Our local real estate market experts, Market Watch LLC, are out with their February 2025 Desert Housing Report. Some of the highlights:
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY HOME SALES RECOVERY: Coachella Valley home sales recovery improved in February with home sales 20.8% below pre-pandemic February normal home sales (where pre-pandemic normal is calculated from February home sales in the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).For comparison sake, Coachella Valley home sales were 32.5% below the pre-pandemic February normal in February 2023 and 23% below the pre-pandemic February normal in February 2024.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY DETACHED HOME MEDIAN PRICE: In February, the detached home median price in the Coachella Valley increased for the third straight month to $700,000 (up $15,000 or 2.2% from $685,000 in February 2024). Market Watch commented that the detached home median price in the Coachella Valley usually hits its seasonal low between September and December, and that this appeared to be the case this year.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY ATTACHED HOME MEDIAN PRICE: In February, the attached home median price in the Coachella Valley increased to $505,000 (up $16,000 or 3.3% from $489,000 in February 2024). Market Watch commented that the seasonal price range for attached homes was much larger than that of detached homes and that attached home prices seem to be following the normal seasonal pattern.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY YEAR-OVER-YEAR MEDIAN HOME PRICE CHANGE BY CITY: In the Coachella Valley in February, the year-over-year detached home median price change ranged from an increase of 11.5% for the average size1,700 sq ft detached home in Coachella to a decrease of 9% for the average size 3,175 sq ft detached home in Rancho Mirage. The year-over-year attached home median price change in the Coachella Valley in February ranged from an increase of 16.4% for the average size 1,950 sq ft attached home in Indian Wells to a decrease of 5.6% for the average size 1,250 sq ft attached home in Cathedral City.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES (THREE-MONTH AVERAGE): In the Coachella Valley in February, monthly home sales (three-month average) averaged 579 home sales (up 29 home sales or 5.3% from an average 550 home sales in February 2024). Market Watch pointed out that because of the seasonality in Coachella Valley home sales, it was difficult to determine where home sales stood on a historical basis. They referred to the home sales recovery data that showed Coachella Valley monthly home sales were 20.8% below pre-pandemic normal in February.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES (TWELVE-MONTH AVERAGE): In the Coachella Valley in February, monthly home sales (twelve-month average) averaged 616 home sales (down 8 home sales or 1.3% from 624 home sales in February 2024). Market Watch noted that monthly home sales have been averaging just over 600 units for almost two years. They felt that the housing market needs lower mortgage rates. They also noted that while the Federal Reserve Board has finally begun to lower short term rates, this hasn’t done much to lower longer term fixed mortgage rates.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES BY CITY: Home sales by city in the Coachella Valley in February were about the same as in February 2024 in most Coachella Valley cities. Palm Desert had the highest monthly average home sales at 128 (up 12 home sales or 10.3% from 116 home sales in February 2024), followed by Palm Springs with 111home sales (down 8 home sales or 6.7% from 119 home sales in February 2024) and La Quinta with 98 home sales (up 12 home sales or 14% from 86 home sales in February 2024). Coachella had the lowest monthly average home sales at 7 (down 5 home sales or 41.7% from 12 home sales in February 2024).
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES BY PRICE RANGE: Market Watch felt that in the Coachella Valley in February, the largest part of the overall sales decline continued to be sales of homes priced between $300K and $399K at 50 monthly home sales (down 17 home sales or 25.4% from 67 home sales in February 2024). Market Watch noted that monthly home sales for the bulk of the remaining price ranges showed slight increases year-over-year.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES IN DOLLARS: In February, Coachella Valley home sales in dollars were $542 million (up 11% from $488 million in February 2024).
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES IN DOLLARS BY CITY: February Coachella Valley home sales appeared to be comparable to February 2024 in every city except La Quinta at $127 million (up $23 million or 22.1% from $104 million in February 2024) and Palm Desert at $115 million (up $25 million or 27.8% from $90 million in February 2024).
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES IN DOLLARS BY PRICE RANGE: February Coachella Valley home sales in dollars were comparable to February 2024 in every price range except for homes priced over $2 million with sales of $168 million (up $37 million or 28.2% from $131 million in February 2024). Market Watch pointed out that February Coachella Valley home sales for homes priced above $1 million continued to account for 50% of all home sales in dollars in the Coachella Valley.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST HOME INVENTORY: On March 1st, Coachella Valley home inventory was 3,510 homes (up 1,144 units or 48.4% from 2,366 homes on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch stated that home inventory has been improving and the current home inventory numbers were now comparable to inventory before the pandemic. They added that the historic seasonal pattern now suggests that inventory is near its peak entering March.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST HOME INVENTORY BY CITY: The highest Coachella Valley home inventory level on March 1st was in Palm Springs at 800 homes (up 193 homes or 31.8% from 607 homes on March 1st 2024). The lowest Coachella Valley home inventory level on March 1st was in Coachella at 32 homes (virtually unchanged from 33 homes on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch stated that this information could help identify those cities that have homeowners with the greatest selling interest and how it compares to last year.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST HOME INVENTORY BY PRICE RANGE: The highest Coachella Valley home inventory level by price range on March 1st was for homes priced between $1 million and $1.999 million at 647 homes (up 166 or 34.5% from 481 homes on March 1st 2024). The lowest Coachella Valley home inventory level by price range on March 1st was for homes priced under $300K at 168 homes (up 57 homes or 51.4% from 111 homes on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch stated that this information could help identify those price ranges that might be responsible for the growth or contraction of inventory.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST MONTHS OF SALES RATIO: On March 1st, the months of sales ratio in the Coachella Valley was 5.7 months (up 1.9 months or 50% from 3.8 months on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch commented that this fundamental ratio, which measures home supply and demand), was above pre-pandemic levels. They further commented that while inventory has recovered, because of low sales, supply is beginning to exceed demand. They felt that this should not cause problems for home prices, unless it begins to extend average selling times.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST MONTHS OF SALES RATIO BY CITY: Market Watch noted consistent months of sales ratios between 5.0 and 7.0 months in most of the nine Coachella Valley cities. The highest March 1st months of sales ratio was in Rancho Mirage at 8.2 months (up 3.3 months or 67.3% from 4.9 months on March 1st, 2024). The lowest March 1st months of sales ratio was in Coachella at 4.4 months (up 1.6 months or 57.1% from 2.8 months on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch explained that since months of sales was really the supply-demand equation for housing, this information showed that the housing market is becoming supply heavy. They added that if the months of sale ratios move higher, home selling times will begin to increase, which would eventually put downward pressure on home prices.
COACHELLA VALLEY MARCH 1ST MONTHS OF SALES RATIO BY PRICE RANGE: The highest March 1st months of sales ratio was for homes priced between $700K and $799K at 7.8 months (up 3.5 months or 81.4% from 4.3 months on March 1st, 2024). The lowest March 1st months of sales ratio was for homes priced between $400K and $499K at 4.2 months (up 1.3 months or 44.8% from 2.9 months on March 1st, 2024). Market Watch explained that since months of sales ratios were really the supply-demand equation for housing, the large increases over last year in months of sales ratios showed that supply was starting to exceed demand in almost all price brackets. They added that this hasn’t affected prices yet and most probably would not, until selling times begin to lengthen.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY DAYS IN THE MARKET: At the end of February, the median number of days in the market in the Coachella Valley was 46 days (up 3 days from 43 days at the end of February 2024). Market Watch noted that the median selling time in the Coachella valley has been running between 40 and 50 days for two years. The further noted that these historically short median selling times had helped to keep home prices stable.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY DAYS IN THE MARKET BY CITY: The lowest average selling time in the Coachella Valley in February was in Rancho Mirage at just 41 days (down slightly from 43 days at the end of February 2024), followed by Bermuda Dunes at 42 days (down from 49 days at the end of February 2024) and Palm Springs at 43 days (down from 46 days at the end of February 2024). The highest average selling time in the Coachella Valley in February was in Desert Hot Springs at 59 days (up from 52 days at the end of February 2024).
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY DAYS IN THE MARKET BY PRICE RANGE: The lowest average selling time in the Coachella Valley in February was for homes priced between $900K and $999K at 36 days (down from 42 days at the end of February 2024). The highest average selling time in the Coachella Valley in February was for homes priced between $800K and $899K at 58 days (up from 44 days at the end of February 2024). Market Watch added that when looking at these numbers, it’s important to notice if there was any abnormal average selling time in any price range. Market Watch further added that selling times usually increase with higher priced homes. However, they didn’t see that in the current market, which they felt was a positive situation.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY PRICE PREMIUM/DISCOUNT: In the Coachella Valley in February, detached homes were selling at an average discount of 2.5% (compared to 2.3% in February 2024). In the Coachella Valley in February, attached homes were selling at an average discount of 2.9% discount (compared to 2.8% discount in February 2024). Market Watch took note of the premium/discount moving in unison for both detached and attached homes. They felt that this marked a turn back to pre-pandemic norms.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY PRICE DISCOUNT BY CITY: In February in the Coachella Valley, the largest average discount from list price was in Palm Springs at 3.8% (up from 2.8% in Palm Springs in February 2024). The smallest average discount from list price was in Coachella at 0% (down from an average discount of 0.7% in February 2024). Market Watch stated that in general, cities with higher priced homes sell at larger average discounts.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY PRICE DISCOUNT BY PRICE RANGE: In February in the Coachella Valley, the largest average discount from list price was for homes priced over $2 million at 4.3% (up slightly from 4.1% in February 2024). The smallest average discount from list price was for homes priced between $400K and $499K at 1.8% (up slightly from 1.7% in February 2024). Market Watch commented that as a rule, price discounts from list increase with higher priced homes. However, in the Coachella Valley in February, the smallest average discounts were in mid range homes.
COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY PERCENTAGE OF HOMES SELLING OVER LIST PRICE: In February, the percentage of homes selling over list price in the Coachella Valley was 11.1% (down from 13.9% in February 2024). Market Watch commented that the percentage of homes selling above list price is now back to pre pandemic levels.
THE BRIGGS GROUP | COLDWELL BANKER | Laurie Briggs - DRE# 01896117 | Tim Briggs - DRE# 01898254 | Coldwell Banker Realty - DRE# 00616212