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Local real estate market experts, Market Watch LLC, have just released their April 2019 Desert Housing Report. This is their measure of the pulse of the Coachella Valley residential real estate market. Some of the highlights:
Coachella Valley Median Detached Home Price: The Coachella Valley median detached home price increased for the second consecutive month in April to $425,000 (up 4.6% year-over-year). This is the highest median detached home price since the recovery began in 2011.
Coachella Valley Median Attached Home Price: The Coachella Valley median attached home price increased in April to $294,500 (up 7.3% year-over-year). This also is the highest median attached home price since the recovery began eight years ago. Based on past median attached home price history, Market Watch’s analysts predicted that this upward price trend would continue for a few more months before the usual seasonal retreat after May or June.
Twelve Month Change In City Median Prices: The median detached home price increased in all of the major Coachella Valley cities, with the exception of Palm Desert, where it declined by 5.9%. The increases in median detached home prices ranged from 19.5% in Indian Wells to 0.3% in Indio. The Palm Springs median detached home price is now 10% above the high prices of the 2006-2007 bubble years. Median detached home prices in all of the other major Coachella Valley cities continue to remain below the highs of the 2006-2007 bubble years (ranging from 25.4% short of the all-time high in Desert Hot Springs to 8.3% short of the all-time high in Indian Wells).
The median attached home price increased in all of the major Coachella Valley cities, with the exception of Desert Hot Springs (where median attached home prices declined by 0.7%), Indio (where median attached home prices declined by 2.5%) and Cathedral City (where median attached home prices were unchanged). The increases in median attached home prices ranged from 18.4% in Rancho Mirage to 1.6% in Palm Springs. The median attached home prices in all of the other major Coachella Valley cities continue to remain below the high attached home median prices of the 2006-2007 bubble years (ranging from 33.7% short of the all-time high in La Quinta to 23.2% short of the all-time high in Palm Desert).
Detached, Attached & Total Home Sales: Total home sales for the last three months averaged 871 units per month (versus 952 units per month a year ago). While this is a decline of 8.5% year-over-year, Market Watch’s analysts pointed out that it is nevertheless an improvement over the last couple of months where total home sales were down over 10% year-over-year. Detached home sales for the last 3 months averaged 576 units per month (down 4.8% year-over-year), while attached home sales for the last 3 months averaged 295 units per month (down 15% year-over-year).
Home Sales By City: Every one of the Coachella Valley cities had lower average sales over the last three months year-over-year, with the exception of Palm Springs (with 182 average sales per month over the last three months versus 181 average monthly sales over the same period in 2018). Palm Desert experienced a 14% decline in average sales over the last three months year-over-year (from an average of 219 units a month in April 2018 to an average of 189 units per month in April 2019). The city of Coachella experienced an 18% decline in average sales over the last three months year-over-year.
Home Sales By Price Range: Market Watch’s analysts noted that the largest drop in home sales are for homes priced under $400,000. They felt that this was due to the dwindling supply of homes in this price range in the Coachella Valley, as Coachella Valley home prices rise. The largest decline in average home sales over the last 3 months occurred in the $200,000 to $300,000 price bracket, where average home sales fell from 236 units a month to 193 units per month year-over-year. Average sales of homes priced over $900,000 over the last three months were slightly higher.
Coachella Valley Housing Inventory: Housing inventory on May 1st stood at 3,643 units (21 units more than on May 1st, 2018). Based on past housing inventory history, Market Watch’s analysts noted that housing inventory usually bottoms out on September 1st , then rises for five or six months before reaching a peak in February or March. They further noted that inventory in any month can only be compared to inventory in that same month in other years and that the current May 1st housing inventory is near all-time lows.
Days On The Market & Months Of Supply: On May 1st, the months of sales ratio (inventory divided by the average 12-month sales) was 4.5 months. Market Watch noted that while this months of supply ratio was 2/10 of a month higher than a year ago, it is a historically low ratio, indicating that the balance of supply and demand is still slightly in favor of the sellers. Days on the market in April was 66 days (up 2 days year-over-year).
Months Of Supply By Price Range: Market Watch’s analysts noted that for homes priced under $800,000 the months of sales ratio was fairly comparable to the months of sales ratios one year ago. For homes priced between $800,000 and $900,000, Market Watch’s analysts noted the drop in the months of sales ratio from 10.2 months to 7.9 months. For homes priced over one million dollars, they noted the decline in the months of supply ratio from 15.5 months to 13.4 months.
Months of Sales By City: Eight Coachella Valley cities had slightly higher months of supply ratios year-over-year, while the cities of Coachella, Palm Springs and Thousand Palms had lower ratios. Market Watch’s analysts singled out Palm Springs, stating that even though home prices throughout the city increased significantly over the last five years, inventory levels and months of sale ratios remained very well contained, an indicator that even at this high price level, the housing market in the city of Palm Springs appears to be very stable.
Sale Price Discount from List: The latest Sale Price Discount from List was -2.3% (0.1% less than a year ago). This ratio means that the average Coachella Valley home listed for $400,000 sold for $390,800 (a $9,200 discount in sales price from list price).
