Belmont Shore

Belmont Shore is the flat grid between the ocean and Alamitos Bay, running from about Bluff Park on the west to the bay and Naples on the east, with Second Street and Livingston Drive at its center. Second Street is the main street, 14 blocks of restaurants, shops, salons and gyms, and the side streets go quiet within a block. The ocean beach runs along the south edge, and most homes are a few minutes' walk from the sand.

Plenty of people here paddle the bay before work and walk to dinner after. Weekends and warm evenings get busy; weekday mornings are calm. That mix is what buyers pay for, and it shows in prices: in September 2026, homes listed here had a middle asking price around $1.95 million, against about $899,000 for Long Beach overall.

The typical older house here is a 1920s or 1930s Spanish-style cottage on a narrow lot, set close to its neighbors, with a patio instead of a yard. Many have been remodeled or rebuilt, and duplexes and small apartment buildings are mixed in on most blocks.

The beach itself has almost no surf. The 2.5-mile Long Beach Breakwater, built offshore from 1941 to 1949, blocks the waves, so the water is usually flat enough for kayaks, swimmers and the kiteboarders who ride the steady onshore wind. For 2028, the Belmont Shore waterfront is an Olympic venue for sailing, open water swimming and coastal rowing sprints.

Then there's the calendar. The 42nd annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade is set for Second Street on December 5, 2026, the Belmont Shore Car Show fills the 14 blocks every September, and the Congressional Cup match-racing regatta, first sailed in 1964, races off this beach each April.

Belmont Shore sits on land that was part of Rancho Los Alamitos and later the Alamitos Beach Townsite that John W. Bixby's Alamitos Land Company laid out, which grew to include Belmont Heights, Belmont Shore and Naples. A 1929 aerial photo shows the grid already filling in with houses, and the Engine Company No. 8 firehouse on Second Street was built the same year.

The young beach town had to be defended from the water. Around 1939 the Works Progress Administration built a retaining wall of roughly 1,900 feet along Ocean Boulevard to hold back high tides, and in September 1939 a rare tropical storm hit the Long Beach coast hard, before the eastern breakwater existed. The Leeway Sailing and Aquatics Center on Alamitos Bay, a city youth sailing program, dates from 1929.

The biggest change came offshore. The federal government built the 2.5-mile Long Beach Breakwater between 1941 and 1949, and it took the surf away for good. Surfrider's Long Beach chapter and other groups have argued for years that parts of it should be reconfigured to bring back waves and circulation, while waterfront owners and shippers want the storm protection. For now the breakwater stays, and so does the flat water.

The side streets are mostly 1920s and 1930s Spanish-style cottages and bungalows, many of them remodeled or expanded, with larger contemporary rebuilds and a few apartment buildings in between. The untouched ones still have tile roofs, arched doorways and coved ceilings.

Lots are narrow, so outdoor space usually means a patio, a courtyard or a roof deck. Duplexes to fourplexes are common: in September 2026, more of the listings here were two- to four-unit buildings and mixed-use properties than single-family houses. Near the bay and Ocean Boulevard you'll find condos that trade space for lower maintenance and sometimes a view.

The housing is old and packed tight, so condition swings block to block. Updated systems, permitted additions, off-street parking and any view of the water move the price more than square footage does.

Parking is the thing buyers underestimate most. Many original bungalows have one space off a back alley or none, and street parking near Second Street and the bay fills fast on weekends. A dedicated off-street space is worth a lot here, so get in writing exactly what comes with the house.

For a condo or a unit in a small building, read the HOA documents closely: dues, reserves, insurance, pet rules and any limits on renting. If you're buying a duplex or fourplex for income, remember that Long Beach has no local rent control, but the state's AB 1482 caps many older units at 5% plus inflation a year, up to 10%, and the city's Just Cause ordinance limits evictions after a tenant's first year.

Parts of the area fall in FEMA flood zones and the California Coastal Zone. The first can show up in your insurance bill, the second in how long a remodel permit takes. Look up both for the exact address before you're in escrow.