Market Summary - July 2022

PRICES: July’s median price of a detached home in the Coachella Valley was $710,000, up $10,000 for the month and 19.3% year over year. We have entered the seasonal period when home prices usually slow, or even decline, but we have not seen much so far this year.  Seasonal factors also point to downward price pressures on attached homes in the summer. The forces that have been driving prices higher – high sales and low inventory - are rapidly reversing so we should begin to see some price correction soon. 

SALES: Total sales averaged 791 units a month in July, which is 26% less than last year. The current number is 16% below the July pre-pandemic average of 948 units a month. This decline is primarily in detached sales. Every city except Coachella had lower sales in July compared to last year.

INVENTORY & “MONTHS OF SALES” RATIOS: On August 1st , Valley inventory was 1,637 units, which is 801 units more than last year. This is a 96% increase. Inventory has finally started to grow and it’s occurring during the season when it normally contracts. The Valley’s “months of sales” ratio was 1.9 months, up 1.2 months from a year ago. Like inventory, this is the highest ratio in almost two years. The ratio remains considerably below 3 to 3.5 months, which is the norm for late-summer. Even though inventories have been rising and sales falling, the changes have not been enough yet to lift the ratio back to normal levels.

DIM: At the end of July, the median number of “days in the market” throughout the Valley was 24 days, which is three days more than last month but one day less than last year. The city of Desert Hot Springs has the lowest median selling time for detached homes at 18 days, followed by Palm Springs with 19 days and Cathedral City at 20. We believe we’ve seen the lows in average selling times and expect this metric to rapidly rise toward more normal levels.

PRICE DISCOUNTS/PREMIUMS: In the month of July, 47.9% of sales were above list. This is the average over the preceding three months and compares to 49% a year ago. The city of Palm Springs has the highest average selling price premium for detached homes at 2.7%, followed by Desert Hot Springs at 2.2%. In the attached market, Palm Springs continues to have the highest average premium at 3.5%, but the number is rapidly declining.