August 2024 Hi Desert Real Estate Market Update

Warm Greetings Real Estate Fans,

What other temperature greeting could I give? As far as the weather, July was the hottest month I have ever spent in our communities. I used to tell new residents you could count on your fingers how many times we break 100°. Not anymore! The whole month of July was over 100° every day. As far as our local real estate market is concerned, you could say we are ice cold. Only 86 homes closed last month. At this rate we will not sell over 1,000 homes this year. It is possible we will not break 900. What a fall we are experiencing.

This is by far a Buyers’ market. As an example, I will be closing a home this week for my client. We were able to purchase a home built in 2000 for $196 per square foot. Move-in ready. Three car garage. Great neighborhood. If you are looking to purchase, now could be a fantastic time to jump in the market. Inventory is high with properties available in all price ranges. Don’t get me wrong. If you are selling, price and condition are the driving desires of buyers. A professional who understands the market, is good at negotiating, and markets property well can bring success to their clients. I am that guy.

Highlights of the August Update include-

• Inventory remains high at over 700 homes actively for sale.
• Active Under Contract and Pending sales are some of the lowest I have seen in years. This is a good indicator of the future. From this Update, I can see August and September sales will remain poor.
• Yucca Valley had 42% of total sales. Usually this is an indicator that people are buying homes as primary residence. When Yucca Valley surges, we can usually point to people from the low desert buying because we offer lower prices on larger lots.
• Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms are separated by just $25 per square foot on average. I have been preparing Updates since 2013. This is the smallest separation I have seen in this time. On average, Twentynine Palms lags over 33% behind Yucca Valley. Sometimes more.
• Days on market are up, as you would expect.
• 74% of homes sold were under $400,000.
• In my new Vacant Land section. At our current rate of sales, we have almost a four-year inventory on vacant land. That is a lot of vacant land.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. Try to stay cool. If you or anyone you know needs help in our real estate market, please contact me. There is always a path to success.

Sincerely,

Bob Armstrong
(760) 221-2999
DRE #01275801
GREEN Real Estate Group