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Our local real estate market experts, Market Watch LLC, have just released their January 2024 Desert Housing Report. Some of the highlights:

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY HOME SALES RECOVERY: Home sales in the Coachella Valley in January were 28.6% below normal (with normal being the average of home sales in January of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019). This is an improvement from homes sales in December that were 32.5% below normal. Market Watch expressed hope that with lower inflation and mortgage rates, home sales might return to normal later this year.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY DETACHED HOME MEDIAN PRICE: The median price of a detached home in the Coachella Valley in January was $660,000 (down 1.8% year-over-year from $672,450 in January 2023 and up $1,000 from $659,000 in December). Market Watch felt that the seasonal pattern of increasing home prices beginning in January has started in 2024. However, they cautioned that with inventory rising and home sales remaining low, supply and demand is beginning to slowly favor buyers.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY ATTACHED HOME MEDIAN PRICE: The median price of an attached home in the Coachella Valley in January was $475,000 (up 9.2% year-over-year from $435,000 in January 2023 and up 3.2% from $460,000 in December). Market Watch felt that attached home median price seemed to be following the normal seasonal pattern and expected attached home prices to continue to increase for the next three or four months.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY TWELVE MONTH CHANGE IN THE PRICE OF THE AVERAGE SIZE HOME BY CITY: Year-over-year changes in the price of the average size detached home by city ranged from an increase of 9% for the 3,450 sq ft average size detached home in Indian Wells to a decrease of -11% for the 2,500 sq ft average size detached home in Bermuda Dunes. Year-over-year changes in the price of the average size attached home by city ranged from an increase of 16.6% for the 1,950 sq ft average size attached home in Indian Wells to a decrease of -7.3% for the 1,450 average size attached home in Bermuda Dunes. The price of the average size attached home increased year-over-year in Indian Wells, Indio, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES (THREE MONTH MOVING AVERAGE): The three-month average of home sales in the Coachella Valley in January was 510 home sales per month (up 17% from 436 homes sales per month in January 2023 and up 4.1% from 490 homes sales per month in December). Market Watch explained that because of seasonality, it's difficult to determine where Home sales stand on a historical basis. They added that the Sales Recovery Chart above showed that home sales are running 28.6% below historic norms but are improving.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES (TWELVE MONTH MOVING AVERAGE): The 12-month average of home sales in the Coachella Valley in January, which removes seasonality from the home sales numbers, showed total sales were averaging 618 home sales per month. While this was an increase over the average of 606 homes sales per month in December, it was also decrease of -11% from 695 homes sales per month in January 2023. Market Watch expressed their opinion that the long-term average of sales was beginning to rise and that the worst for home sales was over. However, they also continue to believe that home sales will recover only when mortgage rates come down to the 5.5% to 6% range. Recent declines in inflation gave Market Watch hope this might have already started.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES BY CITY: Every city except Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs and Indian Wells had higher three-month average home sales year0over-year. The city with the largest year-over-year increase (percentage-wise) in monthly average home sales was Rancho Mirage (up 37% year-over-year), followed by Coachella (up 33% year-over-year) and then La Quinta (up 28% year-over-year).

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY MONTHLY HOME SALES BY PRICE RANGE: The largest home sales increases were in homes priced from $300k to $600k and in homes priced over one million dollars  (up e CO35% year-over-year). Market Watch explained that the increase in home sales priced over one million dollars stems from the fact that due to the home price increases over the last few years, more homes are now valued over a million dollars. Market Watch felt that the home sales by price range data showed that the housing market isn’t experiencing an imbalance in any price range.

COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY 1ST HOME SALE INVENTORY: Coachella Valley home sale inventory on February 1st was 2,309 homes (up 14% from 2,025 homes on February 1st, 2023 and the highest it has been since mid 2020). Market Watch commented that while this is still 1,000 homes under what’s considered normal for this time of year, it's a distinct improvement. Market Watch hoped that the seasonal increase in inventory would continue for a few more months, possibly reaching 2,500 by March.

COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY 1ST REGIONAL MONTHS OF SALES RATIO: On February 1st, the Coachella Valley’s months of sales ratio was 3.7 months, which is 0.8 months higher than on February 2023 and 0.2 months higher than on January 1st. Market Watch noted that this fundamental ratio, which measures supply and demand, is now back to a more normal level. They noted that lower inventory is offset by lower sales which keeps supply and demand in balance, meaning that currently there is no overbalancing force pushing prices either higher or lower.

COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY 1ST MONTHS OF SALES RATIO BY PRICE RANGE:  Market Watch noted that the months of sales ratio on February 1st was higher for every price range than on February 1st, 2023. For homes priced over one million dollars, the months of sales ratio on February 1st was the highest for any price range at 5.4 months (up from 3.9 months on February 1st, 2023 but still historically less than normal).

COACHELLA VALLEY FEBRUARY 1ST MONTHS OF SALES RATIO BY CITY: Market Watch noted that in every Coachella Valley city other than Coachella, the months of sales ratio on February 1st was above 3 months and was higher than on February 1st, 2023. They did also note that a months of sales ratio of three to four months was considered normal. Further, they stated that this even distribution of months of sales ratios told them that supply and demand was pretty much balanced throughout the Coachella Valley.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY REGIONAL DAYS IN THE MARKET: Market Watch felt that the median selling time in the Coachella Valley in January remained relatively stable at 40 days (same as in January 2023). Market Watch stated that they believe that the median selling time will remain around current levels for at least the next six months.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY DAYS IN THE MARKET BY CITY FOR DETACHED & ATTACHED HOMES: Coachella continued to have the lowest median selling time for detached homes in the Coachella Valley in January at 26 days (down from 40 days in January 2023), followed by Desert Hot Springs at 30 days (Down from 35 days In January 2023) and Indian Wells at 36 days (down from 39 days in January 2023). Indio had the shortest average selling time for attached homes in the Coachella Valley in January at 23 days (down from 60 days in January 2023), followed by Desert Hot Springs at 35 days (up from 32 days in January 2023) and Palm Springs at 39 days (up from 34 days in January 2023).

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY PERCENTAGE OF HOMES SELLING OVER LIST PRICE: In January, the percentage of Coachella Valley homes selling over list price declined to 14.0% or one out of every seven sales (compared to 13.5% of homes selling over list price in January 2023). Market Watch continued to expect the percentage of homes selling over list price to remain around these levels.

COACHELLA VALLEY JANUARY AVERAGE SALES PRICE DISCOUNTS: In January, every Coachella Valley city had an average selling discount for detached homes, ranging from -1.4% in the Coachella to -4.8% in Bermuda Dunes. Average selling discounts for attached homes in the Coachella Valley in January ranged from 11.1% in Cathedral City to -5.3% in Bermuda Dunes. 

THE BRIGGS GROUP | COLDWELL BANKER | Laurie Briggs - DRE# 01896117 | Tim Briggs – DRE# 01898254 | Amy Baxa – DRE 02059963 | Coldwell Banker Realty – DRE# 00616212

THE BRIGGS GROUP | COLDWELL BANKER | Laurie Briggs - DRE# 01896117 | Tim Briggs – DRE# 01898254 | Coldwell Banker Realty – DRE# 00616212