May 2026 Market Data •Redfin City-Limits Figures

Data collected for May 2026 (the most recent full month of closings), with year-over-year comparisons to May 2025. These are city-limits-only figures pulled from Redfin, not metro-wide MLS totals. Competitiveness and “typical time to pending” reflect Redfin’s trailing three-month Compete Score. This update covers the city of Seal Beach, CA.

The Market at a Glance — May 2026

*Seal Beach’s citywide median is heavily weighted by the Leisure World 55+ condo community, where typical prices sit in the mid-$300Ks. The coastal single-family side of the city — Old Town and The Hill — trades well into seven figures. Read the $398,761 figure as a blended citywide number, not a beachfront price.

“Competition” reflects Redfin’s Compete Score — a 0–100 rating of how hard buyers compete for homes over the trailing three months, based on how many offers homes receive, how often they sell above asking, how quickly they go pending, and the sale-to-list ratio.

Prices and Pace

Seal Beach is the most statistically misleading market on the coast, and understanding why is the key to reading it correctly. The citywide median sale price was $398,761, down 7.3% year over year — but that number is dominated by Leisure World, the large gated 55-and-over condo community whose homes typically trade in the mid-$300,000s. Hundreds of those sales pull the citywide median far below what a beachfront buyer would ever encounter. The coastal single-family neighborhoods — Old Town near Main Street and the hillside homes of The Hill — sell well into the seven figures.

Beneath the blended median, the market is steady. Homes went to pending in roughly 44 days, a moderate pace, and the sale-to-list ratio was a healthy 98.2%, meaning homes across both segments sold within about 2% of asking. With 126 closings, this is a small, two-tiered market.

Where the Leverage Sits

Leverage leans toward buyers, but the picture differs sharply by segment. Only 11.4% of homes sold above list — a low share that reflects the price-sensitive Leisure World condo buyer pool — while 23.9% of listings cut price. In the coastal single-family pockets of Old Town and The Hill, scarcity and beach-town charm keep demand firmer than the citywide figures imply. Buyers and sellers in either segment must look at the right comparables rather than the headline median.

Practically, Seal Beach functions as two markets sharing a city limit: an active, value-oriented active-adult condo market in Leisure World, and a tightly held, high-end coastal market in Old Town and The Hill. Always anchor pricing to the correct segment and to recent comparable sales within it.

What This Means for Buyers

What Seal Beach means for you depends entirely on which Seal Beach you are buying. In Leisure World, the active-adult condo market is attainable and value-driven, with modest above-asking activity and room to negotiate — a relative bargain for qualifying buyers. In Old Town and The Hill, expect true coastal pricing in the seven figures, limited inventory, and firmer competition for the rare well-located home. In both cases, ignore the citywide median and work from segment-specific comps; it is the single most important thing to get right here.

What This Means for Sellers

Seal Beach sellers must price to their segment, not the city. A Leisure World seller competes in an active, price-sensitive condo market where realistic pricing and presentation move homes within the ~44-day norm. An Old Town or Hill seller is in a scarce, high-end coastal market where the right home can command a strong premium — but where overpricing still risks a long sit, as the citywide 24% price-drop rate attests. In either case, accurate, segment-specific pricing from day one is what produces a clean sale.

Bottom Line

Seal Beach is really two markets in one: an attainable, active Leisure World condo market that pulls the citywide median down to $398,761, and a scarce, seven-figure coastal market in Old Town and The Hill. Read the headline number with that context, anchor everything to the right segment, and the city reveals a stable, healthy market beneath a misleading median.

Data provided by Redfin (redfin.com). Figures are city-limits monthly data for May 2026; competitiveness and time-to-pending reflect Redfin’s trailing three-month Compete Score.