February 2025 Hi Desert Real Estate Market Update

Happy Love Month Fans,

The New Year has come and gone and now we find ourselves almost 7 weeks into 2025. Already so much is happening and yet so little at the same time. If I can offer one word to those Real Estate Fans out there, it would be HOPE! To be real, hope manifests in the future. We clearly are not there, but I believe we are at the turning point. It could happen later this year or next, but I believe we are in for a good run on real estate sales and values in our Hi Desert communities.

So much is going on in our area, region, state, and country. So much change. So many variables. And yet, last month in January, we closed the same number of escrows as last January. 57. That’s it, 57 closed escrows in a month. And yet there is a glimmer of light and hope in the numbers.

We have what many communities do not, Inventory. At this point we have 751 active listings. That is a lot. In fact, Realtors see this amount of inventory and calculate we have over a year’s worth of inventory today. The market is considered balanced at a five-to-six-month inventory. The upside of this is we have product to sell when buyers are interested. Today, we see rates trying to get down but struggling. I think we will see enough of a drop in rates (maybe a quarter of a percentage point) by summer, that buyers will be back. One way to track this with my Updates is to watch the Active Under Contract and Pending Escrows. This Update shows 29 more properties in this status than last month. Even though this is almost the same as last year, I can tell you I have been much busier this year. The buyers I have been working with seem more enthusiastic and excited about purchasing. This gives me hope. I know it’s early in the year, but hope is on the horizon.

Other notable mentions in this Update include-

1. Average prices are down in all three major markets. But price per square foot is up in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree, but down in Twentynine Palms.
2. Twentynine Palms average price per square foot is below $200 for the first time in over a year. This is well below replacement cost.
3. 81% of closed escrows are below $400,000.
4. Average days on market have jumped way up.

Warmer days are on the horizon which generally means more buyers to our area. The next two months should start to tell us if those who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are interested in our area. Have a great month!

Sincerely,

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