Long Beach Indiana Real Estate Market Update 2025

Team Popp — Live Lake Michigan
By Carlos Pagan & Scott Popp

We walk the shoreline here every week, and the market tells a clear story: Long Beach isn’t a “maybe someday” spot. It’s a true Lake Michigan second-home market with scarce inventory, real lifestyle value, and buyers who know exactly why they’re shopping here.

We wrote this together, the way we work—one of us obsessing over data and deal structure, the other pushing the story and the experience—so it sounds like two humans who live this, because we do.

What’s actually happening right now?

The Long Beach Indiana real estate market has settled into a healthier rhythm. Prices are holding in the mid-$700Ks on average, and the typical days on market sits closer to 60–70 days  than the 2021 sprint. That’s not weakness; it’s sorting. Great locations and well-prepped homes still move. Overpriced, under-prepared listings don’t.

Scott: “Small markets are noisy month to month—zoom out. Location equity compounds.”
Carlos: “And buyers today buy a lifestyle. If a listing doesn’t scream ‘**Live Lake Michigan**,’ it lingers.”

For second-home buyers: play the long game, win the weekend

You’re not just buying square footage—you’re buying access: sand, light, walkability, and a smooth Chicago escape.

-Hunt the lot, not the lipstick.  Street, dune line, yard, parking. You can change finishes; you can’t move a house closer to the beach.
-Use time-on-market as leverage.  A listing at 60–90+ days usually has a pricing or presentation miss, not a fatal flaw.
-Design your plan first.  Pure second home? Hybrid (some rental)? Future primary? Your plan dictates which micro-locations and layouts make sense.

Carlos: “We buy for rituals—morning coffee with lake light, sunset walks, guest weekends.”
Scott: “Then we underwrite it—cost to hold, improvement budget, exit options. Lifestyle + math.”

For equity-rich sellers: turn paper gains into real outcomes

If you own a Long Beach Indiana vacation home and you’re thinking about capitalizing on your equity, launch like a premium brand, not a casual listing.

1.  Know your net.  We’ll pull hyper-local comps, current buyer activity, and produce a clean net sheet.
2.  Fix the deal-killers first.  Light pre-inspection, tidy the mechanics, refresh paint/lighting/hardware.
3. Lead with lifestyle.  Editorial-grade photos, tight copy, and video that sells the “weekend flow” (beach path, outdoor zones, guest capacity).
4. Price for momentum. The first two weeks set the story. Correct pricing invites the right buyers to compete.

Scott: “I care less about list price and more about walk-away number. That drives choices.”
Carlos: “If someone can’t feel ‘Live Lake Michigan’ from photo one, we aren’t done prepping.”

Days on market ≠ danger; it’s a filter

Longer DOM is giving everyone breathing room. Buyers can inspect without panic, and sellers who prep and price correctly still command strong outcomes. The market is simply rewarding fit.

Carlos: “Quality storytelling turns good houses into must-see houses.”
Scott: “Quality pricing turns must-see into sold.”

The hybrid play: enjoy it now, let equity work quietly

A lot of our clients land here: use the home now, improve it smartly, and let appreciation and scarcity do their thing over 7–10 years. Where allowed, a light, compliance-aware rental plan can offset carry without turning your home into a hotel.

Scott: “Aim improvements at appraisal-visible value, not just Pinterest.”
Carlos: “Invest where emotion and logic overlap. That’s where premiums live.”

What we’re watching (so you don’t have to)?

* Inventory by band (sub-$800K, $800K–$1.5M, $1.5M+)
* DOM by micro-location (lakefront vs. second row vs. interior)
* List-to-sale spreads on second-home product types
* Rate shifts and Chicagoland demand—tiny changes can wake up an entire weekend-home stripe

Carlos: “A small rate dip plus three compelling new listings can change buyer behavior fast.”
Scott: “That’s when timing turns good offers into great exits.”

Your next move, made simple

If you’re buying a second home in Long Beach, Indiana:
Set your strategy, target the right streets, negotiate with the current tempo, and think in decades.

If you’re selling to capture equity:
Get your real net number, package the lifestyle, price for day-one momentum, and move cleanly to your next play.

We’re Team Popp—Carlos Pagan & Scott Popp—and this is how we operate: one part numbers, one part narrative, both parts committed to helping you  Live Lake Michigan in a way that builds a life  and a balance sheet.

When you’re ready, we’ll align a property, a plan, and a timeline that fit the way you actually live.