Seaside

Iconic & lively

The town that started it

Seaside is the pastel cottage town that defined New Urbanism on this coast: picket fences, narrow streets, and a town center you can walk with a coffee. The amphitheater holds concerts in season, and the Airstream row is part of the daily scenery.

In summer the center is busy. A few streets back, it is still a neighborhood. Both of those things are Seaside, and buyers should know which one they are picturing.

Cottages with a rental history

Many cottages were built to be lived in and rented, and that is still how a lot of owners use them. Buyers come for the town itself — the walkability, the events, the fact that people recognize the name from a single photograph.

It is a second-home market with a strong rental story, and it is also a place some families keep and use hard. A cottage that rents all summer and a house you intend to occupy are both available. They are not the same search.

Look past the postcard

The town has different streets, from the earliest cottages to later blocks with larger houses. A cottage on a prominent rental street and a house on a quieter lane are different purchases: different upkeep, different income, different feel in July.

The photos all look like Seaside. The street tells you which Seaside you are buying. Ask how the cottage has actually been used, what the association allows, and what a week in your own house is worth to you before you underwrite the rent.