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Local real estate market experts, Market Watch LLC, have just released their August 2018 Desert Housing Report. Some of the highlights are:

The Coachella Valley detached home median price in August was $390,000, up 6.8% from August 2017’s detached home median price of $365,000. Market Watch pointed out that this chart shows that small median price declines from June through October for detached homes are a somewhat normal occurrence in the Coachella Valley housing market.

The Coachella Valley attached home median price in August was $265,000, up 8.2% from August 2017’s attached home median price of $244,925.

Five cities (Indian Wells, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and Cathedral City) had twelve-month, double digit gains in their detached home median prices in August. These gains range from 36.5% in Indian Wells to 10% in Cathedral City. Five cities (La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, Coachella and Palm Desert) still show detached home median prices at least 20% below their 2006 high prices.

Four cities (Rancho Mirage, Indio, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Desert) had twelve-month, double digit gains in their attached home median prices in August. These gains range from 29.8% in Rancho Mirage to 12.8% in Palm Desert. Five cities (Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs) still show attached home median prices at least 30% below their 2006 high prices.

The twelve-month average of sales, which Market Watch states takes out the seasonal pattern and shows the long-term trend, continues to show higher numbers (with total sales of 849 units this August compared to 813 total units sold in August 2017). Detached home sales were 2.6% higher in August than a year ago while attached home sales were 7.8% higher than a year ago.

In looking at Home Sales by City, five cities (Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Bermuda Dunes) showed lower three-month sales. Sales in Bermuda Dunes went from 17 units a month down to 13 units, while Rancho Mirage went from 82 units to 75 units. La Quinta likewise went from 124 units down to 116. Sales were up in Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Thousand Palms. Desert Hot Springs led the pack with a sales increase to 53 units from 44 in August 2017.

In looking at Home Sales by Price Range, Market Watch noted that while sales of homes priced below $300k are down 13%, sales of homes price over $300k are up 8.4%. This shift is due primarily to the increase in regional home prices over the last year; there are simply fewer homes being offered below $300k.

Coachella Valley housing inventory on September 1st stood at 2,664 units versus 3,182 units on September 1st, 2017. Market Watch noted that this inventory number is the lowest since September 2013. Market Watch stated that if history is a guide, seasonal forces should now push inventory higher as September 1st has been the lowest inventory month for the last six years.

At 3.1 months, the months of supply ratio is at its lowest level in six years. Market Watch indicated that this decline in the months of supply is due to higher sales and consistently declining inventory. They went on to state that (i) this combination has maintained the balance of supply and demand distinctly to the benefit of the seller, and (ii) the Coachella valley has been in a sellers’ market for over a year and that seems to be intensifying.

A lower months of supply ratio by price range is found in almost all price brackets but especially in the three price ranges above $800k. In the $800k to $900k price range, Market Watch commented on the drop in months of supply from 8.1 months last year down to 4.7 months on September 1st. In the $900k to $1M price range, Market Watch observed a decline in months of supply from 10.9 months to just six months. Above $1M, Market Watch observed a decline in months of supply from 11 months down to 8.1 months.

The months of supply ratio for each city shows a general decline, except in the case of Coachella,Indio and Thousand Palms. The cities with the largest declines in their month of supply ratios are Bermuda Dunes, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and Rancho Mirage.

The information contained in the Desert Housing Report is produced for Coachella Valley real estate agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of the California Desert Association of Realtors®(CDAR) and the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors® (PSRAR) by Market Watch LLC.