Melissa Urena & Associates

Melissa Urena & Associates Melissa & Associates' purpose is to house and showcase real estate resources and market updates.

My expertise is creating a stress-free experience for SoCal residents who have outgrown their current property or neighborhood and are looking to upgrade, downsize, or relocate out of state.

Every move-up conversation I have starts the same way ๐ŸกNot with price. Not with square footage. With some version of โ€œbu...
09/17/2026

Every move-up conversation I have starts the same way ๐Ÿก

Not with price. Not with square footage. With some version of โ€œbut where would we live in between?โ€

That one question is why people stay in a house they outgrew three years ago. The equity is sitting right there. The math works. The in between part just feels miserable enough that nobody wants to start.

What Iโ€™ve learned running this with Long Beach families is that the problem is rarely money. Itโ€™s order of operations. Change the sequence and the whole thing stops feeling like a gamble youโ€™re taking with your familyโ€™s housing.

Done right, youโ€™re shopping with real buying power in hand and staying put until the next house is ready for you.

Send me a message and Iโ€™ll walk you through what your specific timeline could look like ๐Ÿ‘€

Melissa Urena | DRE # 01900591 | ฮ“EAโ…ƒ Broker

๐‡๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ค๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค? Here's the thing: your real buying...
09/16/2026

๐‡๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ค๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค? Here's the thing: your real buying power isn't just the list price you see online. Once you factor in your down payment, today's rates, and your actual monthly budget, you might have more room to work with than you think.

I break down exactly how to calculate what you can really afford when upgrading in Long Beach. Read more:
https://melissaurena.com/how-much-more-home-can-you-afford-in-long-beach/

I get asked all the time whatโ€™s worth spending money on here ๐ŸŒŠLong Beach has a long list of free things to do and I talk...
09/15/2026

I get asked all the time whatโ€™s worth spending money on here ๐ŸŒŠ

Long Beach has a long list of free things to do and I talk about those constantly. But there are a handful of things Iโ€™d tell anyone to pay for without blinking, because theyโ€™re the ones youโ€™re still talking about a year later.

None of these are tourist traps. Theyโ€™re what I book for out of town family, for anniversaries, for the weekends when I want the city to show off a little.

Living here means you get to spread these out over a whole year instead of cramming them into one trip. Thatโ€™s the part people underestimate about being local.

If youโ€™ve been thinking about moving to Long Beach, comment โ€œFALLโ€ below and Iโ€™ll send you my 2026 Fall Guide ๐Ÿ‚

Melissa Urena | DRE # 01900591 | ฮ“EAโ…ƒ Broker

09/11/2026

If you havenโ€™t been yet, this one is worth knowing about.

W**e and cheese shop with small bites and outdoor seating. You pick a bottle off the shelf, they open it right there, and you sit outside with a cheese board.

No reservation, no production, no one rushing you out.

It works for a glass after work, and it really works on a slow weeknight when you want somewhere low key with a friend. Good weather and that patio has the best energy on the whole stretch.

This is the part people donโ€™t picture when they think about Bixby Knolls.

The tree lined streets and older homes with character get all the attention, but what keeps people here is everything sitting within walking distance once theyโ€™ve moved in ๐Ÿท

Iโ€™m Melissa Urena, a Long Beach real estate agent and your go to guide for making the most of every moment here.

Melissa Urena | DRE # 01900591 | ฮ“EAโ…ƒ Broker

09/09/2026

Just a heads up, there are 5 real opportunities right now to buy into a top tier Long Beach neighborhood for under $1.1M.

If you have been waiting for the best pockets of this city to come back down, I want to be straight with you. That is not the direction things are moving.

The most walkable, most wanted neighborhoods have gotten tight. What sells there now sits comfortably above $1.1M, and anything under it tends to be gone by the following weekend.

Under $1.1M in these areas used to be a normal search. It is turning into a short list.

Right now there are 5 homes on the market under that number that I would put on a Saturday tour. Not fixers I am being generous about. Real options, on the same streets everyone else is paying a premium to get onto.

Send me a DM and I will send you all five ๐Ÿก

Melissa Urena | DRE # 01900591 | ฮ“EAโ…ƒ Broker

04/04/2026

The best advice I got as a young woman buying a home? Came from my mom. ๐Ÿง“

I was 29, no kids, no husband, and I thought I was too young, too broke, too โ€œnot ready.โ€ She told me: โ€œIf you can buy now, thereโ€™s no reason to wait.โ€

So I bought a major fixerโ€”leaks, shaggy burgundy carpet, in Compton CAโ€”because it was all I could afford.

๐Ÿ  That stepping stone? It eventually let me buy in Naples Island, Long Beach, something 20-something me could never have imagined.

In honor of Womenโ€™s Month, Iโ€™m sharing the sage advice from the wisest woman I know. Share this with a woman who needs to hear it: ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธdonโ€™t waitโ€”buy and wait ๐Ÿ 

04/02/2026

Ready for more space but not sure where to look in Long Beach? This is for the buyers who are done squeezing into a home that no longer fits their life.

If youโ€™re craving bigger yards and room to grow, these are the Long Beach neighborhoods to have on your radar:

๐Ÿ  ๐‹๐š๐ค๐ž๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐•๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐š๐ ๐ž: Offers a quiet, suburban feel with spacious homes and expansive yards, perfect for families.

๐Ÿ  ๐๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐„๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ: Features large, custom homes on generous plots, offering a quiet, upscale, family-oriented environment.

๐Ÿ  ๐„๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐๐จ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐„๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ: Known for its family-friendly atmosphere, with spacious houses, large layouts, and close proximity to the expansive El Dorado Regional Park.

๐Ÿ  ๐€๐ฅ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ: A highly sought-after, quiet neighborhood offering larger lots, custom homes, and close proximity to parks and golf courses.

๐Ÿ  ๐‹๐จ๐ฌ ๐€๐ฅ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ: Features 1950s ranch-style homes with a suburban feel and larger footprints than many coastal areas.

Comment ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ž and Iโ€™ll send you a list of everything available in these neighborhoods right now.

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Long Beach, CA

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Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm

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