Here we go! The start of the season for real estate has begun in the Coachella Valley and the market is sailing further into uncharted waters. We continue to experience unprecedented market conditions in the Coachella Valley, as the median sales price ended the year at $615K, which was a yearly increase of over 18%.
The number of sales continues to trail last year’s totals, and are down in every city except Coachella, Bermuda Dunes and Desert Hot Springs in the month of December. But, the number of sales are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
In fact, the reason the number of sales has been trending down year over year is due to the lack of inventory, not lack of demand from buyers, as inventory is at the lowest number on record for the valley in December at 607 active homes. That’s 900 units less than last year and almost 2,400 units less than this time in 2020. Astonishingly, we continue to see this record breaking low inventory during a time CDAR has described as “historically, the strongest three months of inventory increases,” the Coachella Valley has seen. Incredible.
Tangibly, this data continues to translate to many multiple offer situations with homes selling at or above asking price.
It will be interesting to see how inventory trends the first quarter of 2022 as the normal seasonal uptick in listings hasn’t really been felt since 2019. Keep an eye on that.
Another development we are following closely is the Fed’s plan with interest rates, as it looks like the Fed will be taking action faster and sooner than anticipated. It was thought the Fed would raise rates by a quarter percent three times in 2022, but in meeting minutes from their December meeting they indicated they could raise rates sooner, and at a faster pace than previously thought to fight inflation. Perhaps beginning in March. This could have an effect on our market once we see rates edge closer to that 4% benchmark.
Whether you are a seller or a buyer, there is still a great opportunity for you in this market. Let us help you navigate it.
Please feel free to reach out to a Jelmberg Team Real Estate Professional for more market information, or to see how much you can benefit from recent market trends on the sale of your home.
