June 2023 Hi Desert Real Estate Market Update

Happy Summer Fans!

All information in the Market Update can be found on my blog at- https://greenrealestategroup.com/blog

Spring is sure holding on in our Hi Desert communities. Yesterday I was gassing up at the Morongo Casino. My thermometer in my truck showed 68°! Never in my life have I seen it that cool in June as you transition into the low desert. With El Nino conditions being forecast; it appears we may have a cooler summer and a wet fall/winter. A cooler summer could equate in to more sales and visitors to our communities. Let’s hope.

I read an interesting statistic this week in a commercial appraisal one of my clients had done. In the appraisal it stated, “In January 2022, Yucca Valley reported a population of 21,813, a 0.2% DECREASE from January 2021 to 21,846” With more and more properties being used as short-term rentals, you would expect a population loss. I always thought it was being offset by more locals. Seems my thought process was off. It’s a small decrease but a decrease, nonetheless.

Interest rates continue to have a strong negative effect on our market. We have plenty of inventory. One could argue we have plenty of overpriced inventory. But we have houses to sell. In fact, we have over 540 at this writing. If a home is priced right, marketed correctly, and in fair condition, people are still buying. Local Realtors need to be more aggressive on pricing to find buyers. Zillow still shows a price increase for our communities through the end of the year. Time will tell.

Highlights of this Update include-

1. As noted above, inventory is over 540 active listings. This is good for our communities. 36 of these listings are over $1mil. Not too long ago, a million-dollar property in the Hi Desert was more uncommon than common.
2. Our biggest selling season is spring/early winter. So, we tend to have the most properties available during this time. This is the most June Inventory I can find since June 2016.
3. We closed 50 less escrows than last year. Starting next month, we should start to catch up with the interest hikes and dropping sales.
4. 82% of sales are under $500,000. 68% are under $400,000. 65% of our listings are under $500,000, 53% are listed under $400,000. You can see we have a pricing issue in our listing pricing.
5. Days on market have lengthened. Twentynine Palms is now over 100 days.

I trust you will have a great start to your summer. Please, if you know of someone who could use my help either buying or selling, share my contact.

Sincerely,

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