The median price of Coachella Valley homes in August rose year over year according to two new real estate reports. DataQuick reported the median sales price for August as $250,000, down from July’s $257,000 but still a 25 percent increase for the desert from August 2012. The real estate information services firm uses public records to provide a monthly overview of the region’s housing market and home prices.
The surge follows the upward trend reported by the California Desert Association of Realtors, which compiles home sales figures a little differently based on Desert Area Multiple Listing Service data. A low inventory in a rebounding market with fewer short sales and bank-owned property listings has recently bumped up sale prices, according to MLS data.
Housing experts expect home prices to moderate and the supply to increase once selling season starts again in the fall and winter. “That will control some of the appreciation,” said Ann Ritchie, executive vice president for the California Desert Association of Realtors. “Right now, we have a shortage of decent inventory.”
The valley has an inventory shortage of 2,000 single-family homes and 863 condos, according to the California Desert Association of Realtors.