Our desert market is seeing some changes as we move through fall.
I’ve sold homes and condos in this desert for 22 years, and we’ve just completed three of the most historic months I’ve ever seen. In that time, I sold 24 homes and condos, and now we’re getting into the high season. Our population is doubling with all the seasonal visitors flying in, and we’ve seen a lot of LA buyers purchasing full-time or part-time homes (part-time is more standard). With that, we have extremely low inventory. As our population changes, we may see more homes come on the market, but for the moment it’s very low.
Here are a few key stats from our market:
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The median detached home price is $510,000, which is a 27% increase compared to last year. The highest rise was in La Quinta, and the lowest was in Indian Wells.
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Inventory is at 2,000 units (or 2.5 months of supply). Normally we’re closer to 3,000 units this time of year, and during the peak of the season, we reach upwards of 4,000 units. This presents the biggest challenge to buyers and buyers’ agents.
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The percent off of list price—or how much the average offer differs from the average home price—is 1%. In past years, this has usually been anywhere from 6% to 8%. In many cases, offers have gone over list price. This means buyers need to make an offer at full price or above in a multiple-offer situation.
This is all good news for sellers, but it’s also good news for buyers because of how different these numbers are compared to 2006. In Rancho Mirage, for example, the stats are off by 22% to 25% compared to the highs of 2006. Meanwhile, Palm Desert is 12% off and La Quinta is 8.4% off.
The only city that’s different is Palm Springs, whose numbers are 30% above those of 2006. This is much more in line with what we’ve seen from other parts of LA, and the reason why is that we’re becoming a much more ‘year-round’ world, so to speak. Many of the demographics I’ve been selling to are younger people; younger doctors with families are moving here to service our hospitals, and other younger professionals are moving here because they can work virtually, and their children can likewise homeschool virtually.
TO SAY THE LEAST, IT’S AN INTERESTING TIME IN THE DESERT.
I buy and sell homes in my sleep, though, so I can help you no matter what your goals are. Give me a call today so I can guide you in the right direction because a lot of what’s selling is selling before people get here. If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to speak with you!
