1860 Saint John Rd APT 32A, Seal Beach, CA 90740 — 1.7% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

Unit 32A at 1860 Saint John Rd is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom corner condo in Seal Beach's gated Leisure World community, offering 1,398 square feet of living space.

The property sits on a 1,600 sq ft lot and has been extensively remodeled. The kitchen features quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances, both bathrooms have been upgraded with stone counters and designer fixtures, and rich wood-look tile runs throughout the open floor plan. An in-unit full-size washer and dryer, central HVAC, and an oversized covered patio round out the upgrades — a spec level that's atypical at this price point within the community.

The listing has been active for 20 days with no price reduction from the original ask, suggesting the seller isn't under pressure. The property is non-owner occupied, which means a buyer wouldn't need to wait out an existing occupant before placing a tenant. The lot and community amenities — gated security, golf, pool, pickleball, and multiple clubhouses — are part of the Leisure World age-restricted ecosystem, a detail that shapes both the tenant profile and the resale universe.

The investment case

At a 1.7% cash-on-cash return, this property generates thin but positive cash flow — a meaningful distinction in a coastal California market where many comparable listings run negative.

List Price

$499,000

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$3,321

Principal & Interest

$2,523

Property Tax

$0

Insurance

$166

HOA

$632

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$3,466

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

1.7%

Cap Rate

6.4%

Monthly Cash Flow

$145

Gross Rent Multiplier

12.0

DSCR

1.1

The numbers: $499,000 list price, estimated monthly rent of $3,466, and a total monthly payment of $3,321 — leaving $145 in monthly cash flow. The payment stack includes $2,523 in principal and interest at a 6.55% rate, $166 in insurance, and a $632 HOA fee. That HOA load is substantial and is the single largest drag on cash flow after debt service.

The cap rate of 6.4% is the more compelling figure. Net operating income of $2,668 per month against a $499,000 asset price is a ratio that holds up relative to what coastal California typically offers. The gross rent multiplier of 12.0 is reasonable, and the debt service coverage ratio of 1.1 means the property covers its mortgage with a thin but real cushion.

The city average cash-on-cash sits at 0.0%, which makes the 1.7% here a relative outperformer locally. This isn't a cash-flow powerhouse, but it's one of the few properties in Seal Beach where the income actually clears the cost of ownership on day one. Figures exclude depreciation tax benefits, which vary by individual tax situation.

The investment case here is built on a cap rate that works, not a cash flow windfall — but in this zip code, that's a credible starting position.

Annual return outlook

The projected 5-year total return of 9.7% is spread across three components, with mortgage paydown doing more work than the headline cash flow suggests.

The breakdown: 1.7% from cash flow, an estimated 3.8% from appreciation, and 4.1% from mortgage paydown. That paydown figure is the quiet driver here. At a $499,000 price point with a conventional 30-year mortgage, early amortization is modest in absolute dollars, but as a percentage contribution to annualized return it outpaces the cash flow component.

The 3.8% annual appreciation projection is an estimate, not a market-data-scraped figure, so it warrants some skepticism. Seal Beach is a coastal market with constrained supply and an age-restricted buyer pool in this specific community — factors that historically support price stability but also limit the universe of buyers at resale. An investor underwriting this deal should stress-test the appreciation assumption: even at 2% annually, the mortgage paydown contribution keeps total returns in positive territory.

Cash flow at 1.7% won't compound meaningfully on its own, but it prevents the property from being a carry burden, which is the real function it serves in a five-year hold thesis.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five active for-sale listings in the 90740 zip provide a pricing context, with a comp median of $389,000 against this property's $499,000 ask.

Unit 32A is priced $110,000 above the comp median, but the size differential justifies much of that gap. The comparable 2-bed/1-bath units in the set are listed at 750 square feet — roughly half the living area of this property's 1,398 sq ft. On a price-per-square-foot basis, this listing comes in around $357/sq ft. The 750 sq ft units range from $319,000 to $389,000, or roughly $425 to $519/sq ft — meaning this property is actually priced at a discount on a per-square-foot basis relative to the smaller units.

The two 2-bed/2-bath comps in the set — at $599,000 (1,100 sq ft) and $679,990 (1,100 sq ft) — are priced above this listing while offering less living space. That puts Unit 32A at the value end of the 2/2 segment within the community, which is a meaningful positioning signal for both resale and rental pricing power.

All five comps have been on market three to nine days, compared to this property's 20 days. That gap isn't alarming, but it's worth watching — if the listing extends past 45 days without a price move, it may indicate the market is testing the $499K ceiling for this unit type.

Rental demand in this zip

Rental comp data for 2-bedroom units in ZIP 90740 is sparse, which introduces real uncertainty into the $3,466 monthly rent estimate underpinning this deal's cash flow.

The estimated monthly rent of $3,466 comes from automated valuation, not from active rental listings in the zip code. With zero comparable rentals identified in the 90740 market for this bedroom count, there's no local transaction data to anchor that figure. That's a risk worth naming explicitly.

The Leisure World age restriction adds another layer of complexity. Most standard rental comp databases don't segment by age-restricted communities, so the $3,466 estimate may reflect broader Seal Beach rental dynamics rather than what a 55+ community unit actually commands. Tenants in this type of community tend to be longer-term and lower-turnover, which has value, but the pool of eligible renters is structurally narrower than a conventional condo.

An investor underwriting this deal should attempt to verify achievable rent directly — by contacting the HOA about rental rules and restrictions, and by reviewing any lease history on the property given that it's currently non-owner occupied. If the actual achievable rent is closer to $3,200, monthly cash flow turns negative. If it's at or above the estimate, the 1.1 DSCR holds.

The rent estimate is plausible but unconfirmed — treat it as a starting hypothesis, not a guaranteed number.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property suits a patient, equity-focused investor comfortable with thin monthly cash flow and an age-restricted tenant pool in a coastal California market.

Best fit

The ideal buyer here is someone who values stability over yield. The Leisure World community structure — gated, amenity-rich, age-restricted — tends to attract tenants who stay longer and maintain units better than the broader rental market. For an investor who wants low management friction and is willing to accept a 1.7% CoC in exchange for that profile, the math works. The 6.4% cap rate and 9.7% projected five-year return make a reasonable case for a hold-and-appreciate strategy, particularly if the buyer is already familiar with age-restricted community dynamics.

The non-owner-occupied status means no displacement timeline, and the absence of a pre-foreclosure flag suggests a clean transaction. The $145 monthly cash flow won't move the needle on its own, but it keeps the property cash-flow neutral-to-positive, which matters for a multi-year hold.

Risks to weigh

The $632 HOA fee is the deal's most significant structural risk. HOA fees in age-restricted communities can increase as the community ages and deferred maintenance accumulates. A fee increase of even $100 to $150 per month would flip this property cash-flow negative at the current rent estimate. Buyers should request the HOA's reserve study and recent financials before closing.

The age restriction itself limits the resale audience. When it's time to exit, the buyer pool is narrower than a conventional condo, which can extend days-on-market and compress the exit price in a soft market. The rental comp data gap also means the $3,466 rent estimate carries more uncertainty than a deal with active comparable leases to validate it.