February 2026 Hi-Desert Real Estate Market Update
Greetings Real Estate Fans,
This may be the “love” month, but there is very little to love about our Hi Desert real estate market. In January we closed escrow on just 43 homes. 43! From Morongo Valley to Johnson Valley to Wonder Valley. Just 43. This is the lowest number of closed escrows I have recorded since I have been producing these Updates starting in 2013. We also have a growing inventory of listings. 676 today. 641 when I produced the Update on February 4th. I expect to see this number grow to well over 700 by the end of March. We hit over 900 last year in May. But even using today’s number we have almost a 16-month inventory! If you are buying you are a king (or queen depending).
In January, 35% of sold homes were in Twentynine Palms. This is happening more and more. Let’s look at the numbers. The average price of home in Yucca Valley has been around $400,000. Joshua Tree is around $500,000. Twentynine Palms is around $225,000. I believe more and more locals are choosing Twentynine Palms as the rents soar in Yucca and Joshua Tree. According to our Altos Market Trend Report (included in the Update) the average rent in Yucca is around $2,200. Joshua Tree $2,400 and Twentynine Palms around $1,650. If I bought the average house in Twentynine Palms using an FHA loan at 6.25% interest, my payment including principal, interest, taxes, mortgage insurance, and insurance, my payment would be around $1,750 monthly. This makes the additional cost of car wear and mileage much better than the higher rents on the west end of the valley.
This same concept is also working against the City of Twentynine Palms. Builders cannot build for the $210 average price per square foot in Twentynine Palms. Twentynine Palms should see a surge this year in sales as buyers buy older homes and remodel them. I do not see vacant land or new construction happening in the City until these numbers rise to above $250 to $275 per square foot.
Other notable information in this Update includes-
- 72% of sold homes were priced below $400,000.
- The most expensive home sold was in Pioneertown, at $2,000,000.
- The most expensive home sold by square foot was in Landers at $837.50 per sq ft.
- Average days on the MLS (DAM) is manageable in Yucca at 80 days. Crazy in Joshua Tree at 153 days and standard for our market in Twentynine Palms at 103.
- Our vacant land market is also saturated with almost 1,200 active listings with only 23 sales.
As always, I can find a way to help you sell your property or help you buy in this crazy market. If you have a friend or family member that can use my help, please share my information.
Have a great “love” month. Next month I am hopeful we can find some green!
Sincerely,
Bob Armstrong
(760) 221-2999
DRE #01275801
GREEN Real Estate Group
Bob Armstrong
