Sales by the Seashore: If you’ve got...

Sales by the Seashore: If you’ve got surf, sand ‘n’ sea breezes, then there ain’t no housing slump.

That’s what the developers of Pier Colony have discovered. The 130-unit condominium project, at 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway across from the Huntington Beach Pier, is 40% sold after less than three weeks on the market.

And 15 of the units were bought sight unseen. Those buyers, all from Japan--where Haseko Group, Pier Colony’s co-developer, has its headquarters--plunked down deposits after seeing renderings of the project, according to a project spokeswoman.

The condominiums range from 861 to 1,492 square feet and are priced from $190,000 to $610,000.

California Resorts International is the Huntington Beach builder developing the project with Haseko (California) Inc. of Los Angeles.

A nearby project by Mola Development of Newport Beach sold even faster.

The 89-unit Townsquare--an unusual mix of condos and town homes over retail shops that is situated about four blocks from the beach at 5th Street and Orange Avenue--sold all 73 of the condo units the day sales opened in March.

Prices ranging from $140,000 to $209,000 helped make up for the extra distance from the water.

As of last week, a dozen of the 16 townhouses in the development had been sold, at prices in the low to mid-$400,000s.