Housing
Buildings at a government housing development in Caracas Venezuela Reuters/Stringer

Long Beach's real estate market is pricing out home buyers with limited budget, according to a report by the Press Telegram.

Citing data from the Pacific West Association of Realtors, the report said that the average median sales price for Long Beach single-family properties was $480,000 for the month of May, a 6.9 per cent increase from sales prices a year ago.

Inventories were down to 2.4 months compared with 2.3 months during the same period last year, the report added.

Julia Huntsman, a Long Beach agent quoted in the report, said that buying homes in the area would be harder for consumers as the market "experience a variety of pressures, including investors looking for bargains and sellers hoping to see prices go higher."

According to Huntsman, prices have soared by as much as "20 percent in some ZIP codes" which will make it harder for property buyers to bag a property at about $450,000. Currently, average Long Beach home prices sit at $400,000.

Considering the market's competitiveness "at that price point," real estate experts in the area advise home buyers to do their research first before making a decision, the report noted.

Debt-to-income ratios have been adjusted to 43 per cent this year, 2014, and mortgage pre-qualification policies were implemented this year to protect the interest of consumers in the area, Long Beach real estate expert Ric Dizon stated in the report.

Yet, despite these working to the buyers' advantage, Dizon maintained that it is still wise for home buyers to "get pre-qualified for a loan" to have a clearer picture of "how much they can afford" and to gain an advantage over "cash buyers at the $350,000 price point."

Last year, 2013, the Long Beach Grunion Gazettes reported that things were looking up for the Long Beach real estate market, marked by a "slow but steady recovery."

According to the report, the most activities were present in the market segment with homes priced between $400,000 and $600,000.

"That's a good sign because that means sellers are looking to move up," Pacific West Association of Realtors executive committee member Phil Jones was quoted saying in the report.

One technology that could help consumers find their ideal homes, whether in Long Beach or elsewhere in the United States, is RealBiz Media Group, Inc.'s (OTCQB: RBIZ) consumer site Nestbuilder.com.

To make home shoppers' search endeavors easier, Nestbuilder.com's settings could be configured to filter results based on price range (minimum and maximum), number of beds and baths, property age, and square footage.

Nestbuilder.com is home to 1.6 million video listings that give home buyers a remote tour of properties in the United States. It also provides real estate advice for both home owners and sellers via its blog section.