HALF MOON BAY, California — A California high surf forecast brought a welcome innovation to real estate this weekend. Beachfront buyers accustomed to asking how far the house sits from the water can now ask how far the water sits from the house, a figure the broker promises to update between showings.
The Washington Post’s report on the California surf forecast said waves could reach 50 feet at select big-wave breaks such as Mavericks. That is a forecast for specific spots. A real estate listing will treat it as a broadly applicable feature of the entire neighborhood, the way an apartment with a window facing a brick wall claims to have exposed brick.
California High Surf Meets the Open House
At one showing, the agent described the ocean as “approaching” and offered buyers a complimentary pair of binoculars. The binoculars were useful at the start of the tour. By the time the group reached the kitchen they were all looking through the patio door with their own eyes.
“Is there a view from the second bedroom?” asked one buyer. The agent said they had arranged for the view to come around again in a minute.
A Surf Forecast and a Listing Measure Different Things
A high surf warning concerns the hazard from breaking waves, including waves that can reach farther up the shore than a casual observer expects. The National Weather Service explanation of beach hazards is a better guide to conditions than the guy who parked by the bluff and said it looked fine from his truck. That guy’s truck is now facing the other way.
A Bohiney comparison of real estate vocabulary found that “water adjacent” means a view today, a special assessment tomorrow and an unusually short walk to the kayak next spring. “Unobstructed views” means the previous obstruction is being discussed at a meeting of the coastal commission.
The forecast has made heroes of two very different people. The first is the surfer experienced enough to know when to stay out. The second is the homebuyer willing to pause a showing long enough to ask what the insurance actually covers.
Closing Costs Include the Tide Table
A serious buyer can look up a property’s flood exposure and ask for insurance quotes before signing anything. It pays to ask what the homeowners policy covers and what requires separate insurance. Those answers matter more than the broker pointing at a map and saying the ocean usually stays in the blue part.
Back at the open house, refreshments had been moved to the uphill side of the kitchen. The agent told visitors it was a staging decision and handed out a disclosure stating that all values were approximate, particularly distances.
The seller accepted an offer with a 30-day closing period. The ocean requested a shorter escrow.
The buyer’s inspector asked when the deck was last replaced. The agent asked whether he needed a year or a tide. They agreed to revisit the question after the showing.
Bohiney disclaimer. No wave has signed an exclusive listing agreement. Some have expressed interest in the deck.