This Desert Sun article takes a look at what $420,000 can buy in the desert today. Why $420,000 you might ask? That’s because at the height of the housing bubble, back in the summer of 2007, median home prices in the Coachella Valley hit $420,000.
Since then, the market has crashed and rebounded, at least partially. The current median price of a single family home (attached and detached) was around $275,000 in August.
Some of these listings include high monthly homeowners association (HOA) fees. According to loan officers at local lender, Franklin Loan Center, every $70 in monthly HOA fees reduces purchasing power by $10,000. A 20 percent down payment on a $420,000 house would be $84,000 and with a 30-year mortgage at a 4 percent interest rate, monthly payments would be $1,604.
Here’s a sampling of what the author, Rosalie Murphy, found $415,000 to $425,000 can buy in the desert right now:
1. Palm Springs Vacation Rental: This 1,270 sq ft ranch style house, originally built in 1976, has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, located on a 13,000 sq ft lot. The home features a saltwater pool, a gazebo, wood laminate floors, bright white walls and clay tile. It is being offered fully furnished. As a vacation rental, the property has generated roughly $30,000 per year in income.
The home sits on leased land, with a current land lease cost of $1,355.28 per year. The current lease expires 2041, but the owners are negotiating to extend it.
There are no HOA fees and the home is listed at $419,000 ($330 per sq ft)
2. South Palm Desert Ranch: This 1,500 sq ft home in the Silver Spur Ranch neighborhood has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is located on a 6,970 sq ft lot. The home features natural slate stone tile, a log fireplace in the living room, an updated kitchen with a breakfast bar and a master bedroom overlooking the backyard and pool. The exterior is landscaped in shrubs and succulents. The owners have been successfully renting the home for the last six years.
The HOA fees are $10 per month and the home is listed at $425,000 ($283 per sq ft).
3. New Home In La Quinta Cove: This 2,106 sq ft house by LQ Estates Company should be complete in October and has 3 bedrooms (2 of which are full master suites) and 3 bathrooms. The home features a walled patio courtyard with a pool and spa, and stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and plank tile flooring in the kitchen.
There are no HOA fees and the home is listed at $419,000 ($199 per sq ft)
4. Indio Ranch Style Home: This 2,652 sq ft, 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom home is located on a 9,583 sq ft lot. The interior, which is decorated in shades of brown and tan, includes tile and wood floors, a fireplace and a bar in the living room. Desert landscaping is already installed in the backyard.
The HOA fees are currently $75 per month and the home is listed at $419,000 ($158 per sq ft)
5. Desert Island Condo: This 2,325 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom condo is located in Rancho Mirage’s Desert Island resort community, among the desert’s most exclusive (at the corner of Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra). The community includes 226 large units in three mid-rise condo buildings, surrounded by a 25-acre lake and an 18-hole golf course.
HOA fees are $858 per month and the property is listed at $424,900 ($183 per sq ft)
Please use the following link to read the article, by Rosalie Murphy, courtesy of The Desert Sun: http://www.desertsun.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/10/07/price-point-can-buy-desert-today/73416190/