Home Sales Jump to Highest Levle Since 2010
Some promising news on the real estate front as The National Association of Realtors reports home sales jumped last month, to the highest level, since may 2010. Nationally, home sales jumped close to 8-percent, in August.
Here in the Coachella valley, median home prices are up about 20-percent.
Craig Conley of Coldwell Banker, in La Quinta says, “It is good news, very good news. I think what’s driving everything is our inventory levels are going down from last year, when we had 4,500 active listings. Right now, we’re at about 3,100, so we’re down about 30%.”
Conley says when it comes to supply and demand, those factors are helping to drive prices up, helping sellers make more than they could have last year. “With consumer confidence, that’s a big deal that’s going to drive the market this year.”
Another encouraging factor is construction of single-family homes. August saw the most growth, in more than two years. You can see proof of that, as construction picks up in developments, where it was previously on-hold. Conley says, “One I can think of is the Bridge off of Jefferson. You can see the framing is up, the foundations are laid and roofs are going on. So I think when people see that, they’re going okay, maybe we’re at the end of this real estate debacle.”
The Bridge at Jefferson has released its last phase and tells us they only have two more homes available. To keep the momentum going real estate firms are targeting markets with strong buyer potential. Conley says, “What we’re doing at Coldwell Banker is we’re marketing in Canada right now and even China, which we haven’t done before.”
And as those snowbirds come back to town, they’ll find fewer deals to choose from. Conley says, “The foreclosure or distressed property sales are down 50%. From what it was last year. So the day where you could get a home in the La Quinta cove for $120,000.00, I think those days are gone.
