Home prices on the decline amid swelling inventory

Palm Springs home prices continued to soften heading into the winter season, with detached homes selling for an average of about $1.1 million last month — nearly a 3% drop from a year earlier — even as the city posted the highest sales volume in the Coachella Valley.

Driving the news: The median price of an average-sized detached home in the Coachella 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 home prices 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 Springs, detached home prices fell nearly 3% to $1.1 million in November. Attached home prices fell 10% compared to the year before, the average price is about $400,000.

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 Springs recorded 119 sales during the three-month period ending in November, that’s the highest sales volume in the valley and higher than 99 homes last year.

Inventory: At the end of November, Palm Springs had 695 homes on the market in the valley down from 703 a year ago. 

What else: Homes in Palm Springs are taking a bit longer to sell. Last month, homes took an average of 55 days to sell, that same time last year it took an average of 53 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.

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