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, 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.
Although, January marks the second straight month of declining sales numbers, we continue to see a marked improvement in consumer confidence and an increase in interest in the “over $1 million” market. Open escrows in January increased overall by 4.2% while the more expensive Golf Properties increased by 14.7% after a decline in December. I believe that as the economic recovery gathers momentum, buyers are aware that Interest rates will also start to increase which makes “now” a great time to buy a home. Closings in December and January made those two of the best months that Gallaudet Properties has ever had and February looks good too! The general attitude of the people we talk to at open houses is that the market has hit the bottom and that is backed up by current prices versus historical appreciation. Also, the slight increase in mortgage interest rates may have added some urgency to our industry.
Golf Course home sales in La Quinta
Like the overall sales numbers above, the sales-volume numbers in the higher-end market (which contains many of the golf properties in the chart above) also declined in January. The average price per square foot remained unchanged in January over December.
Overall, we are still seeing positive signs in the market place. There has been a steady increase in activity since Labor Day and more noticeably since the beginning of November. 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.
La Quinta Inventory:
On January 31, there were 7,153 active listings, 2,247 units in escrow totaling 9,399 units available for sale which makes 23.91% of the total in Escrow.
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 | 86 | 29 |