April 2018 Market Update
I’m hoping you are enjoying this beautifully cool May as much as I am. Not sure if I can remember such a nice May in my lifetime of living in the desert. As many snowbird’s head North, our desert weather remains comfortably nice with cool mornings and warm afternoons.
The market remains HOT with strong sales, with inventory down in most price segments. In just about every price segment, the amount of days it takes to sell a home has dropped, in some cases by 50%. As usual in the desert, the lower the price, the lower the inventory, the higher the price, the higher the inventory. Homes under the $1M price segment, inventory is thinning even as the we move toward Summer, as the market is flooded with qualified buyers. In the Luxury Home Market, many opportunities remain, as we continue to see multiple price reductions. Goes without saying, the higher the price segment, the less buyers in the marketplace, and discerned qualified buyers are willing to wait for the right buy.
Knowing this, year over year, the amount of homes sold Valley-wide this April exceeded last April numbers in most price segments, though interestingly median sales prices dropped slightly in various price segments in all four Cities (see attached spreadsheet). Indian Wells enjoyed the most gains (7 out of 10 price segments) in median sales price, and Palm Desert enjoyed the most gains (7 out of 10 price segments) in the numbers of homes sold, year over year.
Overall the market continues to improve, and buyer confidence remains high. Though mortgage rates are on the rise, compared to many years ago, rates remain historically low with many attractive loan packages available, from conforming loan amounts, up to multi-million loan packages. Moreover, investors continue to create attractive mortgages including minimal required documentation (stated) loans to keep affordability at bay. We continue to see a tremendous amount of cash buyers, who have leverage to negotiate luxury home purchases with immediate cash and fast closings. Thus far this Season, Dave Kibbey & Associates has generated strong sales numbers, and continue to maintain a wonderful selection of qualify listings in just about every price segment, from $350,000 up to multi-million-dollar estates. We currently have 10 properties In-Escrow, and 45 transaction sides Pending and Sold this season, many of which we have represented both buyer & seller, totaling just under $36 Million in sales thus far this season. It is looking like our sales numbers will approach $60 Million this fiscal year.
I hope you found this update useful. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, I welcome the opportunity to speak with you and help you achieve your real estate goals, now or in the future.
Please click here to view specific sales numbers and values, per City and Price segment.