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APRIL 1ST, 2015

Is this the calm before the storm?

I hope you’re enjoying our gorgeous seasonal weather, there is so much going on this time of the year in our beautiful Coachella Valley; Tennis Tournaments, La Quinta Arts Festival (recently voted the #1 Art Festival in the country), and now the ANA Inspiration Tournament March 30th through April 5th (formerly Nabisco Dinah Shore). Personally I love to hike our mountain trails throughout the desert. There is nothing like seeing the raw desert-scape in full bloom, and this year’s rain has brought a plethora of desert wild flowers, which makes my hikes even more enjoyable.

The Market – 2015 is getting off to slow start compared to 2014. Within my areas of expertise; Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta. We continue to see homes sell, but certainly not what we had hoped for this high season thus far. For example March Sales in $250K -$500K are down approximately 30% from 2014 sales numbers. Values in various price points below the $1.1M are up just slightly but very slow moving. Sales prices above the $1.1M price point this March are also down from March 2014. Sales above the $2M price point are far and few between with only three SOLD (within the four cities) this March in the $2.5M-$3M category, and only two homes SOLD above $2.5M. The single biggest change this March over March 2014 was in Indian Wells; the median SOLD price rose from $370,000 in 2014, to $417,000 this March, an approximate 13% increase year over year, and sales from year to year stayed at ten. (For detailed price point sales and median sales prices – Please click here to view the most recent trend graph).

As you know… for many years, Canadian buyers have played an important role in the dynamics of our desert resort market, and from my experiences and many of the agents I network with, due to the significant drop in their dollar (Canadian dollar today is worth $ 0.79 US Dollar) are either holding off on their purchases, or spending considerably less. Except for the highly affluent, Canadians seem to be holding off on their purchases until they see significant increase in their dollar which could take a few years… who knows? Moreover I’ve experienced a number of Canadians listing their homes in an effort to liquidate their US assets. The good thing is… the Coachella Valley always has and always will be a great place to live, and people from all over the world will continue to see, appreciate, and have a continued desire to live here. Because of this, buyers from all over the world; California coastal areas, the northwest, and many other areas who have always wanted to get away from the COLD, own a home in our desert paradise, and enjoy our temperate seasonal climate will continue to take advantage of the lifestyle our desert has to offer, and see the BIG value in buying this year. Many of the people who live in the Coachella Valley, like some of yourselves, who visited here at some point, and quickly decided this was the place they wanted to either live year around, or own a home they can use seasonally. Hang in there… the market will continue to improve.

As you know… I work very hard toward at getting your home SOLD at the highest price the market will bear. I’m constantly studying the market so I can best represent you and your asset, and I implement effective marketing techniques to provide the Highest & Best exposure in an effort to generate the right qualified buyer for your home. My #1 priority is to protect your equity, #2 keep you informed throughout the process, and #3 get your home sold for the highest price the market will bear and as quickly as possible. Year to date thus far I’ve had another great year with just under $13M in sales so far, 15 properties SOLD, and seven In-escrow. We continue to receive quite a few buyer inquires, and showing calls seem to have picked up over the last week. Let’s hope we see an explosion in the market with BIG late season sales. If we do, inventory levels will drop to more moderate levels, and we will likely see some appreciation early next year.

I hope you have found this information helpful. Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me… I’m only a phone call away. Enjoy the rest of the season.