Long Beach Multi-Units: Why 1960s Buildings Are the Sweet Spot for Investors
If you're shopping for a multi-unit in Long Beach, one of the first questions I get is: does the year the building was built actually matter?
It does — a lot. And if I had to point investors to one vintage that consistently delivers the best balance of price, condition, and low-friction upgrades, it's buildings from 1960 and newer.
Here's why.
The Problem With Pre-War and Early Post-War Stock
Long Beach has a ton of 1940s multi-units. They're charming, they're priced attractively, and on the surface they can look like a great buy. But what you can't see in the listing photos is what's inside the walls — and that's where the cost surprises live.
Buildings from the 1930s and 1940s were commonly built with knob and tube wiring. This is an older electrical system that runs ungrounded, cloth-insulated wire through porcelain knobs and tube insulators. It was the standard of the era, but by today's code it's considered a liability. Insurance carriers often won't write a policy on a property with active knob and tube, or they'll charge significantly more. And if you ever pull permits for a renovation — adding units, converting a garage, updating a kitchen — the city can require you to bring the entire electrical system up to current code before they'll sign off. That's not a small cost.
The plumbing in 1940s buildings tells a similar story. Galvanized steel pipe was the norm. After 80+ years, galvanized corrodes from the inside out, restricting water flow and eventually failing. Replacing it isn't optional — it's a matter of when, not if.
If you want to dig into what buying a 1940s Long Beach multi-unit actually looks like — the full inspection checklist and where costs tend to pile up — I broke all of that down here.
Why 1960+ Changes the Equation
Buildings constructed from 1960 onward hit a meaningful generational shift in materials and code requirements.
Wiring: By the early 1960s, knob and tube was largely phased out. Most buildings from this era were wired with a grounded electrical system using modern conductors — not cloth-wrapped wire running through open cavities. That means you're not walking into a property that needs a full rewire before an insurance company will touch it, and you're not triggering a code upgrade the moment you file your first permit.
Plumbing: Copper became the dominant residential plumbing material starting in the late 1950s and through the 1960s. Copper is durable, resistant to corrosion, and still acceptable under current California plumbing code. A 1962 building with its original copper lines is in a completely different position than a 1945 building with original galvanized. You may still see some repairs needed, but you're not looking at a full repipe as a baseline assumption.
Foundation and framing: 1960s construction also benefited from updated building codes in California following post-WWII housing expansion. You still want to do your due diligence, but structurally these buildings tend to be more predictable than pre-war stock.
The Code Upgrade Trap
Here's the thing most buyers don't think about until it's too late: building permits trigger compliance reviews.
If you buy a 1940s multi-unit and want to add an ADU, convert the garage, upgrade a unit's bathroom, or do anything that requires pulling a permit with Long Beach Building and Safety, the city inspector is going to look at the whole property — not just the scope of your project. And if they find active knob and tube wiring or failing galvanized plumbing, they can require you to remediate those systems before approving your permits.
This is what I call the code upgrade trap. The buyer budgets $50,000 for an ADU conversion and ends up spending $80,000 because $30,000 went to electrical and plumbing remediation that had nothing to do with the original project.
With a 1960s building, that trap is almost always already cleared. The systems are code-compliant enough that permits flow without triggering the same chain of mandatory remediation. Your renovation dollars go toward what you actually planned.
This Matters Even More for ADU Plays
Long Beach is one of the best cities in LA County for ADU rental income. The rents support it, the permitting environment is workable, and the market continues to compress on inventory which means buyers are competing for the same limited pool of quality multi-units.
If your strategy involves adding or legalizing an ADU after purchase, the vintage of the building directly affects your timeline and budget. A 1962 four-plex where I can get you into the permit process without surprises is worth meaningfully more than a 1943 four-plex where I know we're going to spend the first six months clearing code issues before we even start the project.
Under California's AB 2221 and SB 897 ADU reforms, local agencies have to act fast on ADU permits — but those timelines only kick in once your application is complete and code-compliant. A building with outdated systems puts you in a pre-permit remediation phase that no state law can accelerate.
What to Look for in a 1960s Building
Even within the 1960–1979 range, you want to do a real inspection. A few things I always flag:
Panel age and capacity: 1960s panels were often 100-amp service. Fine for the era, possibly undersized today depending on how you're running the units. Budget for a panel upgrade if needed — it's a few thousand dollars, not a catastrophe.
Copper plumbing condition: Copper is great, but older copper with poor water chemistry can pit and develop pinhole leaks. Have a plumber scope it during inspection.
Roof age: A building from 1962 that's never had a roof replacement is overdue. Factor that in.
Soft-story risk: Many 1960s–1970s LA County multi-units fall under California's soft-story retrofit mandate for older wood-frame buildings with open ground-floor parking. Long Beach has its own retrofit program — check whether the building has already completed compliance or if it's still on the city's list.
None of these are deal-killers in the way that knob and tube wiring or full-building galvanized repipes are. They're budgetable, predictable costs.
My Take
If you're buying a multi-unit in Long Beach as an investment — whether you're an owner-occupant covering your mortgage with rental income or a straight investor looking for cash flow — I consistently steer people toward 1960 and newer.
You're not paying a massive premium for it. The price gap between a 1945 building and a 1963 building in many Long Beach neighborhoods doesn't fully price in the cost delta of what's inside the walls. That's your edge as a buyer who knows what to look for.
Here's the full checklist I run before recommending any multi-unit purchase in OC or LA County — vintage is just one of the boxes, but it's one of the most important ones.
