It’s HOT… today 115 degrees and homes are selling. People do actually get out in this heat and buy homes, some looking for great deals, others looking for a replacement home because their home is in-escrow and they have to buy. I’ve had the pleasure to help 32 property owners achieve their real estate goals this year thus far, with two more in-escrow which is so gratifying. If you know of anyone who needs my help, please have them reach out, my #1 priority in this business is to help people achieve their real estate goals.
Central valley cities; Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta markets continue to flow with a healthy sales volume though both sales numbers and values remain down slightly from July 2014 numbers, with one exception. La Quinta out-paced the other three mid-valley cities in both sales numbers and values in the following price segments: $250,000-$500,000, $500,000-$750,000 and $1M- $1.25M, with most other price segments down slightly. Indian Wells being the most seasonal valley city and having the highest median listing price was down in all price segments with the exception of the $1.5M – $2M. Palm Desert was up in the $500,000 – $750,000 range in both sales and values but down slightly in all other segments. Rancho Mirage was up in the $2.5M – $3M with one sale @ $2.935M, no sales last year, and all other segments down slightly year over year.
What does all this mean? It simply means were experiencing a dip in the market in an upward cycle. I’ve indicated in previous updates; when the market finally gained momentum two years ago, inventory climbed to two year record levels as many homeowners decided to sell. Buyer demand simply did not keep up, which is why to some people, including some agents felt the market seemed slow. The fact is the market is healthy and homes are selling, though sellers must be realistic with their expectations or their home will likely sit unsold. As we move through summer and into the fall/winter season, inventory will climb again as new listings come onto the market, in addition to frustrated seller listings that didn’t sell last season, and many will likely be value priced in an effort to be sure they sell this season. Once we get over the hump and inventory drops again, we will likely see both sales numbers and values increase, though we may not see this until sometime late 2016.
Median Listing Prices and Average Price per SQ-FT by City from high to low
Please click here to view specific sales, values and “days on market” in all price segments.
News: Our Desert Area MLS – Association of Realtors has decided to get rid of the CDOM or “cumulative days on market” tab on all listings in our local MLS. Why? It’s never been accurate. For example if you had your home listed for any period of time, and your listing expired, or you cancelled your listing for whatever reason, your listing history may indicate an inaccurate total or cumulative days of all listing periods. Moreover you used to have to wait a 90 day period after removing your listing from the MLS in order to eliminate CDOM. Great news… we’ve been fighting for this for a long time and our board listened. Other changes with Mortgages. Besides that fact we all know mortgage rates have to rise soon, effective October 1st 2015 the Federal Government has increased regulatory demands on lenders, which will not only make mortgages harder to get with more conditions, it will take lenders on an average of two weeks longer to get mortgage loans approved and closed.
Finally, our new HOM Sotheby’s Indian Wells office is opening early September which myself and my team will be moving into. We will update you with our new address as soon as we move.
I hope you find these updates informational, and helpful in making informed real estate decisions. I welcome the opportunity to help you whether it’s now or in the future.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!