Official Visitor Center for Palm Springs, California

The Desert Housing Report

All The Coachella Valley
Bermuda Dunes
Cathedral City
Coachella
Desert Hot Springs
Indian Wells
Indio
La Quinta
Palm Desert
Palm Springs
Rancho Mirage
Thousand Palms

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Summary

PRICES: The median price of a detached home in the Coachella Valley ended the month at $685,000, which is up 1.5% year
over year. The median attached price surged $20,000 in April to end at $480,000. This is the second month of strong price
growth with the current price only 2% below last May’s record price of $491,000. Every city but Desert Hot Springs has a
year over year price decline in its average size detached home. Price setbacks in the cities of La Quinta, Indio and Palm
Desert range from minus 2.2% to minus 5%. The largest declines are in the high-end cities of Indian Wells and Palm
Springs. Prices in the attached market remain relatively stable.
SALES: The three-month average of sales rose 120 units to 665 units a month from 545 last month. Most of this is seasonal
and we expect the average to continue to increase for another month. The 12-month average of sales, which takes out
seasonality, shows total sales averaged 601 units a month. This is the 21st consecutive monthly decline. The largest
percentage declines in sales were in Cathedral City, down 50%, followed by Desert Hot Springs, down 47%, and Indio, down
36%. The cities of Coachella and Palm Desert continue to have the smallest percentage decline of 18% and 22%
respectively.
INVENTORY & “MONTHS OF SALES” RATIOS: On May 1
st
, Valley inventory was 1,876 units, which is 100 units less than last
month but 1,017 units greater than last year. The primary reason inventory isn’t growing in this low sales environment is
that monthly new listings continue to remain near historic lows. On May 1, the Valley’s “months of sales” ratio was 3.1
months, which is slightly less than last month. This fundamental ratio, which measures supply versus demand, is slightly
less than historic averages for this time of year. DIM: The average selling time in the region continues to increase. At the end of April, the median number of “days in the
market” in the Coachella Valley was 48 days, which is the same as last month but 27 days more than last year. This ratio
remains under its pre-pandemic average of 65 days.
PRICE DISCOUNTS/PREMIUMS: In April, 15.2% of sales sold above list price compared to 55.9% a year ago. Every city has
an average selling discount for detached homes, which range from 0.0% for Coachella to 3.5% for La Quinta. Attached
homes range from average discounts of 1.6% in Cathedral City to 4.6% in Bermuda Dunes.
The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Coachella Valley Median Detached Price

The median price of a detached home in the Coachella Valley ended the month at $685,000, up 1.5% year over year. As
the graph shows we are holding the price gains of the last few months, with the current price only 3% below the peak of
$710,000 nine months ago. However, we are coming to the end of the strong seasonal period and expect upward
pressure on detached home prices to relax somewhat.

Median Price Coachella Valley Median Detached Home Price

Detached 5.5%
Jan 2002 – April 2023

Coachella Valley Median Attached Price

The median attached price surged $20,000 in April to end at $480,000. This is the second month of strong price growth
with the current price only 2% below last May’s record price of $491,000. This chart, plus the chart on the previous
page, confirms to us that homeowner worry of large price declines is somewhat misplaced. In fact, we see the
opposite. We see supply and demand somewhat balanced. While demand is slowing, so is supply, keeping prices
relatively stable.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

$479,450 $480,000

$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000
$350,000
$400,000
$450,000
$500,000
$550,000
Median Price

Coachella Valley Median Attached Price

CV Median Attached Price 4.5%
Jan 2002 – April 2023

12 Month Change in The Price of The Average Size Home

These two tables display the price and price per square foot of the average size home in each city. The size of each home is listed
in the second column. The latest price is then compared to the price a year ago, and to the all-time lows that occurred in 2011 and
2012. Every city but Desert Hot Springs has a year over year price decline in its average size detached home. Price declines in the
cities of La Quinta, Indio and Palm Desert range from minus 2.2% to minus 5%. The largest declines are in the high-end cities of
Indian Wells and Palm Springs. Prices in the attached home market remain relatively stable.
The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

City Avg. Size
Home
Pr. per
sq/ft
Price of Avg.
Size Home

Price One
Year Ago

12 Month
Change

2011-12
Price Low
% From
Low
Desert Hot Springs 750 $194.69 $146,018 $118,147 23.6% $16,013 812%
Indian Wells 1,950 $387.11 $754,869 $644,974 17.0% $259,126 191%
Cathedral City 1,250 $285.51 $356,881 $317,658 12.3% $80,544 343%
Palm Springs 1,250 $370.88 $463,599 $455,418 1.8% $129,788 257%
Rancho Mirage 1,775 $327.19 $580,756 $579,648 0.2% $211,030 175%
Bermuda Dunes 1,450 $276.04 $400,260 $400,260 0.0% $89,117 349%
La Quinta 1,750 $391.30 $684,783 $689,020 -0.6% $247,713 176%
Palm Desert 1,600 $328.57 $525,706 $543,182 -3.2% $197,896 166%
Indio 1,050 $270.79 $284,331 $301,360 -5.7% $56,396 404%

Price of The Average Size Attached Home

City Avg. Size
Home
Pr. per
sq/ft
Price of Avg.
Size Home

Price One
Year Ago

12 Month
Change

2011-12
Price Low
% From
Low
Desert Hot Springs 1,600 $257.41 $411,864 $396,799 3.8% $86,656 375.3%
Cathedral City 1,800 $313.38 $564,077 $568,134 -0.7% $153,216 268.2%
La Quinta 2,550 $385.05 $981,888 $1,004,001 -2.2% $318,164 208.6%
Indio 2,000 $278.81 $557,616 $581,731 -4.1% $156,340 256.7%
Palm Desert 2,200 $339.94 $747,861 $787,600 -5.0% $302,302 147.4%
Rancho Mirage 3,175 $418.09 $1,327,451 $1,415,364 -6.2% $506,317 162.2%
Coachella 1,700 $239.41 $406,993 $447,059 -9.0% $111,367 265.5%
Bermuda Dunes 2,500 $303.74 $759,346 $835,412 -9.1% $239,325 217.3%
Indian Wells 3,450 $449.08 $1,549,341 $1,715,061 -9.7% $666,885 132.3%
Palm Springs 2,175 $582.27 $1,266,427 $1,408,084 -10.1% $323,879 291.0%

Price of The Average Size Detached Home in Each City

Monthly Sales – 3-month trailing avg.

The three-month average of sales rose 120 units to 665 units a month from 545. Most of this is seasonal and we expect
the average to continue to increase for another month. We’ve marked April sales numbers before the pandemic and
they averaged 868 units per month, so even though sales are up they’re still running 23% below average. This, however,
is a slight improvement since they had been running 30% below past averages.
The Desert Housing Report

 

Apr-18 Oct-18 Apr-19 Oct-19 Apr-20 Oct-20 Apr-21 Oct-21 Apr-22 Oct-22 Apr-23
Units per month

Detached, Attached and Total Sales
3 month moving average

Total Sales Attached Sales SFR

Monthly Sales – 12-month trailing avg.

The 12-month average of sales, which takes out seasonality, shows total sales averaged 601 units a month. This is the
21st consecutive monthly decline. This metric shows that long term sales are running below pre-pandemic sales average
of 800 units a month by about 25%, which matches the three-month calculation on the previous page. Since long-term
sales lag short-term sales, we expect this metric to stop its decline and begin to level off.
The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

931

601

276

190

655

411

0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200

Apr-18 Oct-18 Apr-19 Oct-19 Apr-20 Oct-20 Apr-21 Oct-21 Apr-22 Oct-22 Apr-23
Units per Month

Detached, Attached and Total Sales

12 month moving average

Total Sales Attached Sales SFR

Home Sales by City

Every city continues to have lower three-month average sales compared to last year. This shows that the sales decline is
broad based throughout the region. The largest percentage declines in sales were in Cathedral City, down 50%, followed
by Desert Hot Springs, down 47% and Indio, down 36%. The cities of Coachella and Palm Desert continue to have the
smallest percentage decline of 18% and 22% respectively.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

10

39

14

37

22
83

103

163

127

65

2

15

79

17
71

32
131

148

209

185

92

3

0
50
100
150
200
250

BERMUDA
DUNES
CATHEDRAL
CITY
COACHELLA DESERT HOT
SPRINGS
INDIAN WELLS INDIO LA QUINTA PALM DESERT PALM
SPRINGS

RANCHO
MIRAGE
THOUSAND
PALMS

Units per Month

Home Sales by City
3 month avg sales

April 2023 Year Ago

Home Sales by Price Range

While every price bracket shows a sales decline, the largest declines continue to be in homes priced between $400k and
$700k. Sales of million-dollar homes have improved and are now down only 33%, while homes priced from $900k to $1m
are down 25%, which is slightly better than last month. To show how much price have increased over the last three years,
in April of 2018 seventy-seven homes sold for over a million dollars. This April 145 homes sold for more than a million.
This increase in sales is due solely because more homes are now priced over a million dollars.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

7

31

81

112

95

72

61

35

26

145

14

43

103

171

149

117

74

58

35

217

0
50
100
150
200

< $200K $200-300K $300-400K $400-500K $500-600K $600-700K $700-800K $800-900K $900-1M >$1M Units per Month

Home Sales by Price Range

3 mos avg

Avg Sales Last Three Months Same Time Last Year

Coachella Valley Total Inventory

On May 1
st
, Valley inventory was 1,876 units, which is 100 units less than last month but 1,017 units greater than last
year. The primary reason inventory isn’t growing much in this low sales environment is that monthly new listings
continue to remain near historic lows. If the Valley’s seasonal pattern continues, it’s expected that inventory will
continue to contract as we move into summer.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

3,622

3,643

2,982

710

859

1,876

0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500

May-18 Nov-18 May-19 Nov-19 May-20 Nov-20 May-21 Nov-21 May-22 Nov-22 May-23 Units

Valley Housing Inventory

Regional “Months of Sales” Ratio

On May 1
st
, the Valley’s “months of sales” ratio was 3.1 months, which is slightly less than last month. This fundamental
ratio, which measures supply versus demand, is slightly below the historic averages for this time of year. This means that,
even though sales are down, there continues to be a balance between buyers and sellers. As we mentioned earlier, this
balance of supply with demand is helping homes maintain the large price gains of the last two years.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

0.9

3.1

0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0

May-18 Nov-18 May-19 Nov-19 May-20 Nov-20 May-21 Nov-21 May-22 Nov-22 May-23 Months

“Months of Sales” Ratio
Coachella Valley
May 1st 2018 – May 1st 2023

Inventory/avg 12 month sales

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

“Months of Sales” by Price Range

This chart displays the current “months of sales” ratio by price bracket compared to last year. Blue bars are current ratios
and orange bars are the ratios for last year. The ratio in every price bracket continues to far exceed year ago levels. They
all remain relatively close to the same value of three months. To us, this means that the expected price stability should
exist throughout the entire range of home prices.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

1.6 1.6

2.2

2.7

3.0

3.2

3.3

2.9

3.2

4.6

0.2 0.3

0.4 0.5

0.9 0.9

1.2 1.3

1.5

1.9

0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0

< $200K $200-300K $300-400K $400-500K $500-600K $600-700K $700-800K $800-900K $900-1M >$1M Months

“Months of Sales” by Price Range
uses avg. twelve month sales

May 1st 2023 Last Year

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

“Months of Sales” by City

This graph compares current “months of sales” ratios in each city to their ratios a year ago. We have sorted the cities left
to right by lowest ratio. Six cities now have ratios of three months or less – Coachella, Indio, Indian Wells, Bermuda
Dunes, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs. What’s notable is how close the ratios are in each city. No city has a ratio
over four months.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

1.8
2.5 2.5

2.7 2.7

3.0

3.1

3.4 3.5 3.6

3.8

1.0 1.0

1.2
1.1

0.7

0.9

0.8

1.1

0.9

1.3

0.7

0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0

COACHELLA INDIO INDIAN WELLS BERMUDA
DUNES
CATHEDRAL
CITY
DESERT HOT
SPRINGS
PALM DESERT LA QUINTA PALM
SPRINGS
THOUSAND
PALMS
RANCHO
MIRAGE Months

“Months of Sales” by City

city inventory divided by average twelve month sales

May 1st 2023 Year Ago

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Regional “Days in the Market”

The average selling time in the region continues to increase. At the end of April, the median number of “days in the
market” in the Coachella Valley was 48 days, which is the same as last month but 27 days more than last year. This ratio
remains under its pre-pandemic average of 65 days.

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only. 21

48

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

Apr-18 Oct-18 Apr-19 Oct-19 Apr-20 Oct-20 Apr-21 Oct-21 Apr-22 Oct-22 Apr-23
Days

“Days in the Market”
Coachella Valley
April 2018 – April 2023

Median Number of Days

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

“Days in the Market”

These bar charts rank the cities left to right by the smallest median number of “days in the market” for both detached
and attached homes. The cities of Coachella and Palm Springs have the lowest median selling time for detached homes
at 21 days and 40 days respectively. In the attached market, Palm Springs has the shortest median selling time at 26
days.
21

40 41 42 43 44

50 54 58 59

18

14 16

25 25 25

21 22 23 20

0
20
40
60
80

City of
Coachella

Palm Springs Desert Hot
Springs
Cathedral City Rancho Mirage Indian Wells La Quinta Palm Desert Bermuda
Dunes

Indio

Days

“Days in Market” – Detached Homes

(Median Value)

April Year Ago

26 29 30

42 45 45

51

62

68

12

30

21

25

18

13

20

24 26

0
20
40
60
80

Palm Springs Indian Wells Rancho Mirage Desert Hot
Springs

Palm Desert Cathedral City La Quinta Indio Bermuda Dunes

Days

“Days in the Market” – Attached Homes

(Median Value)

April Year Ago

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

Percent Homes Selling Above List

This chart graphs the percentage of Valley homes that sold above list price over the last three months. In April, 15.2% of
sales sold above list price compared to 55.9% a year ago. As the graph clearly shows, the percent has stopped its year
long decline and has started to rise.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.
55.9%

15.2%

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%

Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18 Jan-19 Jan-20 Jan-21 Jan-22 Jan-23 Jan-24

% Homes Selling Over List Price

Coachella Valley
2016 – 2023 (April)

0.0%

-1.3% -1.7% -1.8% -2.5% -2.6% -3.2% -3.3% -3.4% -3.5%
4.4%

2.2%

3.9%

2.6%

5.2%

2.5%

3.7%

1.9%

0.9%

2.6%

-6.0%
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%

City of
Coachella

Desert Hot
Springs

Indio Cathedral City Palm Springs Palm Desert Bermuda
Dunes

Rancho Mirage Indian Wells La Quinta Perc ent

Price Discount – Detached Homes

(Average Value)

April Year Ago

-1.6%

-2.5% -2.6% -2.6% -2.7%

-4.1% -4.4% -4.6%

2.4%

4.2%

0.5%

3.3%

2.8%

1.5%

2.1%

0.7%

-6.0%
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%

Cathedral City Palm Springs Indian Wells Palm Desert Rancho Mirage La Quinta Indio Bermuda Dunes Percent

Price Discount – Attached Homes

(Average Value)

April Year Ago
The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

“Average Price Discounts”

These bar charts show the average price discount/premium for both detached and attached homes. We use the
“average” value instead of “median” value because it’s a better metric during periods when so many homes are selling
near list. Every city has an average selling discount for detached homes, which range from 0% for Coachella to 3.5% for
La Quinta. Attached homes range from average discounts of 1.6% in Cathedral City to 4.6% in Bermuda Dunes.
Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

Explanation and Description of Market Watch’s Graphs and Calculations

Regional Numbers: For the purposes of this report, the Coachella Valley region consists of these eleven cities or CDPs – Bermuda Dunes, Cathedral City,
the city of Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms. Regional sales
and regional inventory numbers are the sum of sales or inventory of these 11 cities averaged over some time interval – usually three or twelve months. The
Coachella Valley median detached home price is the median price of sales of single-family residences over the prior three months in all 11 cities. The
Coachella Valley Median Attached Price is the median price of sales of condos and townhomes over the past three months in all 11 cities.
City Prices: Our city price tables display the median price per square foot as well as the price of the average size home of all detached or attached sales
over the last three months (6 months for Indian Wells). The price of the average size home is determined as follows: the median price per sq. ft. is
multiplied by the size of the average home in that city. The size of the average home is determined from the square feet of all sales in that city over the last
twenty years, which is then rounded to the nearest 25 sq. ft.. The size of the average home is therefore constant month by month.
Sales: For cities, sales numbers are the sum of sales of SFR, Condos and townhomes. We present two sales numbers – three-month average of sales
and twelve-month averages. The three-month average measures and shows the seasonal variations of the region. These three-month averages should
only be compared against the same three months of previous years. For example, one should never compare three-month sales in spring to that of the fall.
The twelve-month average of sales takes out all seasonality and is very useful when trying to assess the long-term growth or contraction of sales in the
region and at the city level. In our calculations every month is represented by sales over the preceding 31 days. This gives equal weight to each month.
Inventory and “Months of Sales”: Our inventory numbers are homes classified as “active” listings; we exclude listings called “active under contract.” We
believe this is a more accurate measure of real supply since most “active under contract” listings will soon be closed sales. Remember sales and prices are
accumulative while inventory is a momentary snapshot of inventory on a specific date. When we provide a monthly report for, say, the month of May, all
sales and pricing are done using transactions through that and the previous two months. However, when we measure inventory at the end of May, it’s the
inventory as of April 1
st
. Even though inventory may be labeled May inventory, it is the inventory on the 1

st of the next month. Our inventory is the sum of

both attached and detached homes.
When calculating the “months of sales” ratio, we almost always use average sales over the last twelve months and not three months. If we do use three
month sales, we indicate it. We use the classic “months of sales ratio”, which is inventory divided by sales, and not its inverse called the “absorption rate”
since most people feel the ratio is much clearer and more easily understood.
Days in the Market and Sale Price Discount from List Price: These calculations are also the median value of the metrics reported from the MLS listing
and are calculated over the last three months of transactions like price and sales. This is done to help reduce random variation and movements.
Call Out Numbers: The two numbers inserted in the charts are the most recent value(s) and the value(s) one year ago. Each number is connected to the
point on the chart it refers to by a small thin line.
To contact Market Watch call Vic Cooper at 714-390-1418.

The Desert Housing Report

April 2023

Produced for Valley agents through the sponsorship and cooperation of GPSR and CDAR by Market Watch LLC

©2022 CDAR & GPSR. All rights reserved. Use and distribution by members only.

Luxury homes in PALM DESERT

Palm Desert offers homes in various architectural styles, custom builds, and even raw land to build your one-of-a-kind dream home. If you want to know more about what’s available to buy in Palm Desert, check out these luxury listings currently on the market with virtual showings.

Homes for sale around the Palm Desert Area

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