Best Neighborhoods in Palm Springs

September 27, 2017 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

What are the best neighborhoods in Palm Springs? This is a question a client asked me recently as we were just starting his home search. Of course, there are many variables such as preference for single family home or condo, priorities such as proximity to downtown , great views, fee land or lease land, and so on.

I created this list of “Best Neighborhoods in Palm Springs” for him as a general guideline. These homes consist primarily of single family homes, typically in the range of $600K to well over $1M.

Homes located in Palm Springs Central

Movie Colony – Single Family Detached Homes (SFDH)
Little Tuscany – SFDH
Tennis Club – SFDH and the Condos in St Baristo and the Villas of Old Palm Springs
Movie Colony East (some parts) – SFDH
Vista Las Palmas – SFDH
Colony El Mirador (marginally best)
Escena – SFDH

Homes located in Palm Springs South End

Alta – SFDH
Twin Palms – SFDH
Southridge – SFDH
Estancia – SFDH

Do you agree? Contact me to discuss, I’d be happy to hear from you.

Palm Springs – Modernism’s Giant Showcase

February 15, 2014 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

Palm Springs is no stranger to the pages of the New York Times. Once again our star shines in its pages. The article is entitled Palm Springs Modernism’s Giant Showcase, suggesting that the city itself is the showcase for the show and for the entire Palm Springs Modernism Week. The event began 14 years ago to celebrate Modernism and is running this year February 13-23.

The opening weekend is kicking off with several venues including the Show and Sale in the Palm Springs Convention Center, offering objects of art such as steel sculptures such as one by Paul Kasper, lithographs and paintings, furniture, jewelry, pottery and more. Well-known dealers take this opportunity to use Palm Springs as a “giant exhibit backdrop” of their wares. What could be better, while so many aficionados are in town! As certain Palm Springs’ neighborhoods, when taken together, provide several thousand stellar example homes, the weekend consists of many events focusing on these houses. You can take a double decker bus tour, visit Open Houses and attend other events in these iconic houses, many of which once served as the “two hours away” getaway destinations for the Hollywood Elite.

To learn more about the show, go to the NYT article Modernism’s Giant Showcase and for the entire event to Modernism Week.

Palm Springs Real Estate Market Trends September 2013

November 6, 2013 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

Palm Springs real estate market trends September 2013 showed that we are beginning to see our seasonal population increase toward a probable peak in January/February. It’s been fairly quiet through September/October with a few early arrivals and our usual tourists. Now in November we will see a much larger influx of snow birds coming to Palm Springs to enjoy our warm weather, as their pleasant fall weather at home turns to cold winter conditions. As inhabitants increase in number, so does our inventory of properties for sale. Our inventory of unsold properties bottomed in July at 404 and has risen to close out September at 495. Palm Springs “average prices” that peaked in June at $218/sq.ft. have trended down about 6% from $218/sq.ft. in September to $198 now. However, year over year prices are still up over 15% from September last year. Here is what happened in September for each price category:

Low End – Below $200K Fewer small investors were active in September as increased prices presented less ROI value, compared to last year. Prices in September were up 11% compared to the same period last year. With less investors buying due to higher prices, unsold inventories increased over 13% to 86 units, and the number of sold properties dropped 17% to 39 units in one month. With higher prices and fewer foreclosures, this market should return to a more normal market place, less investor driven, with a modest increase in inventories and slower price increases.
Upper Low End – $200K to $500K Inventory in this category continued an upward trend increasing about 9% to 215 units. Prices dropped slightly by about 3% to an average of $182/sq. The number of sold properties also dropped by about 7% to 58 units, compared to 62 last month.
Moderately Priced Properties – $500K to $1M Inventories continued to increase in September, up over 10% to 131 units. Conversely sales have dropped 18% to 23 units. Prices have remained essentially flat – down 3%.
High End Properties – $1M and over What a difference a month makes! Perhaps anticipation of an increase in potential buyers spurred the number of active listings in this category to explode in September to 63 units, up 34% from August, and up a whopping 75% from September last year. The number of units actually sold though was flat at a paltry 4 units. As I suspected, the summer lull for properties in this category is over. Prices on active listings are up about 9% and sold prices are down, but the number of sold units was so low that it wasn’t really statistically relevant.

In summary, the real estate market here is pretty much behaving normally. Inventory is increasing as snow birds return and should continue rising to a peak in January. With inventories now building, we should start seeing the market shift a bit from a Seller’s market toward a Buyer’s market, particularly where we see the greatest increases in unsold inventory. Prices that have been somewhat flat should start experiencing some downward pressure. Stay tuned for the next report.

Palm Springs Real Estate Market Trends September 2013

November 6, 2013 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

Palm Springs real estate market trends September 2013 showed that as fall arrives, we are beginning to see our seasonal population increase toward a probable peak in January/February. It’s been fairly quiet through September/October with a few early arrivals and our usual tourists. Now in November we will see a much larger influx of “snow birds” coming to Palm Springs to enjoy our warm weather, as their pleasant fall weather turns to cold winter conditions. As inhabitants increase in number, so does our inventory of properties for sale. As we reviewed last time, our inventory of unsold properties bottomed in July at 404 and has risen to close out September at 495. Palm Springs average prices that peaked in June at $218/sq. ft. have trended down to $198, to about 6% in September, compared to August. Here is what happened in September for each price category:

Low End – Below $200K Fewer small investors were active in September as increased prices presented less ROI value, compared to last year. Prices in September were up 11% compared to the same period last year. With less investors buying due to higher prices, unsold inventories increased over 13% to 86 units, and the number of sold properties dropped 17% to 39 units in one month. With higher prices and fewer foreclosures, this market should return to a more normal market place, less investor driven, with a modest increase in inventories and slower price increases.

Upper Low End – $200K to $500K Inventory in this category continued an upward trend increasing about 9% to 215 units. Prices dropped slightly by about 3% to an average of $182/sq. The number of sold properties also dropped by about 7% to 58 units, compared to 62 last month.

Moderately Priced Properties – $500K to $1M Inventories continued to increase in September, up over 10% to 131 units. Conversely sales have dropped 18% to 23 units. Prices have remained essentially flat – down 3%.

High End Properties – $1M and over What a difference a month makes! Perhaps anticipation of an increase in potential buyers spurred the number of active listings in this category to explode in September to 63 units, up 34% from August, and up a whopping 75% from September last year. The number of units sold was flat at a paltry 4 units. As I suspected, the summer lull for properties in this category is over. Prices on active listings are up about 9% and sold prices are down, but the number of sold units was so low that it wasn’t really statistically relevant.

In summary, Palm Springs real estate market trends September show that the market here is pretty much behaving normally*. Inventory is starting to increase as snow birds return and should continue rising to a peak in January. With inventories now building, we should start seeing the market shift a bit from a Seller’s market toward a Buyer’s market, particularly where we see the greatest increases in unsold inventory. Prices that have been somewhat flat should start experiencing some downward pressure. Stay tuned for the next report.

*Latest data available today. We’ll update when more current stats are available.

Palm Springs Real Estate Market Trends through August 2013

September 9, 2013 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

Well, summer is now behind us and as usual the dog days of summer brought with it low “for sale” inventories and a slowdown in buying, as buyers stayed home. Palm Springs Real estate market trends through August 2013 showed that Palm Springs properties for sale continued to follow summer seasonal trends, with inventories continuing to drop from 465 at the end of May to a bottom of 404 units in July, and only increasing about 9% to 439 at the end of August. My expectation of a inventory bottom in July/August of about 375 units did not happen as inventories started to build in August, a month earlier than expected. Average prices of all types of residential properties have stayed essentially flat, ending in August the same as in May and still over 20% up from this time last year. This average increase is seen across all price ranges but differs somewhat within each category. Here is what has happened since the end of May 2013:

• Low End Properties – Below $200K

Investors continue to be active in this price range. Inventory bottomed in June at 60 units and has steadily increased since then to 76 units in August. Asking prices that have risen steadily over the last year have started to decrease, as inventories increase. “Sold” prices have stayed pretty flat through the summer as investors bought up the limited inventory.

• Upper-Low-End Properties – $200K to $500K

Inventory bottomed in June and July and increased about 14% to 198 units in August. Prices have remained essentially flat since May. Year over year prices are still up at almost 9%.

• Moderately Priced Properties – $500K to $1M

Inventories dropped slightly in June and July but were up to May levels again by the end of August, and up over 50% from a year ago. Active listings at month’s end were 118 units, the same as in May. With inventories up, you would expect prices to drop, but that is not the case, as prices continue to hold steady – up 18% from a year ago.

• High End Properties – Over $1M

Inventory numbers have taken a precipitous drop over the summer. Inventory at the end of May was 71 units; at the end of August it stood at only 47 units, a huge drop of over 40%. “Sold” units have not increased substantially, so I guess many properties went off the market for the summer and will be back this fall. With the exception of a big increase in July, “Sold” prices have held pretty steady since May and continue at about the same levels as measured by $/sq. ft. as a year ago.

In summary, real estate market trends in Palm Springs over the summer months have held pretty much at historical norms with low selling activity, along with diminished “For Sale” inventories. As we enter our peak selling season, we expect inventories will rise; in fact, they started increasing in August a bit earlier than normal this year. What will happen in the next few months is anyone’s guess. With our inventories and mortgage interest rates increasing combined with the weakening of the Canadian Dollar, we may be in for a bit of a price correction downward, after almost two years of year on year increases. It all depends on whether or not our returning snow birds see value at current price levels. Stay tuned.

Real Estate Market Trends May 2013 in Palm Springs

June 27, 2013 by Dick Sakowicz Leave a Comment

Real estate market trends May 2013 in Palm Springs properties for sale continued to follow summer seasonal trends, with inventories dropping from a high of 584 units in January to 465 at the end of May. The total month to month drop was about 6% and is expected to continue. If this trend follows those in prior years, I would expect active listings to bottom out in July or August at about 365 to 375 units. As inventories drop, prices (as measured by $/sq. ft.) are predictably trending up. Average prices, if you include all types of residential properties, have increased about 16% from a year ago and about 22% in the last 15 months. This average increase is seen across all price ranges but differs somewhat within each category. Here is what has happened over the last month or so:

Low End Properties – Below $200K
Investors have been really active in this price range. Inventory has dropped significantly to only 90 units, down about 20% from last month! This is almost a 50% drop in available units from a year ago. Asking prices have risen steadily over the last year and have continued that trend through May. However, “Sold” prices have started to flatten; they’ve remained steady in the last few months.
Upper-Low-End Properties – $200K to $500K
Inventory is down slightly at 187 units, about 4% from last month. Prices have steadied some but are down slightly at 3% from last month. Year over year prices are still up over 14%.
Moderately Priced Properties – $500K to $1M
Inventories continued a slow increase up, at about 5% month to month. Active listings at month’s end were 117 units, a substantial increase of 23% from the same time last year, when there were 95 units for sale. With inventories up, you would expect prices to drop, but that is not the case, as prices are increasing over 10% month to month.
High End Properties – Over $1M
Inventory numbers slightly reversed from last month’s increases. Inventory stands at 71 units, a small drop month to month but still 20% higher than a year ago. Prices have held steady over the past several months but are also still 20% higher than a year ago.

In summary, real estate market trends in Palm Springs over the last six months show that monthly changes have settled somewhat, both in average number of properties for sale and in selling prices for those properties. And normal seasonal trends are holding. But there are a few surprises this time, at least with now-rising prices of homes in two categories – homes priced at $500,000 or higher, and in luxury homes priced at over $1M, especially. The question is – will prices continue to trend up as inventory increases, particularly in these moderate and high end properties? Today with increasing mortgage interest rates, that’s anybody’s guess.

Note: This report focuses on real estate market trends specifically in Palm Springs. If you are interested in another valley city, I would be happy to expand the report for you.

Contact Dick