Rosalie Murphy of The Desert Sun writes that desert home prices sank to their lowest levels of the winter season in February, hitting a median of $283,000, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic DataQuick. February's prices were the lowest since September 2015, at the end of the historically weak summer buying season, when homes fetched a median of $275,000.
According to real estate research firm CoreLogic DataQuick, resale home prices fell by 10.3 percent from February 2015, down to a median of $287,500. New homes sold for a median price of just $327,000, down 5.6 percent year-over-year and by far their lowest level of the winter home buying season. In addition, the California Desert Association of Realtors counted more than 4,600 houses and 2,150 condos on the market in February, by far the highest level of inventory this season.
However, sales have been brisk; up about 7 percent year-over-year in February, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. Resale home sales increased by nearly 10 percent between February 2015 and February 2016. More than 60 new homes sold in February, 21.6 percent more than the previous year, though new home sales dipped more than 30 percent year-over-year in January. Sales nearly doubled year-over-year in Desert Hot Springs, where 56 homes sold in February. Coachella also posted a 50 percent increase year-over-year in sales.
Prices did rise in some valley enclaves, namely Palm Springs' 92264 zip code, where the median price of $315,000 showed a 50.7 percent increase year-over-year. Rancho Mirage also posted a 44 percent year-over-year rise in median price.
As usual, homes in Indian Wells topped the Coachella Valley's prices, fetching a median of $750,000 in February. At the other end of the market, homes in Desert Hot Springs sold for a median price of just $162,500, according to CoreLogic DataQuick.
By The Numbers: Desert home sales in February 2016
Total sales: 728, up 6.9 percent from February 2015
New construction sales: 62, up 21.6 percent from 2015
Resale single-family home sales: 449, up 9.8 percent from 2015
Resale condo sales: 217, down 1.8 percent from 2015
Median price: $283,000, down 5.7 percent from 2015
Median price per square foot: $166, down 2.7 percent from 2015
Source: CoreLogic DataQuick
To read the original article by Rosalie Murphy and view the accompanying video of the Coachella Valley’ s most expensive listing, The Gray Residence, listed at $32.5 Million, courtesy of The Desert Sun, please visit: http://www.desertsun.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/03/22/home-prices-sales-corelogic-dataquick/82098196/