January 2014 – Gallaudet Properties

January 30, 2014

Video: Welcome to your new 8,000 sqft. custom golf estate.

Here’s a virtual tour of 50565 Breva St. at the Citrus Club in La Quinta, with an aerial overview:

Features include:
* 5 Bedrooms
* Large, Home Theatre.
* Large, private office
* Elevator
* Control 4, Home Automation system throughout home.
* Large, private sideyard.
* 4 car garage.
* Gourmet Kitchen that will make you smile, and so much more!

January 23, 2014

December, 2013 Sales Ananlysis

Here are the latest sales numbers for all homes sold within the City of La Quinta as well as all Golf Course homes in La Quinta from January, 2008 through December, 2013.

The current inventory of “Active Listings” remains tight. The Coachella Valley has transitioned from a buyers market to a sellers market but not all buyers seem to relize this :-). Most of the popular segments of the market have already moved to the sellers favor. The point at which the market changes from buyer to seller is determined by the months supply of homes for sale.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the market is defined by the number of months supply of homes currently for sale. The dividing line between a Buyers / Sellers market is 6 months supply. Months Supply is determined by dividing the total number of sales in the last 6 month period by 6 to get the average number of sales per month and dividing that number into the current number of active listings.
For example: If the total homes sold in the past 6 months = 18 then 18/6 = 3 sales in the average month. If the current active “for sale” inventory was 21 then 21/3(Avg Mo Sales) = 7 Months Supply which would qualify as a weak buyers market. 6 months supply is considered a “Normal” market and anything less than 6 months supply is defined as a sellers market.

Here is a breakdown of current months supply in the City of La Quinta:

November, 2013: December 2013:
:

Here are some historical charts showing the present market and how it compares over the last five years and beyond.

The pink line represents a 4.5% rate of appreciation, which is the historical rate of appreciation (going back to 1968) according to the National Association of Realtors.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) for the City of La Quinta from 2002:
Year

Year	All	LQ Golf Course
2002	1,356	259
2003	1,572	640
2004	1,938	785
2005	1,563	638
2006	1,118	483
2007	942	444
2008	1,076	405
2009	1,202	409
2010	1,360	518
2011	1,446	510
2012	1,532	587
2013	1,537	657

* Remember that the sales numbers represent “Closed” escrows. Since the average escrow is between 45 and 60 days, the decision to purchase the homes that closed in June was probably made in March to early April.

For more information about the Coachella Valley Real Estate market, Please call us at (760) 203-2621!

Source: DesertAreaMLS

January 7, 2014

Holiday Home Sales in La Quinta

The holiday season has been an incredibly busy time for home sales in La Quinta! Who would have thought? Normally the week before Christmas and through to the week after New Year’s Eve is an extremely slow time for home sales in the Desert. It is a busy time for people to be with families and normally not to be focuing on home purchasing. However, 2013 has proven to have a life of it’s own during this time, and specifically in La Quinta. We have been so busy at Gallaudet Properties that we had trouble being with family! Why is this the case? I have a couple of ideas:

Buyers are noticing the low inventory and the fact that it doesn’t seem to be growing.
New homes that are coming on the market are coming on at higher prices than even two months ago, and they are selling at higher prices. Of the last 3 homes that we sold in December, we had bidding wars and they all sold at or above list price.
We do not see many distressed homes (short sales or bank owned homes) coming on the market anymore – in the past, these may have kept buyers on the fence waiting for the “next deal” if they happened to miss the deal in front of them.
Interest rates are increasing. In my opinion, that shouldn’t have a huge effect because rates are still low, but psycologically, it does have an impact on the buyers.
Effective January 1, FHA loans have lowered their cap to $355,350 in Riverside County. Buyers wanted to get into the market before that took place.
Less inventory and upward price pressure has created more of a seller’s market which has increased seller’s confidence levels and a restored a more positive outlook that their home will sell and that they don’t necessarily need to consider all offers – just the good ones.

The above points, in addition to the fact that the weather in the Desert has been absolutely perfect with blue skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s, have kept the home sales strong through the holiday season of 2013. Very small inventory levels continue to be our reality here – there is just not a lot for sale relatively speaking. If you want a great home where the sun is always shining give us a call today and let us start the process of finding your dream home. It might take a little while, depending on your needs, so it’s a good idea to start the process now.