How Much Can You Negotiate Off the Asking Price in Long Beach?

Long Beach buyers paid close to the asking price in September, but an average hides a wide range. Single-family homes sold for 99.2% of the original list price on average and condos for 96.5%. On a $1,025,000 home, 0.8% is about $8,200. On a $555,000 condo, 3.5% is about $19,400. Those are averages across all sales, so here is how I would use them and where I would look for room.

Source: Pacific West Association of REALTORS® (PWR) Local Market Update for September 2026, based on CRMLS data and current as of October 2, 2026. Figures cover Long Beach as a whole. Percent of original list price is an average that includes homes that sold above asking and homes that were reduced before selling. Sales prices do not account for seller concessions or down payment assistance.

What the Long Beach Numbers Say

The dollar gap is 100% minus the percent received, applied to the median price for that period.

How to Read an Average Before You Use It

It includes homes that sold over asking

A 99.2% average blends homes that sold above the original list price, homes that sold at it, and homes that were reduced first. It does not mean every seller accepted a 0.8% discount. A correctly priced home may draw offers at or above asking, while an overpriced one is where much of the discounting happens.

Single-family homes and condos are different markets

Single-family supply is 3.0 months, which leans toward sellers by a common rule of thumb, and condos sit at 5.5 months. The condo average of 96.5% reflects that. It also reflects HOA, building, and financing issues that affect individual condos in ways a citywide average cannot show.

September’s drop in pending sales matters, but it is one month

Pending sales fell 43.7% for single-family homes and 52.2% for condos from a year earlier, while the 12-month changes were only 1.7% and 5.5%. If that softness continues, buyers gain more room in the coming months. One month does not make a trend, so I would watch October.

Price Is Only One Thing to Negotiate

Terms can matter as much as price. Seller credits toward closing costs, repair requests after inspection, the closing date, and the strength of your contingencies are all negotiable. Credits are limited by loan type, so ask your lender what is allowed before you build an offer around one. A smaller price reduction paired with a credit that lowers your cash to close can sometimes work better than a bigger reduction you cannot get. For how credits and closing costs fit into your cash to close, see How Much Money Do You Really Need to Buy a Home in Long Beach?

Bao’s Take: Beyond the Numbers

Start with the listing, not the citywide number

Before I write any offer I would look at three things: how long the home has been listed, whether the price has changed, and what comparable homes nearby have closed for. Those tell you far more about room than a Long Beach average. Homes that have sat past the typical 31 days or have been reduced are where I would expect more flexibility. A fresh listing priced in line with recent sales is where I would expect less.

Where buyers go wrong

There are two mistakes I would avoid. The first is lowballing a fresh, well-priced listing because the market feels softer. The second is assuming a condo comes with a discount, since the roughly $19,400 average gap at the median is not a promise, and an HOA with weak finances can cost more than a discount saves. To spot an overpriced listing, read How to Tell If a Long Beach Home Is Overpriced and Why Some Long Beach Homes Sell Quickly While Others Sit for Months. The full data is in the September 2026 Long Beach market report, and the Long Beach neighborhoods guide helps you compare areas, since citywide numbers hide neighborhood differences.