Seller’s market. The term is fraught with mystery and intrigue. In the desert, it seems the concept is shrugged off as myth or legend, experienced once upon a time, in the far away land of Seattle, San Francisco or Orange County. Grandchildren all over the valley drift off to sleep to the tales of unicorns, giant bean stocks, and the home that once received 5 above ask price offers in Huntington Beach.
Pinch yourself, because although you aren’t in the middle of a fairy tale, we are in a seller’s market in Sun City Palm Desert.
If you follow the real estate market in the community, it’s likely felt different than years past. Rightfully so. The inventory at the beginning of the season started low and has stayed consistently low throughout (currently 48 active homes for sale as of 3/12/18). We would normally see well over 100 active homes this time of year. Since the beginning of the year (1/1/18 – 3/12/18), median price per sqft. is up an encouraging $7.57 from this time frame in 2017, the days on market is down over two weeks (to 66 days).
The telling stat, however, is the 1.8 rate of absorption. This indicates Sun City Palm Desert currently has 1.8 months of inventory. Well below the 6 month benchmark that would indicate a balanced market.
Being that a “sellers market” isn’t something many homeowners have had much experience with here in the desert, there are definitely some misconceptions and recommendations that would benefit both buyers and sellers if they plan on participating.
Read more about this in the full article found here.