With warmer weather on the way, February is an excellent time to visit the Coachella Valley, with a wide range of events that showcase the best of what we have to offer. Whether you're interested in golf, wine, food, cars, or modern design, you'll find something that of interest in our desert paradise. 

EVENTS

Rancho Mirage Writer's Festival - Feb 1-3

The 2023 Rancho Mirage Writer's Festival is an exciting event for book lovers and aspiring writers alike! This year's festival features a lineup of some of the most well-known and acclaimed authors in the world, including Fran Lebowitz, Maureen Dowd, Susan Choi, and Dave Barry. The festival offers the opportunity to attend readings, panel discussions, and workshops led by literary giants. In addition to the main events, there will also be book signings, an open mic night, and an exhibition showcasing local writers. 

For more information, click HERE.

Taste of Jalisco - Feb 3-5

The 7th annual Taste of Jalisco is a 3-day food festival celebrating Mexican cuisine and showcasing the best dishes from the state of Jalisco, home of tequila and mariachi music. With live music, dancing, and plenty of great food and drink, this is a perfect event for foodies and culture buffs alike.

For more information, click HERE.

The Coachella Valley real estate market in December 2023 saw some significant changes compared to the previous year. The number of homes for sale increased by 203.6% from 617 in December 2021 to 1873 in December 2022. This increase in inventory is a positive indication of a market starting it’s return to “normal". 

However, the number of homes sold in December 2022 decreased by 55% to 419, compared to 932 in December 2021, which is a cause for concern. This decrease in sales may be due to the higher mortgage interest rates, economic uncertainty, and the recent increase in selling prices. 

Despite increasing inventory, selling prices are holding steady. The average sold price in December 2022 was $717,000, a small 1% decrease from December 2021's average of $724,000. This indicates that there is still strong buyer demand for good properties, and the best homes are still selling at or above their asking prices.

If your weather is cold, windy, and snowy, or just continually cloudy and rainy, it might be time for you to visit our winter paradise here in the desert. A lot is going on in January, starting with the Palm Springs International Film Festival. We have a major golf tournament, a wine festival, many concerts, and some great art exhibits. There’s something for everyone, so read on, and see why so many visitors spend their winters here.

EVENTS

Palm Springs International Film Festival - Jan 5-16

Now in its 34th year, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is the first big awards show of the season and returns as an in-person event for the first time since 2020. The star-studded gala that kicks off the event will be hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Keven Frazier & Nischell Turner and will feature the presentation of The Spotlight Award to actor Brendan Fraser. 

For more information, click HERE.

The Coachella Valley real estate market has clearly moved into a neutral market with over five months of inventory available. That’s a significant increase from the first half of 2022, where months of inventory were often below one. With more options for buyers and sellers seeing more competition from other sellers, the frenzied pace of sales from the past two years has ended.

While buyer activity has trended downward since mid-year, we saw a strong increase in Pending listings last month. That could indicate that buyers are ready to return to the market as more homes become available for sale and sellers become more realistic about setting their listing prices. 

We have seen more canceled and expired listings in the last few weeks than at any time in the past two years as sellers adjust to the new reality: overpriced homes just aren’t selling. This market shift has enticed cash buyers to look for discounts from listing prices, but a well-renovated home in a great location, priced right, will still get a lot of interest and will sell at full price or above. 

December is a wonderful time to reconnect with friends and family and enjoy the holiday spirit. This month we have fantastic Christmas celebrations, wonderful concerts, the first shows at the new Acrisure Arena, and great live theater and art exhibitions. You’ll need your sweater and a jacket in the evenings, but that’s perfect for getting in the holiday mood!

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

Wildlights at The Living Desert - through Dec 30

It’s the perfect time to visit the Living Desert, as it’s transformed into a magical winter wonderland. Christmas lights are strung throughout the Living Desert, and mesmerizing glowing animal lanterns will amaze you! The model train set and carousel are given a holiday makeover, and you’ll find live music and food as well. 

For more information and to get tickets, click HERE. 

Festival of Lights Parade  - Dec 3

This is the main Christmas event in downtown Palm Springs. This night-time parade features lighted floats, marching bands, performance groups, and the ever-popular Budweiser Clydesdales. Featured appearances by Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Snoopy and the Gang, and Santa and Mrs. Claus are sure to delight young and old.

For more information, click HERE. 

The Palm Springs area real estate market had a slow week last week, primarily due to the long Thanksgiving weekend. Our new listings were way down, new escrows were down, and price reductions were down.

The Coachella Valley real estate market has entered a neutral market! After two years of a hot seller’s market, we are now returning to a balanced market where neither the seller nor the buyer has the upper hand. Everything is NEGOTIABLE! 

We have seen a steadily increasing number of homes available for sale, home selling prices are no longer on the rise, and buyer activity has slowed down compared to this time last year.

With the weekly increase in inventory, there are over three times as many homes on the market as in January. That’s good news for buyers who waited to buy, as they now have a more extensive selection of homes from which to choose.

Due to rising interest rates and economic tightening, buyer activity has flattened, especially at lower to mid-price points where many buyers are financing their purchases. With fewer buyers in the market, many sellers are more willing to negotiate on the selling price or give incentives to buyers, like providing credit to buy down the mortgage interest rate.

While interest rates are a concern for many buyers, we anticipate that interest rates will drop significantly next year as the inflation numbers come down.  This will allow buyers who took out a loan at a higher interest rate to refinance and realize a significant reduction in their monthly mortgage payment.  

Let’s take a look at the numbers for October 2022 and see how they compare to October of last year.

Inventory continues to climb in the Palm Springs area, with 2,171 homes available for sale last week. This is the highest number we've seen all year. New escrows were down 3.7% to 111, and buyer activity continues to trend well below what we saw last year.  While down 16.6% from last week,  price reductions are trending well above the previous year's numbers. The average selling price was down 4.7% compared to the last week, and buyers are finding more sellers willing to negotiate on pricing. 

The Monday Minute is text only this week due to illness. ☹️ COVID got me, but I should be back in business with the video next week. 

New listings are up, and inventory continues to climb as our market shifts out of the aggressive seller's market. New escrows were down this week, and the increase in mortgage interest rates last week will not help matters. 

Price reductions are over 300 for the third week in a row, evidence that many sellers' homes are still priced for the market before the shift.  Overpriced homes are not selling, and homes are definitely taking longer to sell.

Inventory continues to rise in the Palm Springs area, with over three times as many homes available for sale as there were at the beginning of the year. Price reductions topped 300 for the 2nd week in a row, and average selling prices were flat compared to last week.