Palm Desert’s housing market softened slightly last month, with both detached and attached home prices down year over year, even as sales activity remained strong and inventory climbed to the highest level in the Coachella Valley.
Driving the news: The median price of an average-sized detached home in the valley last month was $645,000 a decrease of less than one percent from the year before but a $20,000 increase from October. Attached homes decreased 6.3% year-over-year to $419,000.
Only two valley cities — Indian Wells and La Quinta — saw an increase in detached home prices compared to the year before.
Zoom in: In Palm Desert, detached home prices fell nearly 2.5% to $711,000 in November. Attached home prices fell 5.5% compared to the year before, the average price is about $500,000.
In context: This time of year is typically when valley home prices hit their low, but prices compared to the same month a year ago are still slightly lagging.
By the numbers: Palm Desert recorded 109 sales during the three-month period ending in November, the second-highest sales volume behind Palm Springs and slightly higher than 104 homes last year.
Inventory: At the end of November, Palm Desert had the most homes on the market in the valley with 719, up from 641 a year ago.
What else: Homes in Palm Desert are taking a bit longer to sell. Last month, homes took an average of 53 days to sell, that same time last year it took an average of 46 days to sell.
What to watch for: Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for a third time in a row. Local market analysts for months have been saying the Fed needs to cut rates to encourage home buyers.