The entire California Central Coast is really the sleeper area in the state. Tourists and others flock to congested and sprawling Los Angeles or the equally congested Bay Area, where the cost of housing is the highest in the nation, driven up by the technology industry. In between all of that excessively priced, urban jungle is a California gem – the Central Coast.
The Central Coast boasts pristine beaches, less crowds, college towns and a somewhat cheaper housing cost. Pismo Beach, in the heart of the Central Coast, is an ideal choice of a town to choose as one’s home base.
In order to find out more about how to purchase real estate in Pismo Beach, we spoke with Rusty Tweed. Tweed is an entrepreneur and the president of TFS Properties, Inc. His firm specializes in 1031 real estate transactions. In a 1031 transaction, the investor takes a property from an area where equity has risen rapidly and exchanges the property for other holdings in areas with the potential for more growth. Tweed has helped clients with over $500 million in 1031 transactions.
Don’t Purchase On-the-Market Real Estate
According to Tweed, the California real estate market, especially in most coastal areas, is overheated. Once a property hits the market, the bidding wars usually begin, and the property ends up selling for prices that neither investors nor aspiring residents will find to be an investment in their future.
Tweed’s firm has extensive ties in the Southern California real estate market. They specialize in helping investors purchase off-market properties. An example would be someone who is holding raw, undeveloped land who has been paying the property taxes for some time and would like to get out from under their investment.
Overall Residential
The feel of Pismo Beach, according to Niche.com, is sparsely populated suburban living. Of all residents, 60 percent are homeowners. There are just over 8,000 in Pismo Beach.
Pismo is near the college town of San Luis Obispo, and both towns boast a variety of quality eating establishments at a variety of prices. There are both young professionals and people in their retirement years who live in the city. The schools are rated as being above-average. El Pismo Manor and Pismo Heights are popular Pismo Beach neighborhoods.
As of press time in January of 2020, the median home value is $660,000 and the median rent is $1,555.
In December of 2019, 15 residential homes, 11 condominiums, two townhouses and a multi-family unit sold in Pismo Beach.
In terms of raw land, nine listings were found on Zillow. The average time on the market for the land was over a year. The prices for the lots, almost all no larger than a third of an acre, began at well over $300,000.
Overall Commercial
Commercial land at press time for sale in Pismo Beach on the MLS included two mixed-use commercial establishments with five and six units. There was also a gasoline station for sale for $1,390,000 and a liquor store in the same price range.
Rusty Tweed advises that both investors and potential homeowners in Pismo Beach, California seek real estate that is not officially on the MLS system. His firm, TFS Properties, has carved out a niche by finding such off-market property gems for investors
