Market of The Moment 8/19/20

Palm Springs and, in general, all our Coachella Valley desert cities are seeing a SURGE in home buyers. It's truly a tale of two markets*. Properties over six hundred thousand are frequently seeing multiple offers. If it has that city-slicker-HOUZZ-sex-appeal, it's sold within a day or so. Often, buyers are not even visiting these properties. Meanwhile, condos under 250k are languishing on the market and dropping their prices. There are two things to consider here. FIRST, if you're thinking about retiring to The Coachella Valley at some point within the next five years, you may want to see if buying today is an option. While we may see our prices cool after they continue to rise, they're unlikely to crash. (BTW, Rancho Mirage is still not at the high-water mark of 2006 prices, but that is narrowing quickly.) Buyers must put at LEAST 20 percent down, but frequently people are using larger down payments or paying cash. (It makes sense if you're selling another home and, as a retiree, want a lower or no monthly nut.) If prices soften, in the future, most of these folks will just wait it out, thereby reducing inventory and sustaining stable prices at an elevated plateau. (I was in San Francisco when Lehman Brothers crashed in September of 2007, and this is exactly what happened with pricey homes.) SECOND, if you want to diversify your investment portfolio, consider buying condos under $200,000 that need some cosmetic improvement. There are two available now that will can be cash flow positive with a 20% down. It will be a modest cashflow, but held for 20 years and the model reflects a 10+ percent return on your investment, not including the depreciation value. That's very good compared to an unstable stock market and pitiful "safe" money returns of bonds. Plus, you're adding to the rental housing stock when you buy a condo that was primarily used as second home. We are a service economy and service workers need the decent housing individual property owners provide. (Generally speaking, large, corporate operations aren't very nice.)

One of these two properties I have in mind is another agent's listing, and one of them is mine. (It will launch this week or early next.) Feel free to reach out to me if you want more details on either. And, for the love of God, if you're thinking about the desert as your future home, let's have a conversation. I have clients that I speak to regularly that know they won't be here for years to come. I love what I do because it makes housing dreams come real. With that, I enjoy sharing my professional experience. 🏠

*Properties between 250K and 600k are more stable and swing towards both ends of the spectrum. Oddly, sellers in this range seem to be reaching beyond what the market wants to offer. It could be argued this is a third market, but since it breaks both ways, I really see it as two.

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Palm Springs real estate, and the whole Coachella Valley real estate market, is a dynamic lifestyle destination. We have golf course homes and non-golf course homes; homes with mountain views, lake views, and desert views; and manufactured home parks, condos, townhomes, single-family homes! These are on two types of land: fee and leased, the latter of which is sometimes called "Indian Land" or "Tribal Land." Home loans are available on virtually all properties, though terms will vary. If you're looking for a Palm Springs Realtor, never hesitate to call me for more information or to discuss you specific needs.