Realtors: Price drops, sales show growing confidence
Erica Solvig
The Desert Sun
The Coachella Valley's median price dipped to its lowest levels since January 2004, helping boost
July's housing sales.
The drop might not be celebrated by sellers hoping to make large profits. But it's welcome news for
potential buyers hoping to snag deals and for market watchers who have said prices need to come
down in order for the valley to absorb the large number of available homes.
“It's reaching that point that the market is beginning to stabilize,” said Sam Schenkl, executive officer
with the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors.
“Rather than the perception that the sky is falling, people are starting to reach that point they realize
that the market is going to swing back up.”
July's $274,000 median price is down 8.7 percent from June and down 28.8 percent from July 2007,
according to new figures from DataQuick Information Systems.
Experts have credited the lowering prices in boosting sales, which totaled 803 homes in July.
That's on par with the 804 sold in June and up 2.8 percent from the same month last year.
“What you really see is a market that is healing itself,” said Greg Berkemer, executive vice president
of California Desert Association of Realtors.
“We're selling off the inventory. Part of that — and a large reason for that — is the reduction in prices.
It affects the number of people who qualify,” Berkemer said.
DataQuick's analysis of the Coachella Valley's market also shows:
The resale single-family segment of the market showed gains for the fourth consecutive month. The
538 homes sold is up 36.2 percent from the previous year.
New construction continued to struggle. In July, 93 new homes were sold, which is down 53.5 percent
from 2007.
The most expensive home sold was a $7.35 million resale in Indian Wells.
The valley-wide median price per square foot was at $158, down 29.5 percent from the previous year.
A city-by-city breakdown shows they ranged from $243 in Indian Wells to $86 in Desert Hot Springs'
92240 ZIP code.
The median price has in recent months hovered in the low $300,000s.
The last time the price was this low was in January 2004, when it hit $268,000, according to historical
valley information from DataQuick. The La Jolla-based company uses property records and other
public documents to track the housing market.
Economic conditions were different then and the market was booming: A total of 1,201 homes sold
that month.
In today's market, many of the lower-priced homes are foreclosures or short sales.
And a significant number of bargains are out there, too, said Schenkl of the Palm Springs association.
He mentioned Palm Springs condos that were in the $100,000-range and a listing that was priced in
the $1 million range is now drawing multiple offers at $599,000.
Such deals are helping drive down the median prices as well as boost the valley's first-time buyer
affordability rates.
The latest numbers show nearly half of the Coachella Valley could afford an entry-level home during
the second quarter, a record rate.
“Buyers are in the best place they've been in years,” Berkemer said. |
