Beach House Deals!

I have two ends of the spectrum for today's look at beach house deals! I saw one listing for a small detached house just a block from the beach, priced at a modest $100,000. I also saw another gorgeous beachfront home quite nicely appointed all things considered, at a reasonable $519k. These are just two of the sweet beach house deals I saw on the MLS this morning.

Starting on the bargain end of things, The listing at $100k is a pretty small home. 576 square feet with two bedrooms and a 3/4 bath. But the home is less than a block from the beach entrance! What a great opportunity for a getaway home! It is situated on a 100x50 foot lot, which is a classic city lot. I still find it hard to believe that one can buy a house a block from the beach for a hundred grand.

It may not look like much but there are many cars that people buy that cost more than this little house and it's practically on the beach. This could be the family getaway or an investment opportunity.


This one is located in the Klipsan Beach area on the Long Beach Peninsula in Ocean Park, WA.

I love great deals and this is certainly a fabulous bargain.

The next home I found interesting was this 2789 square foot home backing to the beach! This lot is 55 feet wide and goes all the way to mean high tide. You own a piece of the Pacific Coastline and the lot is 452 feet deep. This home features three bedrooms and one full bath and a couple of 3/4 baths and a half bath. This home is also in Ocean Park, WA on the Long Beach Peninsula.

This could be a full time house for someone looking to live the Coastal Dream. Or it could be an investment as an upscale beach house rental. I like it because it is priced well. Listed at just $519,000 it is a relative value.  

Look at the huge wrap around deck looking out over the mighty Pacific Ocean. A nice 55 foot wide lot and a 400 foot trail through the dunes to the beach all yours!

The Washington Coast continues to offer an amazing value in beach front property and if you have always dreamed of living at the coast or having a getaway vacation property, now is as good as ever to grab a deal at the beach.

Although I write this blog for fun beach info, I am a licensed Realtor® in Washington State and would be happy to deliver information on these and other listings on the coast.

Glorious Beach Months Ahead!

Originally posted as "Drive on the Beach at Least Once in Your Life " March 2nd, 2014

From the Long Beach City Website

How many states can boast that they have a state hwy that is not just on the beach but IS the beach! Washington is one such state that can make that claim. Driving on Long Beach is not as easy as it seems. Often the entrances have loose sand that cars with low clearance can easily get stuck in. Once you are past the soft sand at the entrance is is pretty easy to drive on the hard packed sand closer to the water. As mentioned above this is an official state highway and that mean troopers will write you a ticket for exceeding the 25 mph speed limit or any reckless driving. They are quite serious about it and the fine are HUGE so drive safe.

Driving on the beach. Circa 2006

There is much to do in Long Beach. Adults and children alike can enjoy this great coastal retreat. The best part about it is the ability to purchase your own home to live in or vacation at for a reasonably price.

You can check out this website info about the Long Beach Peninsula and driving on the beach here.

Beach Real Estate is Calm and Cool

For those looking to the coast for an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, it will surely deliver. When you get to that point where you want a more permanent coastal arrangement, it remains a calm and cool climate. Although the market for real estate on the SW Washington coast is enjoying a robust upward tendency, it is not the frantic and fever pitch nightmare for buyers that they might find in Vancouver or Portland.

Relaxing at the coast includes relaxing a little while you look at properties. There are still relatively good values on everything from Condos to beach houses to manufactured homes on a lot. $200,000 will still buy a nice little place at the beach!

Your 200k isn't likely to land you a 2000 sf foot house with the Pacific Ocean waves crashing against you property line; but it will get you close to the beach in a little two or three bedroom home just a few blocks away. That my friends is awesome!

Now that spring is firmly entrenched get out to the Washington Coast and enjoy the fresh salty air and peek at the real estate deals.

I'm on the Gulf Coast This Week!

My wife and I visited my son who is in the Army, at Fort Polk, LA over the weekend. Since we traveled all the way to Louisiana we figured a ride along the Gulf Coast was in order. We we in New Orleans yesterday and today and we are on our way to Pensacola Beach, Florida for a couple of days sand and sun :)

One thing for sure it is a lot warmer on the Gulf Coast than it ever is on the Washington Coast. The water temperature is in the upper 70s and the air temp is in the 80s. Nice, Huh?

Our Washington Coast is still prettier with the towering trees, rugged coastline and mossy green. I'll be back next time with a spring review for our beautiful Washington Coast :)

Sunset Likes Long Beach

This month I offer up this link to a fine piece on winter in Long Beach from Sunset magazine. A good read...

Sunset article by Ted Katauskas

"Within easy reach of Portland and Seattle, Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula is arguably one of the most visited oceanfront spots in the Northwest. In the summer, that is, when elbow-to-elbow crowds jostle for a glimpse of Jake the Alligator Man, and traffic idles bumper-to-bumper on the “World’s Longest Beach” (as an iconic, if not quite accurate, sign proclaims). In the off-season, though, this windswept peninsula—from the mouth of the Columbia River to the oyster-rich Willapa Bay—is all yours. As empty and awesome as the clear, cold day in 1805 when explorer William Clark declared, “Ocian in view! O! the joy"

O! the joy.

Golf Living at the Beach

Many people like to golf and who doesn't want a house on the golf course? Surfside Golf Course on the Long Beach Peninsula has a whole community of of homes around it including this one listed at $165,000. 2 beds and a den on the golf course and just a few blocks from the mighty Pacific Ocean?

That's the stuff of dreams right there. The Southwest Washington Coast offers the opportunity to own a home for a very reasonable price as it has been somewhat sheltered from the puffed up pricing in the Portland and Seattle area real estate markets.

Right now interest rates remain very low, but more and more economists are coming to the conclusion that these historic low rates will begin creeping up as early as this spring. Now could be the golden moment of opportunity to secure and piece of the beach for a low price with a really low interest rate. One could keep it as a vacation home then retire in it when ready to settle down. Knock, knock... who's there? Opportunity... Opportunity who? Just opportunity, no joke.

Snow on the Beach?

The Washington coast does get snow on occasion but not as often as the Portland or Seattle areas. last weekend a minor snow event occurred in the Portland area but the coast was all rain for the most part. If you have always wanted to walk on a snowy beach with the waves crashing and all that winter wonderland about, timing will be critical. The NW Oregon and SW Washington coastline is just a tad too warm for snow most of the time. When it does snow however, it can be a significant event. The coast gets much more precipitation than the inland areas and so if it is falling as snow it can be heavy.

from Long Beach Peninsula Website

The beach is beautiful all year round, but a snowy beach is just magical. Those of you that have spent anytime in the North Eastern US or Alaska know how awesome the coastline is when covered in the winter blanket. Here is the Pacific Northwest the coastline generally endures rain with few intrusions from winter weather.

If you want to see the wonders of a snowy coastline in Washington, you will have to be prepared to wait for the opportunity and pounce when it arrives. It will mostly likely be fleeting.

That's all I have for you this time; I'll be back next month.