Buena Park single-family homes sold for an average of $1,045,412 in the third quarter of 2026 (July through September), up 4.3% from $1,002,350 in Q3 2025. Homes spent an average of 25 days active in MLS, and sellers received 98.5% of their original asking price. Fewer homes sold than a year ago: 67 closings, down from 80.
Scope note: This report covers single-family detached homes in Buena Park only. Condos and townhomes move differently and have their own Q3 report.
For context, that’s about half the Orange County average. Orange County single-family homes averaged $2,090,835 in the same quarter. Buena Park homes also sold faster than the county average of 33 days.
Put simply: Buena Park prices are rising steadily, homes sell in under a month, and the city remains one of the more accessible places to own a house in Orange County.
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County. Here’s the plain read on Buena Park’s Q3 numbers.
All figures are single-family detached homes in Buena Park, California (Orange County), from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), pulled October 3, 2026.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sale price | $1,045,412 | $1,002,350 | Up 4.3% |
| Closed sales | 67 | 80 | Down 16% |
| New listings | 77 | 84 | Down 8% |
| Average days active in MLS | 25 | 24 | About 1 day slower |
| Percent of original price received | 98.5% | 98.1% | Up 0.4 points |
How the quarter figures were built: CRMLS reports these measures month by month. Closed sales and new listings are the three months added together. Average price, days active, and percent of original price are the three monthly figures weighted by the number of homes that closed each month.
About the sample size: 67 sales in a quarter is a solid sample for a city Buena Park’s size, but a few unusual sales can still move the average. The nine-month view below helps confirm the trend.
| Month | Average sale price | Closed sales | New listings | Avg days active | % of original price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | $1,048,328 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 98.9% |
| August 2026 | $1,033,128 | 20 | 23 | 35 | 97.2% |
| September 2026 | $1,052,507 | 26 | 29 | 21 | 99.2% |
Yes, steadily. The Q3 2026 average of $1,045,412 was 4.3% above Q3 2025 and about level with Q2 2026 ($1,042,042).
The nine-month view confirms it. From January through September 2026, Buena Park single-family homes averaged $1,040,850 across 190 sales, up 4.8% from $993,172 across 205 sales in the same months of 2025.
That’s a steadier climb than the Orange County average (up 11.2% year over year in Q3), which is pulled around by high-end coastal sales. Buena Park’s gains look more like a typical home gaining value.
As always, an average describes the mix of homes that sold. Your home’s value comes from your own street and recent comparable sales.
Buena Park single-family homes averaged 25 days active in MLS in Q3 2026, about the same as Q3 2025 (24 days) and Q2 2026 (23 days). That’s faster than both the Orange County average (33 days) and the broader CRMLS region (39 days).
August was the outlier at 35 days. July (20 days) and September (21 days) were both quick. The slowest month in the last 21 months was December 2025, at 49 days.
Close to it. Sellers received 98.5% of their original asking price in Q3 2026, slightly better than 98.1% a year ago. That measure compares the final sale price to the first price the home was listed at, so it includes both negotiation and price cuts.
On an average-priced Buena Park home, the 1.5% gap works out to roughly $16,000. That’s an illustration using the averages, not a figure for any specific home.
Balanced, leaning toward sellers:
1. Plan for about a month. At 25 days on average, a well-priced Buena Park home typically has an accepted offer within the first few weeks.
2. Price right at the start. Homes priced right from day one sold close to asking. The ones that sat pulled the average down to 98.5%.
3. Don’t price off the county average. At $2,090,835, the Orange County average includes coastal estates that have nothing to do with your home. Buena Park comps are what matter.
4. Watch the winter slowdown. December 2025 averaged 49 days, the slowest month in the data. If you’re ready, list this fall.
1. Buena Park is one of the more accessible ways into an Orange County house. At about half the county average, it’s worth a close look if you’ve been priced out elsewhere.
2. Expect to pay close to asking. 98.5% means modest room to negotiate, more on homes that have been sitting.
3. Watch homes past 25 days. That’s the Buena Park average. A home well past it is where sellers tend to be more flexible.
4. Don’t wait for prices to fall. Prices are up 4.3% year over year, and nothing in the data points down.
$1,045,412 for single-family detached homes, up 4.3% from $1,002,350 in Q3 2025 (CRMLS).
25 days active in MLS on average in Q3 2026, compared with 33 days for Orange County overall.
Close to it. Sellers received 98.5% of their original asking price on average in Q3 2026.
67 single-family homes closed from July through September 2026, down from 80 in Q3 2025.
Buena Park single-family homes averaged $1,045,412 in Q3 2026, about half the Orange County average of $2,090,835, and sold faster (25 days against 33).
No. This covers single-family detached homes only. Condos and townhomes have their own Q3 2026 report.
The city average is a starting point, not your price. Get a complimentary market evaluation for your home.
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County, licensed since 2004. Selling? Start with the Sure Seller course. Buying? Start the Buyer Bootcamp. Want to talk it through? Book a consultation.
Source: All data is from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. InfoSparks © 2026 ShowingTime Plus, LLC. Single-family detached, Buena Park and Orange County, monthly data January 2025 through September 2026, as of October 3, 2026. Quarterly and year-to-date figures calculated from monthly data as described above.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
📱 714-476-4637
📧 christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Cerritos single-family homes sold for an average of $1,221,457 in the third quarter of 2026 (July through September), about the same as Q3 2025 ($1,211,063, up 0.9%). Homes sold fast, in an average of 17 days, eight days faster than a year ago. Sellers received 99.7% of their original asking price.
Scope note: This report covers single-family detached homes in Cerritos only. Condos and townhomes move differently and have their own Q3 report.
The bigger change happened inside 2026. In Q2, Cerritos sellers got 101.7% of their original price, meaning many homes sold over asking. In Q3, that slipped just under 100%. At the same time, 76 homes came on the market, up 41% from 54 a year ago.
Put simply: Cerritos is still one of the fastest markets in Southern California, but buyers have more choices than they did in the spring, and over-asking offers are no longer the norm.
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County. Here’s the plain read on what Cerritos’s Q3 numbers say.
All figures are single-family detached homes in Cerritos, California (Los Angeles County), from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), pulled October 3, 2026.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sale price | $1,221,457 | $1,211,063 | Up 0.9% |
| Closed sales | 59 | 50 | Up 18% |
| New listings | 76 | 54 | Up 41% |
| Average days active in MLS | 17 | 25 | 8 days faster |
| Percent of original price received | 99.7% | 100.6% | Down 0.9 points |
How the quarter figures were built: CRMLS reports these measures month by month. Closed sales and new listings are the three months added together. Average price, days active, and percent of original price are the three monthly figures weighted by the number of homes that closed each month.
About the sample size: Cerritos is a smaller city, so 59 sales in a quarter is a solid but not huge sample. A few unusually high or low sales can move the average price. Days on market and percent of asking price are steadier signals here.
| Month | Average sale price | Closed sales | New listings | Avg days active | % of original price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | $1,269,579 | 20 | 30 | 16 | 99.3% |
| August 2026 | $1,240,284 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 100.8% |
| September 2026 | $1,155,450 | 20 | 25 | 17 | 99.2% |
Flat year over year, down from the spring. The Q3 2026 average of $1,221,457 was 0.9% above Q3 2025, but 6.1% below Q2 2026 ($1,300,152). The monthly average eased each month of the quarter, from $1,269,579 in July to $1,155,450 in September.
For a longer view, look at the first nine months of the year. From January through September 2026, Cerritos single-family homes averaged $1,256,515 across 149 sales, about 2.8% above the same nine months of 2025 ($1,222,607 across 140 sales).
An average describes the mix of homes that sold, not what any one home is worth. A September with more smaller homes closing will show a lower average even if values on your street held. Your number comes from your own comparable sales.
Very fast. Cerritos single-family homes averaged 17 days active in MLS in Q3 2026, down from 25 days in Q3 2025. Across the broader CRMLS region, single-family homes averaged 39 days in the same quarter. Cerritos homes sold in well under half that time.
Every month of Q3 stayed between 16 and 18 days. The slowest stretch in the last 21 months was January 2026, at 43 days. That’s the winter pattern to plan around.
Not on average, not anymore. Sellers received 99.7% of their original asking price in Q3 2026. That measure compares the final sale price to the first price the home was listed at, so it includes both negotiation and any price cuts.
Here’s how that has moved:
On an average-priced home, 99.7% is within about $3,000 of the original price. That’s still an extremely strong result for sellers. But a buyer in September 2026 was negotiating a little, where a buyer in May was competing.
Still a seller’s market, but a less extreme one than in the spring:
The shift is from bidding wars to well-priced homes selling quickly near asking.
1. Price at the market, not above it. In the spring, over-asking offers covered pricing mistakes. In Q3, with 41% more listings, buyers compare. A home priced right still sells in about two and a half weeks.
2. Expect a fast sale if you’re ready. At 17 days on average, plan for an accepted offer within the first few weeks. Have your next move lined up.
3. Stand out from the extra listings. With more homes on the market, condition and presentation matter more than they did in the spring.
4. List before winter if you can. January 2026 averaged 43 days and 96.6% of original price, the slowest month in the data.
1. You have more choices than in the spring. 76 new listings in Q3, up from 54 a year ago.
2. Don’t expect a discount. Homes still sell for 99.7% of original asking on average. Offers well below asking on a fresh listing will usually lose.
3. Be ready to move in days. 17 days on market means the right home won’t wait for a second weekend.
4. The over-asking pressure has eased. You may not need to bid above the price the way buyers did in the spring. Let the comparable sales guide your number.
$1,221,457 for single-family detached homes, up 0.9% from $1,211,063 in Q3 2025 (CRMLS).
Single-family homes averaged 17 days active in MLS in Q3 2026, compared with 39 days across the broader CRMLS region.
In Q2 2026, sellers averaged 101.7% of original asking price. In Q3 2026, that dropped to 99.7%, just under asking.
59 single-family homes closed from July through September 2026, up from 50 in Q3 2025.
Yes. 76 single-family homes were newly listed in Q3 2026, up 41% from 54 in Q3 2025.
No. This report covers single-family detached homes only. Condos and townhomes have their own Q3 2026 report.
The city average is a starting point, not your price. Get a complimentary market evaluation for your home.
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County, licensed since 2004. Selling? Start with the Sure Seller course. Buying? Start the Buyer Bootcamp. Want to talk it through? Book a consultation.
Source: All data is from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. InfoSparks © 2026 ShowingTime Plus, LLC. Single-family detached, Cerritos, monthly data January 2025 through September 2026, as of October 3, 2026. Quarterly figures calculated from monthly data as described above.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
📱 714-476-4637
📧 christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
A seller-paid rate buydown is money you put toward lowering the buyer’s mortgage rate instead of taking it off your sale price. The dollars go to the lender at closing, the lender uses them to buy down the buyer’s interest rate, and the buyer’s monthly payment drops for some or all of the loan.
Same dollars leaving your side of the closing statement as a price cut. Different place they land, and a different effect on whether the buyer can actually say yes.
Depends what’s actually stopping the buyer. If they’ve decided the house isn’t worth what you’re asking, a price cut is the honest move and no buydown fixes that.
But most rate-hesitant buyers right now aren’t questioning the house. They’re doing math on the monthly payment and getting nervous. That’s a rate problem, not a price problem. And a rate buydown vs. price cut comparison comes down dollar for dollar in the buydown’s favor when the objection is payment, not price.
Here’s the plain version of why. You date your interest rate. You marry the purchase price. A buyer sitting across the table from that same truth isn’t afraid of your price. They’re afraid of what their rate does to their payment every month for years. Speak to the actual fear, and you’ll move them faster than shaving a number they weren’t objecting to in the first place.
As an illustrative example, on a $600,000 loan, roughly 1 point (1% of the loan amount, so about $6,000) buys the rate down by somewhere in the ballpark of a quarter to a half a percentage point, depending on the lender and the day. That knocks a real chunk off the buyer’s monthly payment for the life of the loan, or for however many years you structure the buydown to last.
Compare that to a $6,000 price cut on the same $600,000 home. That barely moves the buyer’s monthly payment at all, maybe $30 to $40 a month, because it’s spread across 30 years of a mortgage instead of hitting the rate directly. The buyer barely feels a $6,000 price cut. They feel a rate buydown every single month.
Same $6,000 out of your net. Very different amount of relief landing on the one thing that’s actually making them hesitate. Your lender or the buyer’s lender can run the exact numbers for any specific loan amount and rate — this is the shape of the math, not a quote for your home.
A temporary buydown (often called a 2-1 or 1-0 buydown) lowers the rate for the first year or two, then steps back up to the note rate. It’s cheaper for you to fund and it’s built for exactly this moment — buyers who expect rates to ease and plan to refinance anyway. It buys them breathing room right when the payment feels hardest, the first year in a new house.
A permanent buydown lowers the rate for the life of the loan. It costs more upfront and makes sense for a buyer who isn’t counting on refinancing, or who wants the lower payment locked in no matter what rates do later. In the rate buydown vs. price cut decision, this is the version that costs the seller the most upfront.
For most rate-hesitant buyers in this market, the temporary buydown does the job. It gets them in the door now, at today’s price, with a payment that doesn’t spike right when they’re least ready for it.
A buydown makes sense when:
A price cut still makes sense when:
You don’t have to guess which one you’re dealing with. Showings with no offers usually means price. Offers that fall apart or buyers who go quiet after “let me run the numbers” usually means payment shock, and that’s a rate buydown vs. price cut decision worth having with your agent before you touch either lever.
Money the seller puts toward lowering the buyer’s mortgage rate at closing, instead of reducing the sale price. It lowers the buyer’s monthly payment directly rather than spreading a small discount across 30 years.
It depends on the buyer’s actual objection. If they think the house is overpriced, a price cut is the honest fix. If they’re nervous about the monthly payment on an otherwise fairly priced home, a buydown solves that more directly.
As an illustrative example, on a $600,000 loan, roughly $6,000 (1 point) buys the rate down about a quarter to a half a percentage point, meaningfully lowering the buyer’s payment for as long as the buydown lasts.
A temporary buydown lowers the rate for the first year or two before stepping back up, and costs less to fund. A permanent buydown lowers the rate for the life of the loan and costs more upfront.
Showings with no offers usually points to price. Offers that stall or buyers who go quiet after running their own numbers usually points to payment shock, which is a buydown conversation.
Christine Almarines is a Realtor® and certified Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) with CA Real Estate Group, working sellers across Cerritos, Buena Park, and the surrounding Orange County and Los Angeles County communities.
Every home and every buyer is different, and the right move between a buydown, a price adjustment, or holding steady depends on your specific comps and your specific timeline. Why pricing your Cerritos home correctly matters more than ever and why pricing your home correctly in Orange County and LA County matters more than ever walk through the pricing side of this. This piece follows “What Rising Rates and the Holidays Actually Mean for Buyers and Sellers Right Now.”
To see the full process for selling for top dollar in this market, start with the free Sure Seller Course.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
October 2026 Movie Guide
Friendly ghosts, silly witches, animated monsters, or just enough spooky to feel like Halloween. Here is what is airing on Freeform, what is streaming on Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Netflix, and 17 family favorites sorted by scare level. Made for Orange County and Los Angeles County families. All TV times are Pacific.
Choose who is on the couch, then tap the button. Movies you have already checked off get skipped first.
0 of 17 watched this October
Freeform’s yearly lineup is back with Hocus Pocus, Casper, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Monsters, Inc., Scooby-Doo, Ghostbusters and more. This is the family-friendly part of the schedule, in Southern California time. See Freeform’s official schedule.
Some titles toward the bottom of the schedule, like Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, Cruella (2021) and Haunted Mansion (2023), may be better for older children. Check ratings and your child’s comfort level. All programming is subject to change. Confirm with your TV provider before movie night.
Turn on JavaScript to see the day-by-day schedule, or open Freeform’s official schedule above.
Prefer to skip the TV guide? Pick a service. Streaming lists change, so check the app before movie night.
Don’t want to sort through the whole list? Start here.
Ratings are only a starting point. Some kids love ghosts and monsters, and others find even cartoon scares unsettling. You know your kids best.
Check them off as you go. The green tag shows where it is airing or streaming right now, based on the lists above.
Ages 3 to 6. Silly, sweet, and short on jump scares. Two of these are under half an hour, which is a good bedtime-friendly start.
Linus waits all night in the pumpkin patch while the rest of the gang goes trick-or-treating. Gentle, funny, and over before anyone gets sleepy.
It first aired on TV in 1966 and has come back every October since. Charlie Brown getting a rock in his trick-or-treat bag is the line most families still quote.
A kind witch keeps making room on her broom for new animal friends, until a hungry dragon shows up. Rhymes the whole way through.
It comes from the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the same pair behind The Gruffalo. Read the book first and let your kid spot what changed.
A giant rabbit is wrecking the town’s vegetable contest, and two clay inventors are on the case. Monster-movie fun with almost no real fright.
It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Every character is hand-made clay, filmed one frame at a time.
Dracula runs a hotel for monsters, and a human teenager walks in. Fast, goofy, and packed with monster jokes for kids and parents.
It was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, who also made Dexter’s Laboratory. The slapstick timing is his trademark.
Ages 6 and up. A little spooky, a lot of fun, and the ones most families end up rewatching every year.
Three witch sisters come back to Salem on Halloween night, and three kids and a talking cat have until sunrise to stop them. The one everybody asks for first.
It did poorly in theaters in 1993. Years of TV airings turned it into a Halloween tradition, and a sequel finally followed in 2022.
The Sanderson sisters return, and this time a new group of teens has to stop them. Watch it as a double feature right after the original.
It came out nearly 30 years after the first movie, with the three main actresses back in their roles.
A lonely friendly ghost makes a human friend, and his three rowdy uncles make everything harder. Sweet, with a few sad moments to talk through.
It was one of the first big movies to build its lead character entirely with computer graphics. Casper started as a cartoon in the 1940s.
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns her family are witches and follows her grandmother to a town where every day is Halloween.
It started life as a Disney Channel Original Movie and spawned three sequels. Debbie Reynolds plays the grandmother.
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas and tries to take it over. It counts for both holidays, so it works all season.
It is stop-motion, directed by Henry Selick from a story by Tim Burton. The songs were written by Danny Elfman, who also sings Jack’s singing parts.
The creepiest, kookiest family on the block gets new neighbors who really do not like them. Dark humor, but nothing truly scary.
The family began as single-panel cartoons in The New Yorker in the 1930s, then became a 1960s TV show.
The gang has split up and gets pulled back together to solve a mystery on a spooky island. Expect a few mild jokes aimed at parents.
This live-action version uses a computer-animated Scooby. The cartoon original first aired in 1969, which makes the franchise more than 55 years old.
Ages 9 and up. Still PG, but with real creepy moments. Check the parent guide first if your kid is sensitive.
Coraline finds a secret door to a better version of her life, and the “other mother” has button eyes. Beautiful and properly creepy.
It is made by the studio Laika with stop-motion puppets, from a story by Neil Gaiman.
Three kids are sure the house across the street is alive. They are right. A fun pick for anyone who has ever looked at a house a little too long.
It was made with motion capture, where real actors’ movements are recorded and turned into animation. Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis were executive producers.
Norman can talk to the dead, and his town needs him to stop a centuries-old curse. Spooky, funny, and kinder than it looks.
It comes from the same stop-motion studio as Coraline. The hair on the puppets was sculpted by hand.
A boy brings his beloved dog back to life, and his classmates try the same trick with worse results. Black and white, with a big heart. Be ready for a sad opening.
Tim Burton first made Frankenweenie as a short film in 1984. This feature is his stop-motion remake.
Every monster from the books escapes into a small town, and a teen has to help the author put them back. Good for kids who already love the series.
Jack Black plays R.L. Stine, the author of the real Goosebumps books. Look for the Easter eggs from the original covers.
A boy moves in with his uncle and finds out the old house, and the uncle, are full of magic and a ticking secret. Another good one for the house-loving crowd.
It is based on a 1973 children’s novel by John Bellairs. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star.
Everything in this group is checked off. Clear your checklist above to start over.
A good movie night is mostly picking the right movie for the smallest kid in the room.
No baking skills needed. Pair a snack with the movie and let the kids help.
For most families, Hocus Pocus, Hotel Transylvania, Casper, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Addams Family (2019) are safe, fun starting points. Little kids do best with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Room on the Broom.
Try It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Room on the Broom, or Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. They are the gentlest picks on this page.
Stick to the Little Ghouls group and read the Parent guide first. Hotel Transylvania and the Great Pumpkin special are the safest places to start.
Coraline, Monster House, ParaNorman, Goosebumps, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls have the most real chills while staying PG.
Tap Where to watch on any card. It opens a search that shows the services currently carrying that title. Streaming lists change often, so check close to movie night.
Freeform is airing Hocus Pocus repeatedly throughout October 2026 as part of its 31 Nights of Halloween. It is also streaming on Disney+.
Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Casper, Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, Scooby-Doo, The Haunted Mansion, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Toy Story of TERROR!, Spooky Buddies and several Ghostbusters movies are in the lineup.
Halloweentown, Twitches, Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Frankenweenie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Haunted Mansion, Muppets Haunted Mansion and Toy Story of TERROR!, among others.
Yes. Peacock’s 2026 family lineup includes Casper, Spookley the Square Pumpkin, The Book of Life, The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family 2, both animated, plus Monster Family and the Harry Potter films.
Yes. Look for A Really Haunted Loud House, Monster High: The Movie, Monster High 2, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and Liar Liar Vampire. The live-action Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) are there too, rated PG-13 and better for older kids. Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2 arrived on October 1, 2026.
Three things we are doing this fall for local families.
Open to K to 6 students. Three winners each get a $50 Amazon gift card. Entries are due October 23.
Reserve a free kit for trick-or-treating night. Pickup is October 31, 5 to 7 PM, at Heroes (San Marino) Park in Buena Park. Quantities are limited.
Enter to win one of 3 free mini photoshoot sessions at our client photoshoot on Saturday, November 7, 2026, 8 AM to 12 PM, at Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs. Entries close Friday, October 23.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
📧 christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Pop some popcorn, turn off the lights, pile up the blankets and let everyone take turns choosing. If you live in Orange County or Los Angeles County, bookmark this page. We will keep sharing seasonal things to do, local events and family activities all year. Happy Halloween.
Schedule and streaming information come from Freeform, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Netflix’s own published Halloween guides, as of October 2026. All programming is subject to change. Ratings and streaming availability change too. Use the Parent guide and Where to watch links on each card to confirm before movie night. Movie titles belong to their owners and are mentioned for guidance only. This page is not affiliated with any studio or service.
Verified against official sources as of publication. Event details can change — confirm before you plan around any one item.
Cerritos has a full month ahead: city programs, a packed concert calendar at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, a month-long pumpkin patch at Los Cerritos Center, and the weekly farmers market that runs all year. Here’s what’s actually on the calendar for things to do in Cerritos this October, pulled directly from official sources.
Neither listing included a specific time on the city’s site. Call the city at (562) 860-0311 to confirm before you plan around either one.
Farm-fresh produce every Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to noon, rain or shine, at Cerritos Towne Center in the northwest parking lot of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Closed on major holidays only.
Running October 1 through October 31, 2026, at Los Cerritos Center (239 Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, CA 90703). A full month of fall activities at the mall. Specific daily hours weren’t listed on the mall’s event page — call (562) 402-7467 to confirm before you go.
This exhibition runs throughout October during regular public hours at the historic Rancho Los Cerritos site. Public hours in early October were listed as 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends — check rancholoscerritos.org for the exact schedule the week you plan to visit, since museum hours can shift.
The CCPA has one of its fullest calendars of the year this October. A few highlights, all confirmed directly from the venue’s own events calendar:
This isn’t the full lineup of things to do in Cerritos this month — the CCPA has shows nearly every night. See the complete, up-to-date schedule and buy tickets at ccpa.cerritos.gov.
Saturday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Regal Edwards Courtyard at Cerritos Towne Center, 12731 Towne Center Drive, Cerritos, CA 90703. Free admission, free on-site parking.
This is a family event — trick-or-treat candy stations, character meet-and-greets, face painting, balloon twisting, kids’ crafts, and a live DJ. Costumes are encouraged, and organizers recommend arriving early. Hosted by Cerritos Towne Center (@shopcerritos), confirmed on their Eventbrite listing and Instagram announcement.
The city typically partners with Los Cerritos Center on a community Halloween Festival late in the month — past years have run costume parades, entertainment, game booths, rides, and food trucks. I could not confirm an exact 2026 date and time from official sources as of this writing, so check the City of Cerritos community events page or call the Recreation Services Division at (562) 916-1254 for the confirmed date before you plan your night around it.
Staying in for a family movie night instead? Our Halloween Movie Calendar lists what is airing on Freeform, what is streaming, and 17 family-friendly picks sorted by scare level.
Yes, every Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to noon, at Cerritos Towne Center.
Yes, tickets are sold through the CCPA box office and website directly. Call (562) 916-8510 or visit ccpa.cerritos.gov.
The mall’s event listing didn’t specify a cost. Call (562) 402-7467 to confirm before you go.
Not confirmed as of this writing. Check the city’s community events page or call (562) 916-1254 closer to the date.
Yes, free admission and free parking, Saturday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Cerritos Towne Center.
If a full month of concerts, a pumpkin patch, and city events like this has you thinking about what it’s actually like to live here, the guide to top neighborhoods in Cerritos and the current Cerritos market update are good next reads.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Not every buyer, and that’s fine to say plainly. Buying a fixer-upper takes a specific combination: extra cash on hand beyond your down payment, the tenacity to get through a full remodel without losing steam halfway, and financing that can actually support the project, not just the purchase.
If any one of those three is missing, a fixer-upper usually creates more stress than it’s worth. If you have all three, it can be one of the smartest moves available to you right now.
Here’s the math that makes it worth considering. You’re buying well below market value going in. If the remodel is done right, by the time you’re finished, you typically land at or around market value for the neighborhood, sometimes better.
There’s a real benefit here beyond the numbers too. You’re not buying a home already sitting at the top of the market and then feeling pressure to customize it anyway. You’re building something that’s actually yours from the start — the layout, the finishes, the choices, made by you instead of inherited from whoever owned it before.
The money you put into the remodel is real and it’s significant. You’re funding the renovation on top of the purchase, and unlike a move-in-ready home, you don’t get to spread that cost out slowly. It happens during the project.
Budget for surprises too, not as an afterthought, as a real line item. Older homes hide things — plumbing, electrical, structural issues that don’t show up until walls come down. The buyers who go into a remodel with a cushion for the unknown are the ones who finish it calm. The ones who budget to the dollar for exactly what they expect are the ones who end up stressed and cutting corners halfway through.
Yes, and this is the part most buyers don’t think through before they start. Once the remodel is done and the home’s value has gone up, you can refinance and cash out part, or sometimes all, of what you spent rebuilding the property. That puts real money back in your pocket if the project left you tighter on cash than you expected.
Your monthly payment goes up. That’s the real cost of getting cash back out of the home, and it’s worth sitting with before you assume a cash-out refinance is a free win. You’re not creating money, you’re borrowing against the value you just built, and that borrowing shows up in your payment every month going forward.
This is exactly where the numbers get specific to you — your remodel budget, your new home value, your loan terms — and it’s not something to guess at with a generic online calculator.
Because this isn’t a typical purchase, and most agents haven’t actually done what you’re about to do. I’ve personally invested in, flipped, and renovated property, and I’ve represented investors making these exact decisions. I know how to look at your numbers and tell you plainly what a project like this can realistically return, not just what it might in a best-case scenario.
Working alongside one of my preferred lenders, we can walk through what your specific remodel, your specific loan, and your specific cash-out plan actually looks like on paper before you commit to any of it.
This piece is the buyer-side companion to selling a fixer-upper in Cerritos, Buena Park, LA County or Orange County.
A buyer with extra cash beyond the down payment, the tenacity to get through a full remodel, and financing that supports the project itself, not just the purchase. Missing any one of the three usually creates more stress than it’s worth.
Often, yes. You buy below market value going in, and a well-done remodel typically lands you at or around neighborhood market value by the time you’re finished, sometimes better.
The remodel cost itself, funded on top of the purchase without the ability to spread it out slowly, plus a real budget line for surprises like hidden plumbing, electrical, or structural issues in older homes.
Yes, through a cash-out refinance once the home’s value has increased. The tradeoff is a higher monthly payment, since you’re borrowing against the value you built rather than creating new money.
Most agents haven’t personally invested in, flipped, or renovated property. Working with someone who has, alongside a lender experienced with renovation financing, means realistic numbers instead of best-case guesses.
Christine Almarines is a Realtor® with CA Real Estate Group, working buyers across Cerritos, Buena Park, and the surrounding Orange County and Los Angeles County communities.
This is a highly customized decision, and a generic answer won’t serve you here. A buyer consultation is the right next step, so we can look at your actual numbers and figure out whether a fixer-upper makes sense for your situation. Start with the free First-Time Home Buyer Course to see the full process, then let’s talk specifics.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Selling a fixer-upper comes down to three real paths, and none of them is automatically the right one. Sell it as-is, do minor repairs, or fully remodel. Each one trades time and cash for a different outcome, and the right choice depends on your timeline, your goals, and how much of either you actually have to give right now.
You can, and for a lot of sellers in Cerritos, Buena Park, and across LA and Orange County, this is the right call, especially when time matters more than squeezing out every dollar.
Here’s the move that makes selling a fixer-upper as-is actually work in your favor: get a pre-sale inspection before you list. Once you have that report, you hand it to interested buyers before they write an offer, not after. They walk in already knowing what they’re getting.
That single step changes the whole negotiation. A buyer who’s already seen the inspection report has already priced the condition of the house into their offer. They’re far less likely to come back during escrow asking for credits, a price reduction, or canceling outright over something they should have known walking in. You’re not hiding anything, and that’s exactly why it works. Buyers trust a seller who shows them the report before they ask for it.
For some sellers, yes. Minor repairs — fixing the obvious stuff that scares buyers off without touching the whole house — can get you a noticeably better offer than selling fully as-is.
The tradeoff is real. Minor repairs cost you time and cash up front, and you’re doing that work before you know for certain it pays off. This path fits sellers who have a little runway before they need to close, and who’d rather spend a few thousand dollars now than leave it on the table in the final sale price.
If you have the time and the cash, a full remodel can put your home in a completely different price bracket. This is the biggest commitment of the three options — the most money up front, the most time before you’re ready to list, and the most that can go sideways along the way. It’s also the option with the highest ceiling on what you walk away with.
This path makes the most sense for sellers who aren’t in a hurry and who have the cash available without stretching themselves to cover it. It rarely makes sense for someone who needs to sell in the next few months.
It depends on three things: your timeline, your goals, and what you’re actually able to put into it right now. A seller in Cerritos with a job relocation in six weeks is working with a completely different set of options than a seller in Buena Park who isn’t planning to move for another year. Both might own the exact same kind of fixer-upper and land on completely different answers.
This is exactly what a consultation is for. Not to talk you into the most expensive option, but to map your specific situation against these three paths and tell you plainly which one fits. The right strategy in one part of LA or Orange County isn’t always the right strategy a few miles away, and a seller who guesses instead of asking usually leaves money on the table either way.
It depends on your timeline and goals. Selling as-is with a pre-sale inspection report in hand works well when time matters more than maximizing every dollar. Minor repairs can net a better offer if you have some runway before closing.
It changes the negotiation. Buyers who see the inspection report before they offer have already priced the condition into their number, and are far less likely to come back during escrow asking for credits or a price reduction.
It can put your home in a different price bracket, but it’s the biggest commitment of the three paths in time and money, and rarely makes sense for a seller who needs to close within a few months.
It comes down to your timeline, your goals, and how much time and cash you actually have available right now. Two sellers with identical homes can land on completely different answers depending on their situation.
Christine Almarines is a Realtor® with CA Real Estate Group, working sellers across Cerritos, Buena Park, and the surrounding Orange County and Los Angeles County communities.
Start with a consultation so we can walk through which of these three paths actually fits your home, your timeline, and your goals — whether that’s selling as-is with an inspection report in hand, doing targeted repairs, or going all the way to a remodel. Start with the free Sure Seller Course to see the full process for selling for top dollar.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
In Cerritos, along with most of Los Angeles County and Orange County, sellers will most likely expect an earnest money deposit around 3 percent of the purchase price. That’s the norm I see most often working listings and buyer offers across this part of Southern California, and it’s the number I tell clients to plan around unless something about their specific deal points elsewhere.
That doesn’t mean 3 percent is a rule written anywhere. It’s a regional expectation, and offers that come in noticeably under it can read as less serious to a Cerritos seller, even when everything else about the offer is strong.
Head east into the Inland Empire and the norm loosens up. Deposits there commonly land somewhere between 1 and 2 percent, lower than what’s typical in Cerritos or the rest of LA and Orange County.
It’s not a fixed rule either. I’ve seen Inland Empire sellers ask for up to 3 percent when the situation calls for it — a competitive listing, a buyer they want more assurance from, or just a seller who wants to match what’s customary closer to the coast. Regional norms tell you where to start the conversation, not where it has to end.
Local custom, mostly, and it tends to track with how competitive the market is. A tighter, higher-demand market like Cerritos gives sellers more room to expect a stronger deposit, because there’s usually another offer close behind if this one doesn’t feel serious enough. In markets with more breathing room, sellers have less pull to push the deposit number up, and 1 to 2 percent becomes the comfortable default.
This is exactly why working with an agent who actually tracks these regional patterns matters. A buyer who shows up in Cerritos with an Inland Empire number can lose ground on an offer for a reason that has nothing to do with the house itself.
Yes, the refund mechanics don’t change by zip code. Whether you’re putting down 1 percent in the Inland Empire or 3 percent in Cerritos, a standard California purchase contract gives you contingency periods, typically covering inspection, loan approval, and appraisal, where you can cancel for a covered reason and have your deposit returned.
What changes region to region is the size of the number sitting in escrow, not whether it’s protected while your contingencies are open. The protection comes from the contract terms, not from the market you’re buying in.
Once your contingencies are removed or waived, in any region, the deposit is no longer protected the way it was during the contingency period. From that point, walking away without a contractual reason puts it at risk. This is the same in Cerritos as it is anywhere else in Southern California — the regional difference is only in how much money is actually on the table when that moment arrives.
If you’re buying in Cerritos or elsewhere in LA or Orange County, plan for something closer to 3 percent and know what that money is actually protecting you against while your contingencies are open. If you’re buying further out in the Inland Empire, don’t assume the lower regional norm applies just because you crossed a county line — some sellers there will still ask for more.
Either way, the number on the deposit matters less than understanding exactly what protects it and when. That’s where having someone who knows the contract inside and out earns its keep, on both sides of the table, with the same goal every time: getting to a closing that actually holds together.
For the fuller breakdown of what an earnest money deposit protects and when, see earnest money deposits explained. This piece is the regional companion, focused specifically on an earnest money deposit in Cerritos versus what’s typical further inland.
Most sellers in Cerritos, and most of LA and Orange County, expect around 3 percent of the purchase price as the deposit, though it’s a regional norm rather than a fixed rule.
Deposits there commonly run 1 to 2 percent, tracking a less competitive market. Sellers in tighter, higher-demand areas like Cerritos have more room to expect a stronger deposit since another offer is usually close behind.
No. Refund mechanics come from the contract terms and apply the same way regardless of region. What changes by area is the size of the deposit, not whether it’s protected during open contingencies.
It can read as less serious to the seller even if the rest of the offer is strong, since 3 percent is the regional expectation in Cerritos and most of LA and Orange County.
Once contingencies are removed or waived. From that point, walking away without a contractual reason puts the deposit at risk everywhere in Southern California.
Christine Almarines is a Realtor® with CA Real Estate Group, working buyers and sellers across Cerritos, Buena Park, and the surrounding Orange County and Los Angeles County communities.
If you’re buying: know the regional norm before you write your offer, so your deposit reads as serious instead of light. What buyers need to do before they start shopping for a home is a good starting point. To see the full process, start with the free First-Time Home Buyer Course.
If you’re selling: knowing what’s typical for your area helps you evaluate whether an offer’s deposit is a real signal or a red flag. Why pricing your Cerritos home correctly matters more than ever covers the pricing side of staying competitive. If you want a read on your home’s value first, start with the free EPIC Home Value Report. Ready for the full process to sell for top dollar, start with the free Sure Seller Course.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Some homes sell. Others become the talk of the neighborhood. 15618 Caulfield Avenue in Norwalk was the second kind. It hit the MLS at $949,000 on August 13, 2026. Twelve days later it was under contract, and on September 22 it closed at $1,055,000, a full $106,000 over asking. This is how that home sold over asking, told from the beginning, with every real number and none of the fluff.
Spoiler: it wasn’t luck, and it definitely wasn’t Zillow doing the heavy lifting.
15618 Caulfield Ave sold over asking because we built the demand on purpose instead of waiting for it to show up. We staged it, photographed it like a magazine cover, and priced it to start a conversation. Then we gave it a week of coming-soon buzz and a video and social campaign that reached roughly 17 times more people than its Zillow listing did. The result was about 66 buyer groups in one weekend, 5 offers, and a winner that waived both the appraisal and loan contingencies.
Before the story, the scoreboard. Keep an eye on the Zillow row; we’ll come back to it.
| What we measured | 15618 Caulfield Ave |
|---|---|
| List price | $949,000 |
| Sale price | $1,055,000 ($106,000 over asking, about 11%) |
| Days on market to accepted offer | 12 (live Aug 13, under contract Aug 25) |
| Closed | September 22, 2026 |
| Zillow views / saves (the default exposure) | 1,639 views, 101 saves |
| Custom property video | 27,800+ views, 22,400+ individual viewers, 3+ days of total watch time |
| Social carousel | 19,100+ views, 626 clicks straight to the listing |
| Open house turnout | About 66 buyer groups in one weekend |
| Offers | 5 offers, 4 of them over asking |
And the house at the center of it all: a completely remodeled single-story with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and about 1,798 square feet. Picture sage-green cabinets wrapping an open kitchen with a big quartz island, a full wall of pantry storage, and a dedicated coffee bar. Then add the detail that made families lean in: a spot inside the ABC Unified School District. The full photo tour lives on the 15618 Caulfield Ave Just Sold page.
Here’s a truth we repeat to every seller: your buyer falls in love on their phone before they ever touch your doorknob. So before a single listing went live, the home was staged and professionally photographed. That meant fresh styling, perfect light, and every room looking like the best version of itself. As Christine puts it, photos decide the price. (Getting your own home ready? Our guides to preparing your home to sell for top dollar and preparing a Cerritos home before you list are the same playbook.)
Then came the number. It’s the part that makes most sellers nervous, and the part that decides whether a home gets sold over asking or sits there collecting “maybe later” clicks. We listed at $949,000, a price designed to fill the room rather than “test the ceiling.” Christine is a certified Pricing Strategy Advisor, and this is exactly the move she breaks down in why pricing your Cerritos home correctly matters more than ever and in 3 ways to price your home, and only one creates a bidding war. Price to invite a crowd and you get a competition. Price to scare the crowd off and you get to know the words “price reduction” a little too well.
The listing agreement was signed August 10. The home wouldn’t go live until August 13. We weren’t going to spend that week quietly waiting.
For about a week before launch, Caulfield ran as a coming-soon listing with its own landing page and a priority list for early photos and showing times. It also had a hook that local buyers couldn’t scroll past: “Think this is Cerritos? It’s actually Norwalk.” The home sits just outside Cerritos with the same look and feel, and it’s in ABC Unified: Whitmann Elementary, Ross Middle and Gahr High (buyers should always verify school assignments for themselves). For a lot of families, that’s the whole reason they move to this area for ABC Unified in the first place.
By the time the listing hit the MLS, people weren’t discovering Caulfield. They’d been waiting for it. That’s the magic of a well-run coming-soon strategy: the demand shows up before the “For Sale” sign does.
Let’s talk about that Zillow row. Every listing goes on the MLS and gets syndicated to Zillow. That’s the default. It happens whether you hire the best agent in town or no agent at all. For Caulfield, the default delivered 1,639 Zillow views and 101 saves. That’s respectable, but it’s the starting line, not the race.
So we built the race on top of it:
The property video itself: drone views, a walkthrough of every room, and the neighborhood from above.
Here’s why that gap matters so much. Zillow shows a home to people who are already hunting. Targeted video and social ads reach the buyer who wasn’t searching that afternoon but absolutely would move for the right house. Those are the people who turn one decent offer into five, and that reach is the single biggest reason this home sold over asking. It’s the heart of how Christine helps Orange County and Los Angeles County homeowners sell for top dollar with digital marketing (here’s the Cerritos version). Christine calls it the secret sauce. You can see the full sold-over-asking breakdown on Instagram, too.
We don’t do “prop the door open and hope.” Before the weekend, we walked the neighborhood and handed out flyers inviting the neighbors. Neighbors talk, and they almost always know someone who’s been dying to buy on their street. Then we hired a professional barista to run a complimentary espresso bar inside the home.
Picture it: fresh espresso, a staged kitchen that looked like the photos (because it was), and a steady stream of people who’d been watching this house online all week. Over one weekend, August 15 and 16, about 66 buyer groups came through the door.
A crowd like that changes the mood in every room. Nobody is wondering whether the price is right. They’re wondering how fast they can get an offer written. That’s the urgency that gets a home sold over asking, and it’s why bidding wars start with alignment, not luck.
Then the offers landed: five of them, and four were over asking. All five were financed, so the question wasn’t just “who’s paying the most?” It was “who’s paying the most and actually getting to the finish line?”
In this case, the highest offer was also the strongest one. The winning buyer came in with:
That fine print is what makes a big number hold. When a financed buyer agrees to pay $106,000 over asking, the obvious risk is an appraisal that comes in short. With that contingency waived, a low appraisal couldn’t unravel the deal or reopen negotiations, and the quick inspection window meant any surprises would surface fast. A home sold over asking only counts if it closes at that price, which is why Christine always reads price and terms together. (Weighing offers of your own? Start with how to choose the best offer when selling your home and what “price and terms” actually means.)
It doesn’t always shake out this way. Sometimes the cleaner, lower offer is the smarter pick, like in this Buena Park sale where the highest offer didn’t win. On Caulfield, the best offer and the biggest offer happened to be the same one.
Accepting an offer feels like the finish line. It’s really the start of the hardest stretch. From the signed contract on August 25 to closing day on September 22, we stayed involved, communicated constantly, and kept every deadline on track, because a home sold over asking on paper still has to make it to the closing table. It did, at $1,055,000. If escrow still feels like a mystery, our plain-English guides to what escrow is, why the close of escrow date is negotiable and earnest money deposits clear it right up.
If you own a home in Norwalk, Cerritos, or anywhere in the ABC Unified area, a sale like this just moved the comparables on your street. It also proves something we see every single season: the market doesn’t hand anyone an extra $106,000. Preparation does. So do smart pricing, marketing that goes way past the Zillow default, and careful negotiation. That’s how a home gets sold over asking and actually closes there.
Curious what that could look like for you? Here’s where to start:
Buying instead of selling? Watching a home like Caulfield slip away is exactly why buyers need a head start. Grab the free Smart Buyer Bootcamp and our guide to buying a home in Cerritos, so you’re the one holding the keys next time.
It listed at $949,000 and sold for $1,055,000, which is $106,000 over asking, or about 11% above list price. It went under contract 12 days after hitting the MLS and closed on September 22, 2026.
Through a deliberate process: staging and professional photography, a price set to create competition, about a week of coming-soon marketing before the MLS, a custom video and social ad campaign that reached roughly 17 times more people than Zillow, and an open house weekend that drew about 66 buyer groups. That demand produced 5 offers, 4 over asking.
The MLS and Zillow are the default exposure every listing gets. For this home, Zillow delivered 1,639 views and 101 saves. The custom video alone reached more than 27,800 views, and the social carousel drove 626 clicks straight to the listing. The extra reach is what turns a single offer into several, and it’s a big part of why this home sold over asking.
If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, a buyer with an appraisal contingency can renegotiate or walk away. On Caulfield, the winning buyer waived both the appraisal and loan contingencies and had a 5-day inspection contingency, which protected the $1,055,000 price through closing.
Yes. 15618 Caulfield Ave is in Norwalk and is served by ABC Unified School District. School assignments should always be independently verified with ABC Unified before you buy.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Meet Christine, Top Real Estate Agent in Cerritos →
It’s the money a buyer puts down shortly after going into contract to show a seller they’re serious. It isn’t the down payment, and it isn’t due at closing. It gets deposited into escrow early in the process, before inspections, before the loan is fully underwritten, before anyone knows for certain the deal will close.
Sellers read it as a signal. A buyer willing to put real money on the table up front is a buyer who intends to follow through, not one testing the market with an offer they can walk away from at no cost.
There’s no single fixed number, but most sellers I work with are looking for somewhere between 2 and 3 percent of the purchase price as the earnest money deposit.
That range isn’t universal. Practices shift depending on which part of Southern California you’re in, and even county to county. What’s customary in one market can look light or heavy in another. If you’re working with an agent who knows the local norms where your home is, you’ll know what’s actually expected instead of guessing off a number you read somewhere online.
Usually, yes, while your contingencies are still open. A standard California purchase contract gives buyers a window to inspect the property, secure their loan, and confirm the appraisal supports the purchase price. As long as you’re still inside those contingency periods and you cancel for a reason the contract allows, your deposit typically comes back to you.
This is the part most first-time buyers don’t fully understand going in. The refund isn’t automatic just because you changed your mind. It’s tied to the specific contingencies still open in your specific contract, which is exactly why the wording of your agreement matters more than any general rule you’ll find in a blog post, including this one.
Once your contingencies are removed or waived, and there’s no longer a contractual reason left to cancel, walking away puts your deposit at risk. The same is true if a buyer breaches the contract outright — missing a deadline without cause, refusing to close for no covered reason.
This is where deals get tense, and where I’ve watched buyers panic over a deposit that was never actually in danger, and sellers get anxious over a deposit that legally wasn’t theirs to claim yet. The contract has an answer for almost every one of these situations. The question is whether the agent handling it actually knows where to find it.
It gives the seller something real if a buyer backs out without a covered reason. A seller who takes their home off the market, turns down other showings, and plans their own next move around a closing date is exposed if the buyer simply disappears. The deposit is the seller’s protection against that exposure, and it’s part of why a serious deposit amount matters in a negotiation — not just as a number on the offer, but as a signal of how much risk the seller is actually taking on.
The agent who knows the contract, not the agent who talks the loudest.
I know this contract inside and out — every contingency, every deadline, every clause that determines whether a deposit is protected or exposed. That knowledge is what lets me negotiate from an accurate read of the risk on both sides instead of a guess. Most disputes over an earnest money deposit aren’t really disputes about the money, they’re disputes about who understood the contract correctly, and the agent who reads it right usually wins that conversation.
Whether I’m representing you as a buyer or a seller, protecting your deposit is part of the job. But the actual goal, on either side of the table, was never to fight over the deposit. It’s keeping the deal together, getting you to a closing that works for you.
None of this replaces reading your actual contract or, when something is genuinely in dispute, talking to a real estate attorney. What’s here is how these deposits typically work. Your specific terms are what control your specific transaction.
It’s money a buyer puts into escrow shortly after going into contract to show a seller they’re serious. It isn’t the down payment and isn’t due at closing.
Most sellers look for somewhere between 2 and 3 percent of the purchase price, though the exact norm varies by area and even county to county.
Usually, yes, while contingencies are still open and you cancel for a reason the contract allows. Once contingencies are removed or waived, walking away puts the deposit at risk.
Once contingencies are removed or waived and there’s no contractual reason left to cancel, or if the buyer breaches the contract outright, such as missing a deadline without cause.
It gives the seller something real if a buyer backs out without a covered reason, offsetting the risk of taking the home off market and turning down other showings.
Christine Almarines is a Realtor® with CA Real Estate Group, working buyers and sellers across Cerritos, Buena Park, and the surrounding Orange County and Los Angeles County communities.
If you’re buying: understand exactly what you’re agreeing to before you sign, not after something goes wrong. What buyers need to do before they start shopping for a home and how to structure a winning offer in Orange County and Los Angeles County are good places to start. To see the full process, start with the free First-Time Home Buyer Course.
If you’re selling: knowing what a serious earnest money deposit looks like, and what actually protects you if a buyer walks, is part of evaluating any offer. If you just want a read on your home’s value first, start with the free EPIC Home Value Report. If you’re ready to see the full process for selling for top dollar, start with the free Sure Seller Course.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
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