February 2012 Real Estate 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 through February, 2012.


City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010, green lines represent 2011 data and the purple lines represent 2012 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta on February 29th increased over the previous month by 17.3%. This increase can be explained by the increase in unit sales activity for the month of February over January, decreasing the inventory. The number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties increased by 22.9% over the previous month while that demographics unit sales also increased. This increase in sales is allowing the valley’s inventory to shrink slightly decreasing the supply during an increased demand helps offset the overall market pricing over the lower priced short sales and bank owned properties.

The number of unit sales within the City increased in February over January but did not outpace February sales from last year. It appears that March sales will be the strongest single month since we started tracking these numbers in 2008.

The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at high levels but the banks are improving their ability to handle these transactions and beginning to figure these transactions out. Most lenders seem to be dealing more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although short sales and/or foreclosures can still be a challenge and they are still affecting the prices in the entire market.

Closed home sales in La Quinta in February showed a 20.6% increase from the month of January. This increase, as you can see in the charts below, is an annual trend attributed to the beginning of our “season”.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) increased 37.1% in February over January. The average price per square foot decreased 11.8% in February over January. This shows the affect of more short sales and bank owned “deals”.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place and the media continues to be encouraged. We are anticipating a strong season and a good year ahead.

The mortgage industry is the best it’s been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market.

Coachella Valley Inventory: On February 29, there were 5,199 active listings (down 5.0% from January), 2,720 units were in escrow (up 14.7% from January) totaling 7,919 units (up 0.9% from January) available for sale which makes 34.35% of the total in Escrow (up 13.7% from January) –This trend is an indicator of increasing home sales for the month of March. If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 1,446 520
2012 YTD 225 83

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

 

 

January 2012 Real Estate 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 through January, 2012.

City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010, green lines represent 2011 data and the purple lines represent 2012 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta on January 31st increased over the previous month by 17.9%. This increase can be explained by the decrease in unit sales for the month of January over December, increasing the inventory. The number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties increased by 10.3% over the previous month while that demographics unit sales decreased. This decrease in sales is allowing the valley’s inventory to grow slightly and helps stabilize the market pricing.

The number of unit sales within the City were less than December but were the strongest “January” since before 2008. This strong January will hopefully be the beginning of a strong season.

The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at high levels and, athough the banks are very slowly beginning to figure these transactions out, most lenders seem to be dealing more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although short sales and/or foreclosures can still be a challenge and they are still affecting the prices in the entire market. Closed home sales in La Quinta in January showed a 25.5% decrease from the month of December. This decrease, as you can see in the charts below, is an annual trend attributed to the beginning of our “season”.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) decreased 32.7% in January over December. The average price per square foot decreased 2.8% in January over December. This shows the affect of fewer short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of the summer sales.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place and the media continues to be encouraged. We are anticipating a strong season and a good year ahead.

The mortgage industry is the best it’s been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On January 31, there were 5,475 active listings (up 0.6% from December), 2,371 units were in escrow (up 14.1% from December) totaling 7,846 units (up 4.4% from December) available for sale which makes 30.22% of the total in Escrow (up 9.3% from December) –This trend is an indicator of increasing home sales for the month of January.

If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 1,446 520
2012 YTD 102 35

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

December 2011 Real Estate 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 through December, 2011.


City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta on December 31st decreased over the previous month by 13.3%. This decrease can be explained by the 50.5% increase in unit sales for the month of December reducing the inventory. The number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties decreased by 8.1% over the previous month while that demographics unit sales increased by 62.5%. This increase in sales is depleating the valley’s inventory and stabilizing the market pricing.

The number of unit sales within the City were the strongest since June and were the strongest “December” since before 2008. The unit sales in 2011 are the strongest since 2008 showing a 26.5% increase.

The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at high levels and, athough the banks are very slowly beginning to figure these transactions out, most lenders seem to be dealing more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although short sales and/or foreclosures can still be a challenge and they are still affecting the prices in the entire market.

Closed home sales in La Quinta in December showed a 50.5% increase over November. This increase, as you can see in the charts below, is an annual trend attributed to the beginning of our “season”.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) increased 33.3% in December over November. The average price per square foot increased 30.4% in December over November. This shows the affect of fewer short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of the summer sales.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place and even the media seems to be encouraged. We are anticipating a strong season and a good year ahead.

The mortgage industry is the best it’s been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On December 31, there were 5,440 active listings (down 1.4% from November), 2,078 units were in escrow (down 13.5% from November) totaling 7,518 units (down 5.1% from November) available for sale which makes 27.64% of the total in Escrow (down 8.9% from November) –This trend is an indicator of increasing home sales.
If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 1,446 520

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

November 2011 Real Estate 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 through November, 2011.

Unit sales in La Quinta, California
City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta in November again increased over the previous month by 14.9% while the number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties increased by 52.4% over the previous month. This is expected as we start to see activity pick up as we move into our “season”.

The number of unit sales within the City has remained strong although the 13.7% increase over October did not surpass the sales of November, 2010. YTD unit sales in 2011 have been the strongest since 2008.

The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at higher levels then in the past and this is affecting the prices in the entire market.

Closed home sales in La Quinta in October showed a 13.7% increase over October. This increase is attributed to the beginning of our “season”.

The slightly increasing mortgage interest rates may add some urgency to our industry. Remember that although you “may” get a home at a lower price if you wait, the mortgage interest rate will likely be higher so the purchase will wind up costing you more over time.

Golf Course property sales in La Quinta, California
Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) increased 33.3% in November over October. The average price per square foot increased 30.4% in November over October. This shows the affect of fewer short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of the summer sales.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. Although not earth shaking, unit sales through the “Summer” months have been stronger than any “summer” since 2008 as has been the year.

The mortgage industry is the best it’s ever been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market. Most lenders seem to be trying to deal more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although dealing with a short sale of foreclosure can still be a challenge.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On November 30, there were 5,517 active listings (up 4.0% from October), 2,402 units were in escrow (up 5.6% from October) totaling 7,919 units (up 4.5% from October) available for sale which makes 30.33% of the total in Escrow (up 1.0% from October) –This trend is an indicator of homes coming on the market for the  season ahead.

If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 1,308 468

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

October 2011 Real Estate 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 through October, 2011.


City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*
The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta
lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta in October increased over the previous month by 8.8% while the number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties increased by 26.1% over the previous month. This being the end of “summer”, the expected downturn should start to turn around and we should start to see activity pick up as we move into our “season”.

The number of unit sales within the City has remained stronger through the summer months then in years past but declined in October. The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at higher levels then in the past and this is affecting the entire market.

Closed home sales in La Quinta in October showed a 29.2% decrease over September. This could well be attributed to the unusually high sales in the hot, summer months.

The slightly increasing mortgage interest rates may add some urgency to our industry. Remember that although you “may” get a home at a lower price if you wait, the mortgage interest rate will likely be higher so the purchase will wind up costing you more over time.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) decreased 34.4% in October over September. The average price per square foot decreased 16.6% in October over September. This shows the affect of the short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of those sales.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. Although not earth shaking, unit sales through the “Summer” months have been stronger than any “summer” since 2008.

The mortgage industry is the best it’s ever been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market. Most lenders seem to be trying to deal more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although dealing with a short sale of foreclosure can still be a challenge.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On October 31, there were 5,303 active listings (up 5.2% from September), 2,275 units in escrow (up 1.7% from September) totaling 7,578 units (up 4.1% from September) available for sale which makes 30.02% of the total in Escrow (up 2.3% from September) – the reversal of this trend is an indicator of homes coming on the market for the new season ahead.

If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 1,215 429

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

September 2011 Price Report

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 through September, 2011.


City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.

Open escrows in La Quinta in September decreased over the previous month by 18.2% while the number of escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties decreased by 25.8% from the previous month. This being the third “summer” month, the downturn is expected and sales most likely will start to rebound in October. The number of unit sales within the City has remained stronger through the summer months then in years past. The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at higher levels then in the past and this is affecting the entire market.

Closed home sales in La Quinta in September showed a 9.6% decrease over August.  We feel that although the general attitude of the majority of people we talk to is that the market has hit the bottom, we are beginning to hear some folks say they’re going to wait a little longer which is representative of the malaise in the consumer confidence level. The slightly increasing mortgage interest rates may add some urgency to our industry. Remember that although you “may” get a home at a lower price if you wait, the mortgage interest rate will likely be higher so the purchase will wind up costing you more over time.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) decreased 8.3% in September over August. The average price per square foot decreased 3.5% in September over August. This shows the affect of the short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of those sales.

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. Although not earth shaking, unit sales through the “Summer” months have been stronger than any “summer” since 2008. The mortgage industry is the best it’s ever been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market. Most lenders seem to be trying to deal more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although dealing with a short sale of foreclosure can still be a challenge.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On September 30, there were 5,042 active listings (up 1.7% from August), 2,237 units in escrow (down 4.4% from August) totaling 7,279 units (down 0.2% from August) available for sale which makes 30.73% of the total in Escrow (down 4.2% from August) – which means we are working on reducing the supply which will ultimately increase demand and improve the market.
If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 1,133 412

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

Foreclosures down in Coachella Valley

Foreclosures were down in September in the Coachella Valley.  That is according to the Desert Sun, Oct. 14, 2011.  click here to view article .    This is a very interesting article.  I wonder if the foreclosures are down because more people are doing short sales, and perhaps those are not included in the number?   I will say that last season in La Quinta we sold many homes, in all price ranges,  due to the pricing decline.  The sales decreased the  inventory substantially.  During the summer months (which are always slow in the desert) the inventory was not built back up.  People don’t want to put their homes on the market during the summer months if they don’t have to because it is so hot and it is believed (whether right or wrong) that the buyers that come in the summer are “bottom feeders”, out to negotiate lower than the market values.  Now that the Golf Courses are being reseeded and the flowers are being planted and the winter snowbirds are returning, the inventory is slowly beginning to build again—-and at those same low prices.  Regardless of whether we see more or less foreclosures than in prior years, my feeling is that we will continue to see the buyers in the desert because the prices are so incredibly in the buyers favor.  The only problem may be that there will not be the number of homes available that there were in the past.  I would say to any “would be buyer” that now is definitely the time to buy! Don’t wait too much longer or you may have waited yourself out of good inventory!

August 2011 Price Report

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 through August, 2011.

City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.
Open escrows in La Quinta in August decreased overall by 6.7% while the number of Escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties decreased by 10.1%. This being the second “summer” month, the downturn is expected and sales most likely will continue to decline through September. The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at higher levels then in the past and this is affecting the entire market. Remember that although you “may” get a home at a lower price if you wait, the mortgage interest rate will likely be higher so the purchase will wind up costing you more over time.
Closed home sales in La Quinta in August showed a 9.8% increase over July making August the best August in the past 4 years. Although the general attitude of the majority of people we talk to is that the market has hit the bottom but we are beginning to hear some folks say they’re going to wait a little longer. The slightly increasing mortgage interest rates may add some urgency to our industry.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) decreased 10.5% in August over July. The average price per square foot decreased 8.9% in August over July. This shows the affect of the short sales and bank owned “deals” that made up a lot of those sales.
Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. There has been a steady increase in activity through June. The mortgage industry is the best it’s ever been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market. Most lenders seem to be trying to deal more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although dealing with a short sale of foreclosure can still be a challenge.
Coachella Valley Inventory:
On August 31, there were 4,956 active listings (down 2.8% from July), 2,341 units in escrow (down 2.0% from July) totaling 7,297 units (down 2.6% from July) available for sale which makes 32.08% of the total in Escrow (Up 0.17% from July) – which means we are working on reducing the supply which will ultimately increase demand and improve the market.
If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 1,014 376

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

July 2011 Price Report

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 through July, 2011.


City of La Quinta home sales by month since January, 2008*

The blue lines represent 2008 data, the orange lines represent 2009 data magenta lines represent 2010 and the green lines represent 2011 data.

Open escrows in July decreased overall by 5.7% while the number of Escrows for the more expensive Golf Properties decreased by 1.4%. Since this is the first “summer” month the slight downturn is expected and sales most likely will continue to decline through August and September. The number of “short sales” and “bank owned” properties being offered at reduced prices seem to be remaining at higher levels then in the past and this is affecting the entire market. Remember that although you “may” get a home at a lower price if you wait, the mortgage interest rate will likely be higher so the purchase will wind up costing you more over time.

Closed home sales in July showed a 27.0% decrease over June making July slightly lower than July 2010. Although the general attitude of the majority of people we talk to is that the market has hit the bottom but we are beginning to hear some folks saying they’re going to wait a little longer. The slightly increasing mortgage interest rates may add some urgency to our industry.


Golf Course home sales in La Quinta.

The sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) decreased 27.0% in July. However the average price per square foot increased 7.3% in July over June..

Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. There has been a steady increase in activity through June. The mortgage industry is the best it’s ever been for conventional loans but the “jumbo” loans, although becoming more available, continue to be a stumbling block in the higher end market. Most lenders seem to be trying to deal more efficiently with the inventory of distressed properties although dealing with a short sale of foreclosure can still be a challenge.

Coachella Valley Inventory:
On July 31, there were 5,099 active listings (down 4.1% from June), 2,390 units in escrow (down 3.9% from June) totaling 7,489 units (down 4.0% from June) available for sale which makes 31.91% of the total in Escrow (Up 0.06% from June) – which means we are working on reducing the supply which will ultimately increase demand and improve the market.
If buying property is something on your list (especially golf property), 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.

Here are some yearly sales figures (units) 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 1,155 418
2010 1,355 530
2011 YTD 890 341

* 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.

Source: DesertAreaMLS

Categories: Business of Real Estate, Golf, La Quinta Communities, Monthly Sales Reports, Price Analysis
Tags: City of La Quinta, coachella valley golf, Gallaudet Properties, HK Lane Real Estate, la quinta, la quinta golf, la quinta golf property, la quinta home sales, la quinta real estate, sale report

The Canadians are coming…

… And that’s a good thing. WestJet, the Calgary, Alberta based airline, has added another route to Palm Springs for the upcoming winter season. Winnipeg has been added to the existing routes of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. The flights will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays. To read the press release in the Desert Sun, click here.