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. The blue
lines represent 2008 data and the orange lines represent 2009 data.
The chart
above shows Monthly sales of homes within the city of La Quinta. When
looking at “sold” data, you have to remember that the numbers are
generated on the date that the sale is recorded with the county but
that the decision to buy was made about 45 – 60 days earlier.
Although the sales in April are still lagging behind the same period in 2008, we have noticed an improvement in consumer confidence and a slight increase in activity in the higher priced homes brought on by the improving markets on Wall Street. Economists have predicted a slow but steady improvement in the housing market as the year goes on.
We’ll all see if the economists are correct as we proceed into and through the hot months ahead.
The
number of homes sold in golf course communities in La Quinta has
decreased since this time last year. While the lower end of the market
has been extremely active ($400,000 and below), the upper-end (which
contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) has been
sluggish. This can be attributed to many things, such as the higher
interest rates and tougher qualifications in the jumbo-loan market, and
many 2nd home buyers have been waiting on the sidelines to re-enter the
marketplace once they feel more confident in the economy.
We have sensed
pent-up-demand building and seen increasing activity in the upper-end markets – we’ll all have to see where this summer takes us.
If buying a golf
property is something on your list, why not take advantage of the
incredible prices and seller incentives now, when sellers will work
with you, instead of in the future, when the demand starts to catch up
with the supply? Especially if you’re buying and planning to hold for 5+ years.
The bottom line…
Unit
sales in 2009 are lagging behind the same period last year as
far as the numbers and the price/value of the homes reflecting the
downward trend of the general housing market. Please remember that the
decline of the real estate market greatly accelerated in September,
2008 when our economy went into crisis and consumer confidence
disappeared. We are now, 7 months later, beginning to see increased
activity, a trend that many economists believe will continue to grow in
the next several months. With home prices as low as they are now, and
capital starting to flow back into the banking system, tremendous
opportunity exists right now for buyers in all spectrum’s of the market.
Here are some yearly sales figures for the City of La Quinta from 2002:
Year All LQ Golf Course
2002 1,354 259
2003 1,565 652
2004 1,931 813
2005 1,553 657
2006 1,098 491
2007 935 447
2008 1,063 416
2009 YTD 320 113