Our October 2020 Coachella Valley real estate market recap runs down the overarching trends to watch, comparing the year-over-year and monthly numbers to identify a clear direction of where the market is headed. After one of the busiest summers on record, the real estate market continued its strong pace into the fall months. It is important to note that our market reports contain numbers and analysis that are representative of the entire Coachella Valley. If you are interested in learning more about the market conditions of a specific city, community, or neighborhood, please connect with your local Bennion Deville Homes real estate professional. We look forward to unlocking possibilities for you.

The desert real estate market kept up strong numbers in October, with improvements in virtually every meaningful category we track. As demand for desert living stays high, and the desert season is officially upon us, there is growing competition for homes in the market. Coupled with still historically low inventory levels, this unbalanced shift heavily favors sellers. Despite these conditions, the market saw more deals close in October than September and significantly more activity than last year. The average price stayed relatively stable month-to-month, with a slight dip, and a huge jump over October 2019. The sales pace, noted as days on market, dropped significantly, meaning homes sold faster. Additionally, sellers got closer to their asking price, indicated by a shallower listing discount (noted as sold price versus list price). The inventory level remains at a razor-thin 1.8 months to sustain demand. As reported previously, we are curious to see how the desert season affects inventory levels as there could be homeowners who wish to cash in on any built-up equity. The other piece to monitor is the progression of the coronavirus and any further impact it has on both migration trends out of cities, and on the flip side, part-time residents who may wish to offload their desert home due to uncertainty around travel. Needless to say, the months ahead bear a trove of interesting elements to monitor. Regardless, those homeowners who are on the fence about selling should heavily consider making their move now while the market maintains strong demand and a large pool of interested buyers.

In October the desert saw 1,093 homes change owners, a 48.9% increase year-over-year and a 3% bump from September of this year. Those sales accounted for an 84.7% leap from last October and a 0.2% swell from the previous month, with the final sales volume coming in at $638,031,000. The average sale price of a home ended the month at $583,700, a 24.1% increase year-over-year and a 2.7% drop from the prior month. Likewise, the average price per square foot of a Coachella Valley home finished at $269.50, a 12.7% increase over October 2019 and a 2.9% decrease from September. The average days on market, or sales pace, clocked in at 67.5 days on average to sell a home, a 15.1% decline (faster pace) than the same period last year and 9.2% drop from last month. The listing discount, noted as sold price versus list price, finished at 98.1% (a 1.9% discount), which represents a 1.1% increase year-over-year and a 0.2% bump from last month. The market finished with 1,970 homes for sale, a 34.6% decline from last year and a 0.4% increase from last month. Overall, there is a 1.8-month supply of homes for sale, a 56.1% drop from last year and a 5.3% decrease from September of this year. A 6-month supply is considered a balanced market, indicating the market heavily favors sellers as demand far outweighs supply.