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But valley homebuyers still looking for best
deal
Debra Gruszecki • La Quinta Sun • March 4, 2010
Home sales in the Coachella Valley rose 22 percent in January, proving the area to be more resilient as
sales sputtered across California. California’s 27,858 sales of new and resale homes and condominiums were down 5.4 percent from 29,458 for January. In the Coachella Valley, MDA DataQuick reported 748 sales in January.
The boost comes after a year’s worth of sales tracked by Real Data Strategies for The Desert Sun
revealed a real estate marketplace that in 2009 was dominated by the sale of entry-level homes.
Price trumped the valley’s home sales activity in 2009, the Brea firm’s data from the Multiple Listing
Service showed. While the valley’s 9,238 sales in 2009 represented a 25 percent increase from the 7,359 sales in 2008, the dollar volume of the product sold fell nearly 15 percent.
It was a telling sign that buyers who jumped into the market, still getting hammered by foreclosures and
distress sales, are looking for the best bang for the buck. That put the squeeze on big-ticket sales,
causing average sales prices for homes under $500,000 to fall into the affordability range of
$182,369.
How did La Quinta fare?
Real Data Strategies said the La Quinta market is at a stabilization point. Pricing decreases have slowed.
“Home value has seen one-year price decreases of under 10 percent,” said Bob Thomas, who studies
the local market for the nationally recognized real estate data collection firm. Still, sellers have to be realistic when it comes to price. Out of all the 2009 sales in La Quinta — 1,137 —the number of homes sold at prices under $500,000 was 786. The average sale price was $257,378. That’s down from the 2008 average of $283,501, but the drop is not nearly as significant as it’s been in other areas of the valley, like Indio, Cathedral City or Desert Hot Springs.
The city also has recorded its share of $1 million-plus homes, some 91 in 2009.Data also suggests that sellers are getting more realistic about price, given the sales-to-original listing ratio of 89 percent.
Still, Real Data Strategies founder and president Patrick Veling said 2010 is likely to be driven by
distressed home sale activity. That is likely to keep prices down. It’s also likely to keep qualified or cash-worthy buyers interested in the Palm Springs market.
“It’s as good as the market is ever going to look, in my opinion,” Inland Empire economist John Husing
said.
Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi offered these pointers for real estate agents: “Explain to
sellers that they have to be realistic when setting price. Advise potential buyers that a principal
residence is not an investment. It should be treated as their home.”
Interested or buying or selling property in Palm Springs or the Coachella Valley area? Contact Patrick-Stewart Properties today.