Oct. 17 Daily Briefing: Latest housing sales report, a really wet ‘water year,’ today’s city events, and more

Welcome to Tuesday. Palm Springs is fortunate to have no shortage of amazing artists and designers. Take a quick stroll down Palm Canyon Drive if you have any doubts. On Monday, organizers of the Palm Springs International Film Festival unveiled the work of one of those artists — Shag — who was chosen to design the poster for the 2024 event (check out the poster here), taking place Jan. 4 through 15. “For our 35th anniversary (find tickets here), we wanted to capture the perfect blend of Palm Springs charm and film culture,” said Lili Rodriguez, the event’s artistic director. “We think Shag’s distinctive, fun style is a natural choice to bring these ideas together.”  We agree!

🎶 Setting the mood: “These Days” by Nico

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IN THE NEWS

🏠 Valley housing prices remain stable

The Coachella Valley’s latest housing report shows that prices remain stable, but sales continue to decline. 

• The September housing report, released last week, revealed that the median price for a home in the valley is still $660,400 but that sales are now 27.7% below average. That compares to 24% below average the previous month.
  
  
• In Palm Springs, the median price of an average-size detached home in September 2023 was $1.27 million. In August 2022, that number was about $1.32 million. For the second consecutive month, the city had the lowest percentage decline in sales compared to a year ago – 18%.
  
  
• Valley inventory improved by 161 units during September, which should continue for several months.
  
  
• Bottom line: Earlier in the year, the report’s authors had predicted sales would return to normal by the end of the year. But with continued high interest rates, they now think that is “no longer realistic.”

✍️  New vacation rental tax not a law yet

California Gov. Gavin Newson finished signing 890 bills into law before a Saturday deadline, but one that drew heavy interest in Palm Springs never made it to his desk.

• Senate Bill 584 would have imposed a 15% tax on vacation rentals for stays of 30 days or less, making an estimated $150 million in revenue available to build or rehabilitate low and middle-income housing.
  
  
•  The measure was criticized by elected officials and vacation rental owners here as the new tax would have been in addition to existing city taxes, meaning visitors could expect to pay 27.5% in taxes on their bookings.
  
  
• While passed by the State Senate in May, it never left the State Assembly. Its backers may try to bring it back when state lawmakers reconvene in December.
  
  
• Bottom line: Newsom did approve legislation on issues ranging from dealing with the state housing shortage and renters’ rights, to increased pay for fast food workers and abortion access.

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TODAY’S EVENTS

Meditation & Mindfulness
3 p.m. | Palm Springs Public Library
Instructor Lisa Botts guides participants through the basic principles of meditation and mindfulness.

HIV/AIDS Survivors Roundtable
4 p.m. | Zoom
Led by peer facilitators, roundtable meetings offer a space to make authentic connections and build community through conversation.

State of the City
5 p.m. | Palm Springs Art Museum
The Chamber of Commerce presents this annual event featuring speeches by city leaders and awards to important local luminaries. ($80 for 5 p.m. reception, free to attend speeches afterward)

Terror Tuesdays: “Scream”
7 p.m. | Cultural Center
Experience your favorite scary movies as they were meant to be, on the valley’s biggest screen.

SAVE THE DATE

• Palm Springs Leather Pride from Oct. 26 through Oct. 28
  
  
• Halloween Palm Springs on Oct. 29 in the Arenas District.
  
  
• Palm Springs Pride Festival from Nov. 3 through 5
  
  
• Palm Springs Pride 5K Run & Walk on Nov. 4 ($40 through Nov. 1)
  
  
• ONE-PS Lip-Sync Battle on Nov. 12.
  

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AND FINALLY …

Almost two months after Tropical Storm Hilary swept through the Coachella Valley, dumping more than three inches of rain in a single day in Palm Springs, we’re getting a look at annual rainfall totals. As expected, they were well above average.

Driving the news: The National Weather Service’s “water year” starts and ends each October. Just over seven inches of rain was measured at Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) for the water year that just ended. An average year sees 4.6 inches of rain measured at PSP.

• The 7.03 inches measured last water year in the city represents 152% of normal.

Zoom out: Palm Springs wasn’t alone in above-average rainfall. Thanks to a wet winter and a very wet August throughout much of the state, some places saw more than 200% above-average precipitation.

• Among them were Ontario, which received nearly 26 inches of rain (compared to its average of 11.6 inches), and Los Angeles, which recorded 31 inches of rainfall (compared to its average of 14.25 inches).

Looking ahead: While summer-like heat has stretched into late October, we should also expect a strong El Niño winter. During an El Niño winter, the southern third to half of the United States, including California, tends to get more precipitation.