Some real estate professionals and city residents believe the coyote problem will have little or no impact on Seal Beach’s real estate market.
“No impact experienced so far,” said real estate broker Nat Ferguson.
However, attorney Scott Levitt, whose practice includes real estate law, said he knew of someone who was reluctant to buy into Seal Beach because of the stingrays that are known to carpet the bottom of the ocean of the city’s beach.
“Yep, they heard (of) stingray stingings all the time, and thus were concerned about not being able to go swimming at the beach, etc.,” Levitt said.
Joyce Parque, of First Team Real Estate, an Old Town resident and local activist, said she didn’t think coyotes would have an impact on real estate, though she supposed the issue might have an impact on the Hill and the Greenbelt areas.
Annette Jones isn’t currently in real estate, but used to work at Baytown Realty in Seal Beach and Rene Realty in Belmont Shore.
“If it continues to get over- populated with coyotes, buyers/sellers may have to sign a coyote disclosure,” Jones said.
Although not a real estate person, Kori Jenkins DeLeon, chief executive officer at RTI Insurance, also doubted the coyote problem would affect the real estate market.
“I live in Rossmoor and this has been a concern for years for us, but hasn’t seemed to diminish the real estate market here or in other effected areas like Villa Park. It’s a real threat, but one that is minimally manageable once the right information gets out there,” DeLeon said.
Resident John-David Currey said he expected coyote activity to have zero impact on the land market. “I lived in Burbank for a while and the problem was there, too. (Bigger in fact). One of the wonderful aspects of Seal Beach is its geographical isolation from other communities,” Curry said.
“That ‘buffer’ means wildlife. It’s just part of the deal. My guess is you won’t find another community like this elsewhere without these kinds of issues,” Curry said.
Fellow Seal Beach citizen Michael Bronfenbrenner also doubted coyotes would effect local real estate.
“I have lived in Upstate NY, Connecticut and Southern California,” Bronfenbrenner said.
“There have been coyotes, and there are still coyotes, in all of those places. there are coyotes in most Southern California areas, so I do not believe it impacts real estate values to any significant degree over time, in terms of one place vs. another,” Bronfenbrenner said.
Real estate professional Rosie Ritchie has been selling real estate in Rossmoor and Seal Beach for more than 12 years.
She doesn’t see an impact on the real estate market either.
“The community of Rossmoor has done an excellent job at making the community aware of the four legged predator by posting signs throughout the community creating awareness,” Ritchie said.
“Have I noticed a lack of interest with potential home buyers because of the coyote activity? No, Rossmoor and Seal Beach have so much to offer with our exceptional school district and thriving community,” she said.
