Life in Seal Beach

Resident's perspective
Seal Beach feels like "small town America", with well-kept homes and a charming downtown where everyone knows everyone's name. It's just like Louie Armstrong's record "Wonderful World".

I see friends shaking hands saying "how do you do"

The 1/3-mile pier gives visitors a panoramic view of the coast. The city has had a pier since the early 20th century. Storms all but destroyed it in 1982-83, and fires heavily damaged it in 1992 and 1993. But the reconstructed pier stands as the focal point of the community and continues to draw walkers and fishermen.

The locals enjoy the town's low-key ambience and its wide mile-long beach with constant activity: joggers, sailboarders, kite fliers, grunion hunters, and swimmers.

Old timers say that during the 1920s, the beach had a roller coaster and fun park and drew gambling ships that anchored just offshore. Those honky-tonk elements have disappeared, but now the beach is host to championship surfing and an annual sand castle-building contest. Limited parking keeps the beach crowds from getting out of hand.

Homebuyer's pespective
Seal Beach real estate has several enclaves, divided by interest, age, and income. Old Town and Surfside, which border the ocean, are the most affluent, with multistory beachfront homes selling for up to $5 million.

Two miles to the north is the Leisure World retirement community, built in 1962, where about 9,000 seniors live in stock co-op townhomes that can be purchased for as little as $80,000.

Old Town and The Hill, neighborhoods bordering the Pacific Coast Highway, are closest to the ocean and command the highest prices. Old Town offers custom homes, many of them multistory, and beach cottages built in the early 1900s. The Hill combines custom homes and tract homes. There were 12 listings in the two neighborhoods in late May, with the highest listing at $1.4 million.

College Park East, a tract about four miles inland, had seven homes listed, with the top price at $719,000. College Park West, also a tract area, had no listings. Leisure World had stock co-op townhomes ranging from $87,500 to $259,000.

Seal Beach real estate has been selling for record prices in every price range.

Inventory is at the lowest levels.