Good news – The desert is heating up, and it’s that perfect time to enjoy our pools without heating them. Sunny warm days close to 100 degrees and cool mornings & evenings in the low 70’s, one of my favorite months of the year.
Not so good news – For those of you with homes currently listed for sale, you are feeling the pain and frustration of dropping prices due to higher levels of inventory around you, and a clear lack of buyers and urgency. It’s a tough market here in the desert, and I do not see any quick changes anytime soon. We continue to see volatility in the market with high levels of inventory, and a very sluggish buyer pool. As I have suggested throughout this season, the market has clearly tipped back to a buyers’ market and buyers are well aware of it. There seems to be little to no urgency on their part, and they are tough in negotiations. There is no fluidity in the market with some price segments selling and others sitting. Sales numbers and values are down in almost every price segment, some quite significant.
Here are some examples:
$250,000 – $500,000 Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) sales are pretty consistent with one exception – La Quinta (May 2015 over May 2014), sales are up 23% over 2014, although the median sales price dropped 12%.
$500,000 – $750,000 Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) in Rancho Mirage sales are down 49% and values are now down 2%. Another BIG drop in sales in La Quinta, down 45% from 30 to 16 with an approximate 2% increase in median sales price.
$750,000 – $1Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) significant drops in both Rancho Mirage and La Quinta, RM- Sales dropped 49% and values dropped 1%. LQ-Sales dropped 40% and values dropped approximate 2%.
$1 Million – $1.25 Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) significant drop in Palm Desert 3 sales last May, no sales this May. Significant drop in La Quinta – 7 sales last May and 2 this May although values rose 12%.
$1.25 Million – $1.5 Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) Rancho Mirage sales double from 3 to 6 although values drop 2%. Zero sales in Palm Desert year over year. BIG drops… 75% in both Indian Wells and La Quinta, 4 sales last May and only 1 sale this May.
$1.5 Mil lion – $2 Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) Indian Wells had 2 sales last year and no sales this year. BIG gain in La Quinta – 2 sales last May and 8 sales this May, although values dropped 13%.
$2 Million – $2.5 Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) Sales were consistent with the exception of La Quinta experiencing a 50% drop in sales, and an approximate 4% drop in value.
$2.5Million – $3 Million Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) Dead Zone with the exception of 1 sale in Indian Wells.
$3 Million and Up Price point
Year over year (May 2015 over May 2014) Sales were pretty consistent year over year with the exception; Indian Wells sales are down from 3 last year to 1 this year and values averaged 25% lower than the 3 that sold last May.
Naturally we will see inventory drop over the summer, mainly the high-end $$$. We continue to see quite a few buyer inquiries, and hope to have a strong summer washing out inventory levels so we have a clean fresh start in the fall. Positive thoughts… the market will improve over time!
If you have questions or concerns, have been thinking of buying or selling, please feel free to reach out to me. My #1 goal is to help YOU achieve YOUR goal.
Please click here to view my current market trend graph.