September 2026 Long Beach Real Estate Market Report: Prices Rise as Pending Sales Fall

Long Beach single-family prices kept climbing in September 2026, but fewer homes went under contract. The median single-family sale price was $1,025,000, up 7.9% from a year ago, while pending sales dropped 43.7% to 71. Condos and townhomes showed the same split at a lower price point: a median of $555,000, up 6.7%, with pending sales down 52.2%. Prices rising while fewer contracts get signed is the story of this report, and below I explain how I read it and what it could mean if you plan to buy or sell this fall.

Source: Pacific West Association of REALTORS® (PWR) Local Market Update for September 2026. Figures cover Long Beach as a whole. Sales prices do not account for seller concessions or down payment assistance.

September 2026 Snapshot: Single-Family Homes vs. Condos

Year-over-year changes compare September 2026 with September 2025. One month of data can swing on a handful of sales, so I also lean on the 12-month figures below.

How I Read the September Numbers

Prices are up, but start with the 12-month number

The September single-family median of $1,025,000 is up 7.9% from last September. The 12-month median, which smooths out month-to-month noise, is $1,010,000, up 4.9%. That is the steadier read: prices are rising, but closer to 5% than 8%. The average sale price of $1,251,161 sits more than $226,000 above the median, which tells me a group of higher-priced homes closed in September and pulled the average up. When the average runs that far ahead of the median, I would not treat it as what a typical home sold for.

Fewer homes went under contract

Single-family pending sales fell 43.7%, from 126 to 71. Closed sales fell much less, down 9.6% to 123, because September closings mostly come from contracts signed a month or more earlier. Pending sales are the earlier signal, which is why that number matters. Over the last 12 months, single-family pending sales are down just 1.7%, so September stands out against the yearly pattern. It could be a short pause. It could also be the start of a slower fall. One month cannot tell us which, and I would watch October before drawing a firm conclusion.

Homes that sold still sold quickly and close to asking

• The typical single-family home sold in 31 days, down from 35 a year ago and about the same as the 32-day 12-month figure.
• Sellers received 99.2% of the original list price on average, up from 98.0% a year ago. On a $1,025,000 sale, that is roughly $8,200 below the original asking price.
• The July 2026 Long Beach market report showed 26 days and 100.1% of list price, so September was a bit slower and a bit less aggressive than summer.

Supply is steady, not tight

Active single-family inventory is 339 homes, up 1.2%, and months of supply is 3.0. A common rule of thumb treats under 4 months as favoring sellers and 4 to 6 months as balanced, so single-family still leans toward sellers. New listings fell 11.0% to 130, so sellers are not flooding the market. What I would watch is the combination: if fewer homes keep going under contract while new listings keep arriving, inventory builds and homes sit longer.

Condos and Townhomes: More Room to Negotiate

Condos and townhomes tell a different story. Months of supply is 5.5, homes took 41 days to sell, and sellers received 96.5% of the original list price on average, which is about $19,000 below asking at the $555,000 median. Those numbers give buyers more room than the single-family market does.

The September condo median is up 6.7%, but the 12-month median is $520,000, down 1.6%, so I would not read September as a condo price surge. Pending condo sales fell 52.2% to 32, and only 70 condos closed, which is a small sample. Treat the monthly condo figures as directional.

Citywide Numbers Are a Starting Point

This report covers Long Beach as a whole, and the city does not behave like one market. Prices, days on market, and buyer competition can look very different from one neighborhood to the next. If you are comparing areas, start with the Long Beach neighborhoods guide and then look at recent sales on the specific streets you care about.

Bao’s Take: Beyond the Numbers

If you are selling

Pricing carries more weight when fewer buyers are going under contract. The average home sold in about a month at roughly 99% of list price, but that average includes homes that were priced correctly from day one. A home listed several percent too high is not competing with the citywide median. It is competing with the house a buyer can tour this weekend, and early attention matters. Your price should come from recent sales on your street and the homes currently for sale near you, not from a citywide number. To test your own price, read How to Tell If a Long Beach Home Is Overpriced. For timing, see Should You Sell Your Long Beach Home Now or Wait Until 2027?

If you are buying

On a well-priced single-family listing, expect little room. The 99.2% figure is an average, and the negotiating room usually sits in homes that have been listed longer than that 31-day mark or were priced ahead of the market. I would focus on how long a home has been listed and whether the price has changed, not on the citywide discount. On condos, the 5.5-month supply gives you more leverage, but I would put as much weight on the HOA’s finances, reserves, and pending assessments as on the price. A lower price on a condo with weak reserves can cost more later. If you are deciding whether to wait, Should You Buy a Home in Long Beach Right Now? and Should You Wait for Mortgage Rates to Fall Before Buying? cover the timing question in more detail.

Nearby market reports (September 2026): Garden Grove, Lakewood, Cerritos, Cypress