1.6 percentage points on price, about $13,440 on the $840,000 median home. A 0.5 point move in the 30-year mortgage rate changes the monthly payment on a $840,000 home with 20% down by roughly the same order of magnitude. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026.

Watch both. You can't control where rates go, but you can control when you shop and how hard you negotiate, and a flat-fee buyer's agent works the price side in any month.

How to time a purchase in Long Beach

Get pre-approved before the slow season. In Long Beach that is fall, and a pre-approval lets you move the day a stale listing gets interesting.
Target homes past the median of 19 days on market in Long Beach. Sellers who have waited longer than the typical listing are the most open to an offer below asking.
In bidding-season months, shop the soft segments. In winter and January, use the neighborhood table above to find parts of Long Beach, such as Alamitos Beach, that still sell below asking.
In the slow months, ask for credits and repairs, not only price. In September, 34.7% of homes that sold had already taken a price cut, so sellers know where the market is.
Keep searching through the holidays. December brings the fewest new listings, about 125, and sellers in Long Beach who list then are usually motivated.

Methodology

We looked at closings of single family homes, condos and townhouses in Long Beach from our MLS feed, with contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 and closed by October 31, 2026, and removed outlier ratios. "Median close vs original asking" is the median of close price divided by the original list price, so it includes price cuts made before the sale. Across all 3,984 closings, that ratio was 0.9927 (0.7% below original asking), 52.5% of homes sold below original asking, 28.7% had a price cut before selling, and the median home sold for $840,000 at $653 per square foot after 19 days on market.

New listings are the two-year average per calendar month. Figures are medians unless stated. Published November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

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

September. Long Beach homes that went under contract in September sold for a median 1.6% below original asking, and 59% sold below the original asking price. The median listing had been on the market 25 days.

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

January is the most expensive month. Long Beach homes that went under contract in January sold for a median at original asking, only 50% sold below asking, and the median listing sat 17 days.

Is winter a good time to buy in Long Beach?

Not on price. Winter contracts closed a median at original asking, 48.4% of homes sold below asking and the typical listing sat 19 days. The catch is choice: about 210 new listings a month, versus 299 in spring.

How much can I save by timing my purchase in Long Beach?

The gap between the best and most expensive month was 1.6 percentage points, about $13,440 on the $840,000 median home in Long Beach. That is a median across 3,984 closings, not a guarantee: the home, the neighborhood and your offer still matter more than the calendar.

When do the most homes come on the market in Long Beach?

May brings the most new listings, about 318 a month. December brings the fewest, about 125.

Buy in Long Beach with a flat-fee buyer's agent

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