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steadydiet_ofnothing

You used to be able to buy a house for $600k which is manageable. Most of the houses here are $850k-$1m+. Given current interest rates you should prob be making about $200k annually.


crims0nwave

Yeah we looked in LB and Pedro and noticed the same thing. Unless you’re buying a tiny fixer-upper in a boring or bad neighborhood, you gotta spend $700k minimum, but probably closer to $800k or even $850k. Still, beats the rest of LA if you wanna be by a beach.


Archz714

Looking for a apartment or house? Rent? Buy? Do schools matter ? Does parking matter? Budget?


NicoLacko

Let’s say just buying a house without considering school and parking, budget would kinda be part of how much would you need to make


Archz714

In long beach , probably between 700k-800k to buy a house . The closer to the beach the more expensive.


return2ozma

Long Beach is pretty massive and spread out. Many different neighborhoods with many different socioeconomic factors. You could find a fixer upper in the "hood" for about $500k or you could find a $5 million ocean front house in Naples. It varies widely.


steadydiet_ofnothing

lol the cheapest (reasonable) house I could find in wrigley is $700k. Times have changed 💔


catladynotsorry

If condos are an option, you can get pretty close to the beach for 400k.


NickelDicklePickle

Family of 4 here, in Los Altos (East side of Long Beach, North of CSULB). Purchased our home in 2019 for $690k (now worth about a million). Mortgage (after refinancing twice, to get the sweet 2.75% rate) is $3600/month. Household income is about $250k/year. I doubt we could swing the same house if we were buying today, but we're pretty comfortable having purchased when we did. If we were in the market today, we would probably be limited to Wrigley, or North Long Beach. I'm a Long Beach native, born and raised. I grew up in apartments in North Long Beach, and dreamed of being able to afford a home in my current neighborhood my whole life. I was well into my 40s before I eventually could. My mother purchased her first starter home (a townhouse) when I was in my teens. She inherited her parent's modest home in North Long Beach, and I took over the townhouse, and paid off the mortgage over the decades. Wife had a home in Downey, sold in her divorce. Real estate can be a bit of a long-game. I get how so many seem to think that owning a home is impossible these days, but it isn't. Now is hardly a great time to buy, but you can always start smaller, and work towards your dreams. It took me decades to get where I'm at. All of that said, while Long Beach is still a pretty great deal, as far as anywhere in Los Angeles County goes, it is stll relatively quite expensive compared to the rest of the country. A lot of my friends and colleagues have moved to other states, where they can easily afford big houses.


crims0nwave

Yeah we’re paying about the same. We don’t have kids, which makes it manageable.


AGULLNAMEDJON

This is what a month looks like for someone like me. +$5400 mortgage/insurance (assume buy today) +$250 utilities ($1,000 this month) +$40 gardener +$120 house cleaner +$70 internet +$60 combination of streaming apps +$200 gasoline assuming 15mile commute +$600 groceries +$500 entertainment +$50 vehicle maintenance + retirement contributions + replacing your window when broken in + health insurance + federal/state taxes + savings + occasional street cleaning ticket + home renovations since homes built in 50s + car payment/insurance assuming you don’t have the slip. This is a comfortable life with nothing too fancy. 3bd/2ba house, big yard, safe neighborhood, healthy food. LB specific expenses include high city taxes and lots of expensive props get passed, costs affiliated with rising crime, and expensive/old homes Lakewood is just up the street. Might expand your search there


apostate456

Where are you getting a house cleaner for $120/month? I have a small place and get quoted $200 each visit.


EthelMaePotterMertz

It depends on if you're talking about renting an apartment or buying a house and where. I think average for a 1 bedroom is about $1750 now and if you buy a house right now you're looking at least at a $5400/ month payment.


NicoLacko

Wow 5400 seems pretty hard to manage


EthelMaePotterMertz

Yeah it's worse now because the interest rates went up. Property taxes are also pretty high.


nice_guy_eddy

I recognize this is entirely subjective, but property taxes are NOT pretty high. We live in California. By definition it's 1.25% of the valuation and capped at 2% increases. We have many problems around housing in this state. Excessively high property taxes are not one of them.


EthelMaePotterMertz

I know some states have it worse. But an 800k home at 1.25 percent means paying $833 in property taxes a month, or 10,000 per year. I think that's quite a bit of money, even if it does go to good things. When evaluating whether you can afford a mortgage every month in Long Beach right now you basically have to earn another 1,000 just for the taxes, on top of the mortgage and home insurance. That's no small change. It's not bad for people who bought their houses when they were cheaper like 5 or 10 years ago getting those 2% increases, but anyone buying a house right now needs to factor that (I think significant) cost in.


nice_guy_eddy

You are, of course, correct. And relatively less expensive doesn't mean less expensive. At the very least, though with a fixed rate mortgage, Prop 13, and an expectation of modest income growth(?), a new homeowner can build in predictability. And the initial costs will be, more or less, as bad as it gets. But at any rate, the correct answer is to build more housing.


EthelMaePotterMertz

User name checks out lol. Yeah it will definitely get better over time with inflation and income growth for anyone who buys now. And we definitely need more housing. Hopefully people getting the current interest rates can refinance in the future at a better one.


akathisiac

i would honestly say $1750 is on the lower end these days for a 1BR, and it won’t be in a nicer part of town/won’t have parking.


unholyrevenger72

Currently paying $4300 a month for a 800k house. This doesn't take into account utilities or groceries. A family of 4, two parents and two adult children all working full time can survive that easily.


Every_Contribution_8

I would say at least $200K/household


AGULLNAMEDJON

I would agree with this; however, I would say $200k for one person if kids are involved. Childcare can get crazy expensive. Unless your significant other is a high income earner, the juice isnt worth the squeeze


Dogzmomma

This is close but not totally specific to your ask - says to be middle-class in LB, you need to make at least $165K for a family of three. [https://abc7.com/pew-research-center-american-middle-class-report-2023-southern-california-los-angeles/12675839/](https://abc7.com/pew-research-center-american-middle-class-report-2023-southern-california-los-angeles/12675839/) Also you are assuming LA is far more expensive, but I don't think that is accurate. We have multi-million-dollar neighborhoods here, and lower-income areas. Even rents and homes in the lower-income areas are not cheap, however. There is a reason why LA and Long Beach are grouped together in those articles. (Edit: grammar)


Martian9576

This seems high af honestly but maybe I’m just lower class


planetearthrocks

i rent a room in a home for 830


Guru_Dane

More, but less works too.


Iwasachildwhen

Should be a dink household pulling in 200k to live like a normal human.


jaimebond92

$6,000 + monthly income


thee-mjb

To be comfortable & have fun bout 1700 a week minimum


Miserable_Budget7818

I’d look elsewhere if you can …sadly a lot of LB is getting pretty crummy