galla99 – Page 4 – Gallaudet Properties

November 17, 2014

The Thermal Club, Where You Can Do An Entire Course in Seconds…

When the discussion turns to “good drivers” in La Quinta, usually it’s a couple of inveterate golfers debating the relative merits of brands like Ping, Cobra, TaylorMade, Titleist and others. (Sorry if I’ve missed your go-to one wood.)

But take a short jaunt out of town and the phrase “good drivers” takes on a whole new meaning.

At the Thermal Club, it’s not the swoosh of a nicely stroked tee shot that you’ll hear, it’s the roar of a powerful and finely tuned engine. What a private, members-only country club is to golfers, the Thermal Club is to professional and talented amateur race car drivers.

It’s probably the best private motor sports facility in the world. It boasts 4.5 miles of track spread over three different circuits along with an incredible clubhouse and some fantastic private homes. Instead of a home on the third fairway of the Citrus Club, how about a home on the Desert Circuit’s second straightaway? Instead of maybe hitting 20 mph in a golf cart, how about 200 mph in a formula car?

A major addition
Some pretty big news came out of The Thermal Club recently. BMW is coming on board to create a dedicated road course and training facility. It will be called “Performance Center West” and is supposed to open by the end of the year.

It will give non-members a chance to satisfy their need for speed in the Coachella Valley. BMW says it expects to attract as many as 17,000 customers to its facility every year. The course will be 1.4 miles long, occupy 32 acres, and have an 8,500 square-foot performance facility.

Just when you think your neighborhood has everything, a project like this is announced. When you consider the realm of major individual sports – such as golf, tennis, road racing and swimming – there may not be any other place on earth that has as much to offer as we have here in La Quinta, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and the general Palm Springs area.

Mountain View Country Club Golf Course — Mountain View Country Club

Golf Resource Guide
Will we someday have to redo our golf resource guide to include this booming high performance driving facility? Maybe, but in the meantime, if you’re interested in getting some extremely useful information on our golf courses and the real estate that surrounds them, you need to download the free guide.

You’ll get an excellent overview of the area, including specific information on virtually all of the courses. If you want a home at PGA West, Mountain View Country Club, Rancho La Quinta, The Hideaway, The Tradition, and many more, our guide is the best place to start.

We would love to have the chance to answer any of your questions and help get you pointed in the right direction. Maybe one day soon you’ll come by our office and we can take you out to see some homes. Let us do the driving. We won’t hit Thermal Club speeds, but we’ll get you around town quickly and efficiently!

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November 14, 2014

A Small Oasis of Mid-Century Modern Architecture

There can be more than one kind of oasis in the desert. Not long ago we talked about some palm canyon oases tucked away in the creases of the San Jacinto Mountains. They were the life blood of the original inhabitants here and they were certainly a pleasant discovery for the early explorers.

Today some of the “oases” are of the man-made variety and one that comes to mind is the Hotel Lautner up the road in Desert Hot Springs. It’s a beautiful four-room hotel (yes, just four guest rooms) in one of the Coachella Valley’s mid-century modern architectural gems. If you’re up on your noted American architects, you may know the man the hotel is named for, John Lautner.

He was one of the most influential architects who worked primarily in Southern California. Lautner studied under Frank Lloyd Wright and designed some of the details for various Wright homes as well as supervising construction. In 1947 he struck out on his own and that’s the same year he designed the Desert Hot Springs Motel, now Hotel Lautner.

A taste of the early days
A stay in Hotel Lautner or one of the other mid-century modern hotels is one of the best ways to personally experience an earlier era in Palm Springs, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and the greater Coachella Valley. And if you want to really get a feel for modernism in the Palm Springs area, schedule a visit for the yearly “Modernism Week” when there are special tours and programs. It’s set for Feb. 12-22, 2015 and Nov. 1 is when tickets are available.

If the architect you’re most familiar with is Pete Dye, you might want to be in La Quinta a couple of weeks earlier for the Humana Challenge at La Quinta Country Club and PGA West. Formerly called the Bob Hope Classic, virtually all the top golfers in the world will be in town as the 2015 season gets rolling in the “Lower 48.” The tournament runs from Jan. 19-25.

By the way, there’s a direct architectural connection between the Bob Hope Classic and John Lautner. Lautner’s most famous mid-century modern creation in Palm Springs is Bob Hope’s 17,500 square-feet home that was built in 1973.

The season is just right
With fall here and winter just around the corner, a stay at one of La Quinta’s fine hotels is ideal. It’s the perfect time to scout the various golf courses in our area as well as the homes that are on or near them. Imagine purchasing a home on the PGA West courses or at La Quinta Country Club and having such easy access to the tournament.

I’d also like to mention that the fact so many world-class events come to La Quinta and the Coachella Valley is testimony to the excellent infrastructure here, including hotels and restaurants. The big tournaments come in for a week or so, while residents get to enjoy the area all year long.

If you’d like to get an overview of the valley, with the golf courses and the neighboring communities, be sure to download our free Golf Resource Guide. It maps the locations of all the courses, communities and many restaurants. It also includes membership information and relative real estate prices.

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November 7, 2014

An Epic Movie and an Epic Palm Springs Home

Classic movies and local nostalgia recently crossed paths with the 75th anniversary of Gone With the Wind.

If you went out for a movie in the month before the anniversary, you may have seen a trailer for a special two-night screening put on by TCM and Fathom events. It’s really one of those movies that you need to see on the big screen to appreciate and I hope a whole new generation has been introduced to this classic American movie and story.

Okay, by now you may be wondering how this relates to real estate in the Palm Springs area, including La Quinta, Indian Wells and the other local communities, but I assure you it does.

If you would like to have an up-close and personal connection to Gone With the Wind’s male star, you might consider putting in an offer on Clark Gable’s home in Palm Springs – it recently came on the market. And your connection to the Golden Days of Hollywood would stretch even further; Gable built the estate for his wife at the time, Carol Lombard.

Talk about Hollywood royalty!

Gable and golf
As you know, a lot of celebrities have owned and currently own property in the Coachella Valley, so it’s not all that unusual that one comes on the market that has something of a cachet. However, I can’t think of any that top Gable and Lombard.

Gable, by the way, must have enjoyed the golf scene here. Golf was one of many endeavors he truly wanted to master.

“Golf looked so easy to me,” he once related, “so I just bought some clubs and started out. I found out different and so I decided that I would quit fooling and become a real golfer.”

He buckled down, found a pro to teach him and vowed not to hit a course until he was ready. Gable worked at it for eight straight months and when he finally ventured onto the Lakewood course in Los Angeles, he shot an 81!

If you want to take a few strokes off your game, La Quinta is your ideal home base. With our climate you can pursue your passion just about every day of the year. I feel bad for anyone who loves golf and lives in an area where the courses have to close over the winter months.

Live on your favorite course
And the great thing about La Quinta and the neighboring communities is not only do you have dozens of excellent courses within minutes, you can pick one and live next door to it. Some of the great options here include homes at La Quinta Resort, PGA West, The Tradition, Citrus Club and several others.

If you download our free golf course resource guide, you’ll see that there are really too many to list here. The guide gives you a great map of the courses along with the details you need to judge relative prices of memberships as well as real estate.

Once you get a feel for Coachella Valley real estate and golf from our guide, give us a call and we can answer any questions you have. We work hard to keep our clients informed and help them find the ideal home, because unlike Clark Gable’s infamous line in Gone With the Wind, we really care!

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November 3, 2014

La Quinta Real Estate Sales Analysis (Summer, 2014)

The City of La Quinta, year-to-date unit sales for 2014 are 18% lower than 2013. As you can see from the graph below, each month in 2014 has fallen behind the previous year. The second quarter of 2014 was the worst with 28% less sales than the second quarter of 2013. During 2014, we have had a very tight inventory of homes for sale which is a major contributor to the decrease in sales this year.

The summer of 2014, (3rd quarter – July, August and September), was the worst summer quarter for La Quinta since 2007. The quarter that just ended recorded La Quinta sales of 266 homes, a drop of 15% over the same quarter in 2013 (314). Just to keep this in perspective, 2013 was the best year since the “bubble” burst in 2005.

What we have noticed here in the Coachella Valley was that during the late fall of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014 there was a noticeable increase in the number of American buyers and a decrease in Canadian buyers. The number of buyers at that time, coupled with a very low inventory, caused prices to begin to rise substantially in many developments. Toward the beginning of the second quarter, there seemed to be a change in buyer attitude and prices leveled off and even declined slightly. This malaise which has been caused by the tight inventory, and the investors not liking the increase in pricing, has malingered for the rest of the year. We are hoping that after the election and as we enter the selling season, we will see more inventory and then sales again pick up.

This is a graph of the Real Estate “Bubble”. The red line represents the normal historical Real Estate appreciation rate of 4.5%
Here are some yearly sales figures (units) for the City of La Quinta from 2002:
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 – 567
2014 – 1,000 – 474
YTD (Sept)

* 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

October 24, 2014

Stretching Our Legs to Support Our Military and First Responder Heroes

They say that if you play a round of golf and walk, you’ll cover about five miles over the course of 18 holes. If you’re using a cart, you’ll walk about a mile.

So, if you really want to get some great exercise, in addition to the golf and tennis that you will be playing in our beautiful Desert, come to the Coachella Valley the week-end of Oct. 24 and sign up for the annual “Patriot Ride for Our Heroes” in La Quinta. In addition to a great workout, you will be supporting such a good cause.

The second annual event is set for Oct. 24-25 and at Gallaudet Properties we’re proud to have one of our own riding this year: Charles Baughman. October is the perfect month for the event. The weather should be ideal for participants.

Whatever your personal level of fitness might be, the fundraiser offers an event you can handle. Bicycle rides range from 100 miles to just five miles and there are fun walks of one, two and three miles.

It began with an American flag delivery
Patriot Ride for Our Heroes proceeds go to benefit charities that are related to the military, fire departments and police departments. The event got its start back in the fall of 2012 when Tim Esser took a personal ride to Twenty-Nine Palms with several wounded marines to deliver the American flag.

We send our best wishes to all those who participate with a special thank you to Charles who we know will do a great job and finish strong.

Of course, no matter where you ride a bicycle in La Quinta and what Bike Hint gear you use, you’re going to go past a golf course – and probably not just one, but several. And whether you walk the links or ride in a cart, it’s always good exercise and great to get outside.

While we don’t have the 100-mile Patriot Ride for Our Heroes route plotted on our free golf course resource guide, we have just about all the information folks want to know when they’re thinking about purchasing a home in La Quinta, Indian Wells, or the general Palm Springs area.

Membership and property information included
Not only is it a comprehensive map of courses in our area, it includes a detailed membership guide as well as information on the surrounding cities and neighborhoods in terms of relative real estate prices.

If you want to get excellent information on courses such as Mountain View Country Club, Rancho La Quinta, The Citrus Club, The Palms Golf Club, Painted Cove, PGA West, The Hideaway, The Tradition, The Quarry, along with the nearby properties, our guide is the place to start. Of course we’re here to answer any questions you have and set up some showings for you when you’re ready.

And if you’re truly in the mood to get some exercise and take a really close look at the area we call home, maybe we can talk Charles into taking you on a bike ride around La Quinta and the valley. His legs should have recovered by then…

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October 13, 2014

Let’s Get Fresh! Local Farmer’s Markets

Farmer’s markets in communities all across the fruited plain are one of the best developments that we’ve seen over the last decade or so. Being able to buy produce at their peak freshness has been a real boon to home chefs – and to our nutrition.

Most areas have growing seasons that are fairly short, so farmer’s markets come and go pretty quickly. Due to its climate, California is better off than many states and in California, no place is better than the Coachella Valley. In fact, we have excellent farmer’s markets every month of the year.

We’re right next door to the Imperial Valley which is a major agricultural area that’s able to get two full growing seasons in each year! If you live further north, those beautiful domestically grown vegetables you get during the colder months are probably from the Imperial Valley.

Three valley farmer’s markets
La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs each has its own certified organic farmer’s market. You can shop these markets for everything from standard produce to dates, herbs, nuts, cheeses and much more. Generally the farmers are in Palm Springs on Saturdays, La Quinta on Sundays and Palm Desert on Wednesdays, which makes shopping convenient, even when an unexpected need arises.

After spending an afternoon out on one of our golf courses what could be better than enjoying a home-cooked meal in the evening that features fresh, organic and locally grown produce? The only thing that might improve this picture is being able to enjoy the meal out on your back patio or deck – and that’s something you can do here almost all year long.

A bounty of golf courses
And as proud as I am of our bounty of farmer’s markets, the golf course options – and golf course living options – you have in La Quinta, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and the general Palm Springs area are far greater. Also, It’s interesting to note that the same thing that makes this area suitable for enjoying fresh produce virtually year round, is the same thing that makes it perfect for playing golf all year – the climate.

Here in La Quinta, they’ve been holding the farmer’s market in Old Town La Quinta and that’s just minutes away from several great courses, including the Tradition, Rancho La Quinta and PGA West. It’s not difficult to imagine playing a round of golf, stopping by the farmer’s market on the way home and enjoying a great dinner with your family and friends.

Explore properties online
If you want to get a mental picture of what it would be like to enjoy an evening of outdoor dining and entertaining, explore some the golf course community links above and take a short online tour of a few homes in our area. Then to get the larger perspective of courses and communities, download our free guide to Palm Springs area golf clubs. It has all the courses plotted out on a detailed map and also includes a wealth of pricing information, both for real estate and country club memberships.

After that, the only thing left to do is give us a call so we can fill you in on more details about La Quinta real estate, Indian wells real estate and Palm Springs real estate. We can answer all your questions and get some showings set up for you.

One final question: How should I end this article: bon appétit or fore?

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October 7, 2014

You Need to Visit this Real Desert Oasis

The folks who write travel brochures toss around words like “magical” to describe places they would like you to visit. Often these vacation spots are very nice, but “magical” might be stretching it a little.

However, I’m going to confidently step out on a limb here and tell you that the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indian’s Palm Canyon truly lives up to being described as magical. It’s the world’s largest fan palm oasis and walking into it is like stepping into an exotic world all its own.

It’s part of the Indian Canyons on the land of the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians and is tucked in behind Palm Springs. They maintain the area and charge a small fee for admission to the hiking trails. Also in the area are Murray Canyon and Andreas Canyon, which treats visitors to a perennial creek.

Abundant nature
The plant and animal life in these little self-contained ecosystems is abundant, including some rare and threatened species. When you look up to the canyon walls, you see stark walls of red rock, but on the floor of the canyons, there is rich, green plant life. The shade the palms provide along with a source of water, sustained the first inhabitants in this area.

When you visit, you can develop a real appreciation for what life was like before the first European settlers arrived. You’ll also find reminders of when the ancestors of today’s Caliente Cahuilla Indians lived there, including rock art, house pits and foundations, irrigation ditches, dams, reservoirs, trails, and food processing areas.

Imagine yourself to be an early explorer, parched by the dry desert floor, when you discover that hidden away in the rugged mountains is a series of cool, green and even wet oases. Could there have been a more welcome sight?

The good life
Of course, life is quite a bit easier today for the residents in Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells and the general Palm Springs or Coachella Valley area. But it’s always a good idea to remember the roots of the area where you live.

When you have these images filed away in your mind, you’ll probably recall them often when you’re out on one of our golf courses. You can see that many of our courses here are inspired by locations such as Palm Canyon. They make almost artistic use of the dramatic meeting of the rock and sand with the green of native plants.

And while I gave travel brochure writers a bit of a hard time at the beginning of this article, I have to say that there is something magical about being out on a course like The Citrus Club, the Dunes Course at the La Quinta Resort, Rancho La Quinta and many others with a green fairway under your feet, a clear blue sky over head and mountains to your side that display an almost infinitely varied palette of reds and tans.

There’s only one thing better: living alongside such natural and man-made beauty. It’s no mystery why people continue to settle in La Quinta and the Coachella Valley as a whole; this area has the natural beauty, the recreational opportunities and the climate that makes for an ideal home base.

La Quinta real estate information
Take a moment to download our golf course resource guide. It’s really much more. It gives you an idea of relative home prices, country club fees and a listing of area restaurants.

And after you’ll mulled the golf course guide over for a little while, call us or drop us an email so we can answer your questions and help you find your ideal home.

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September 29, 2014

A Slice of San Antonio Coming to La Quinta?

It’s exciting to live in a community where things are happening and that’s the way it feels right now in La Quinta.

It was recently announced that plans for the SilverRock Resort could include a river walk lined with excellent restaurants and retail establishments, similar to the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas.

Developers presented their ideas to the city council here and the public got a chance to see what changes are in store for the home of the Arnold Palmer Classic Course at Silver Rock, which was the site of the Bob Hope Classic from 2008-2011.

For residents and visitors
Locals were pleased to see how the changes are being planned not only for the benefit of visitors, but for local residents as well. I mentioned the river walk above, but that’s just part of the trail system envisioned for the 500-plus acre property. People will be able to walk or ride bikes all throughout the area.

Along with developing the natural aspects of the property, the plans include a second luxury hotel, a conference center, homes, luxury camping facilities, gardens, recreational water activities and much more.

Centered around the Arnold Palmer Classic Course, the project is being developed around a really strong core. The course was in Golf Magazine’s “Top 10 New Golf Courses You Can Play in America” in 2005 and is a consistent award winner, including Zagat America’s “Top Golf Courses Award” three times…so far.

Golf course information
When you download our free golf resource guide, you’ll see that it serves as a Palm Spring country club membership guide by detailing fees and additional information. You’ll find SilverRock in a kind of circle of great La Quinta courses that includes The Tradition, La Quinta Resort, the Citrus and Rancho La Quinta.

Mountain View Country Club Clubhouse — Mountain View Country Club

You’ll also see that this area is blessed with many great restaurants. Residents certainly don’t waste a lot of time in their vehicles when they live in La Quinta. The same is true for Indian Wells and Palm Springs real estate in general.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait to play the Arnold Palmer Classic Course. It’s open to the public and in beautiful shape right now. Just call for a tee time. In the same way, there are fantastic homes available in the area right now as well.

Flexible searches
Use the search feature on our site to begin your hunt. You can enter all kinds of search terms, such as the name of the golf course or community you’re most interested in. Try terms like Mountain View Country Club, PGA West, Rancho La Quinta, The Citrus Club, The Hideaway, The Tradition or others to get some good ideas.

When you need more information, we’re ready to help out. We can answer your questions, offer insights that you can’t get with online searches and get you out to see some properties.

Give us a call and share in the excitement!

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September 25, 2014

La Quinta: Coffee, Wine and Golf Mecca

See what you think about this description:

“You’ll enjoy its medium body and low acidity. It’s well balanced, somewhat woody with herbal undertones and a long finish.”

Okay, what am I describing with that? If you guessed wine, you’re mostly right. If you guess coffee you’re mostly right too. Really, I just randomly picked some words and phrases commonly used to describe both drinks and it turns out there’s quite a lot of overlap in the terminology connoisseurs use describe wine and coffee. I go to Crema.co, to get my coffee delivered to me weekly. I love their service and have yet to be disappointed.

Morgan's in the Desert — Morgan’s in the Desert

We’ve discussed food in La Quinta and the greater Coachella Valley here before and when you download our golf resource guide, you’ll quickly notice that it’s also a good guide to local restaurants. I want to go back to that topic today, but with a twist; we’re going to look at two very interesting and top quality establishments, one that is noted for its wines and the other for its coffee beverages.

And the winner is…
If you have a serious interest in wines, you’re probably familiar with the Wine Spectator. It seems to be the semi-official arbiter for anything having to do with wines, at least in the United States. The magazine has once again given Morgan’s in The Desert its “Restaurant Wine List Award of Excellence.” The restaurant is located at La Quinta Resort and Club.

The award recognizes how Chef Jimmy Schmidt is able to offer wines that pair beautifully with his creations as well as satisfy a wide variety of wine lovers. If you follow the restaurant throughout the year, you’ll see that Chef Schmidt often pursues seasonal themes that highlight the restaurant’s 3,000-bottle wine collection.

And speaking of exceptional drinks, let’s turn our attention to a new coffee drink that you can enjoy at Juicy Juicy in Bermuda Dunes: “bulletproof coffee.” It’s becoming popular for its incredibly smooth texture and perceived health benefits – however, be warned, this is not a low-calorie drink.

A frothy coffee drink
The three basic ingredients are premium coffee (two cups) made from freshly ground beans, butter from grass-fed cows (2 tablespoons or more), and a top-quality oil such as coconut or MCT (1-2 tablespoons). It’s all tossed in a blender and whirled it until it gets frothy and smooth.

Why butter from grass-fed cows? Unlike butter from grain-fed cows, grass-fed cows produce butter rich in omega-3, which our bodies need. “Your body runs off of that omega-3 oil throughout the day, and when that energy runs out, it’s just your own energy kicking in,” Juicy Juicy owner Karen Levreri recently explained to the Desert Sun.

Here’s a plan…
Now that we’re all craving something to drink, let me suggest this: the next time you visit the desert looking at real estate in La Quinta, Indian Wells or the general Palm Springs area, treat yourself to at least one “bulletproof coffee” to keep you going strong throughout the day and then enjoy a relaxing meal with a great bottle of wine at Morgan’s in The Desert in the evening.

It’s the perfect way to end a day of real estate shopping or golfing at La Quinta Resort, or any of the other courses in our area, don’t you think?

One final word: Don’t forget to press the button at the bottom of the page to get your free Palm Springs golf guide. It has the courses all mapped out and even gives you the information you need for Palm Springs country club memberships.

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September 24, 2014

July, 2014 Sales Analysis

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 July, 2014.

The inventory of “Active Listings” in the Coachella Valley decreased again from June to May which is usual as we enter the summer season. The number of Sold units decreased over the same period last year (July, 2013) which is the trend for the summer months. The main reason is that the inventory has decreased in June and July. The pace at which real estate prices increased in the October to January period seemed to slow to a more normal rate in February through July. The price rise slowed as did the home sales. The activity in the million dollar+ market seems to have picked up but prices have not increased as much as they have for the under a million dollar homes. The national real estate market been a little fluky over a leveling off in the late spring where the national sales actually dropped in August. Our market in the Desert usually slows during our hot summer months and the blogs and statisticians are still predicting a strong national 2015 market so we are looking forward to a great 2015 season.

Below is the chart depicting the “bubble” in sales versus the historical 4.5% annual appreciation. As predicted by the National Association of Realtors back in 2005. It will be interesting to see how close the actual sales prices stay to the “Normal Appreciation” line in the coming months. One of the reasons for the recent price increases is that we have seen more American buyers in the market than in the past few years which is a sign that our economic outlook seems to be improving.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) for the City of La Quinta from 2002:
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 – 567
2014 – 924 – 450
YTD
* 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