South Palm Springs - South of Ramon Road
| December 2010 | November 2010 | December 2009 | |
| Condos Sold | 35 | 30 | 30 |
| Price Range | $46,999 - $350,000 | $70,000 - $370,000 | $44,800 - $515,000 |
| Average Price | $182,783 | $191,800 | $217,856 |
| Average Square Feet | 1,300 | 1,623 | 1,370 |
| Price/Square Foot | $137.56 | $116.68 | $154.91 |
| Days on Market | 108 | 150 | 87 |
| % Distressed Sales (REO or Short Sale) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
Sales in South Palm Springs did well in comparison with November 2010, but not as good when compared with December 2009. Actual quantity sold was up 5 units over both last month and last year at 35 vs. 30 for the earlier periods. And the price range looked okay too, just a slight drop when compared with November, but a pretty big drop, especially in the higher end price point, when compared with last year. The average price paid was a drop from November 2010, but not a huge one. However, the average price paid in comparison with last year was a big drop at $35,000 less per unit. A new category this month is the average square feet per unit sold, and in South Palm Springs it is 1,300. The price per square foot went up nicely compared with last month. As you can see the average size of a unit sold in November was really large, thereby lowering the price per square foot. However, the price per square foot was also a pretty big drop from last year. Days on market dropped a lot from November, but went up from December of 2009. Percent of all sales that are distressed properties, while not a huge percent at 31%, have steadily been going up when compared with last year and last month. All in all sales in South Palm Springs are looking decent in comparison with last month, but not as good when compared with last year.
Central Palm Springs - Between Ramon Road and Vista Chino
| December 2010 | November 2010 | December 2009 | |
| Condos Sold | 18 | 19 | 22 |
| Price Range | $57,000 - $575,000 | $50,500 - $350,000 | $84,900 - 575,000 |
| Average Price | $149,161 | $168,184 | $253,291 |
| Average Square Feet | 1,177 | 1,196 | 1,395 |
| Price/Square Foot | $120.95 | $138.71 | $174.81 |
| Days on Market | 91 | 101 | 113 |
| % Distressed Sales (REO or Short Sale) | 67% | 37% | 55% |
Unlike South Palm Springs, sales in Central Palm Springs were down from last month in addition to being a lot lower than last year. Total sales were a slight drop at 18 units closed vs. 19 last month and 22 from December 2009. Price range was actually pretty good, with the high mark being equal with last year's mark at $575,000. However, it's downhill from here. The average price per unit is a drop from November 2010 and a big drop of over $100,000 per unit from December 2009. The average size of a condo sold is smaller than last year's average, so that helps some, but when we examine the price per square foot this is also a huge drop from last year and a slight drop from last month. The only highlight in the picture for Central Palm Springs is that number of days on the market has steadily been dropping from last year and last month. Sales of distressed properties (REOs and Short Sales) represent whopping 2/3 of all sold condos in Central Palm Springs, a large increase from last month and last year.
North Palm Springs - North of Vista Chino
| December 2010 | November 2010 | December 2009 | |
| Condos Sold | 12 | 7 | 13 |
| Price Range | $41,000 - $211,000 | $35,000 - $168,000 | $50,000 - $295,000 |
| Average Price | $91,917 | $80,361 | $140,746 |
| Average Square Feet | 908 | 912 | 978 |
| Price/Square Foot | $95.96 | $84.81 | $132.26 |
| Days on Market | 73 | 75 | 277 |
| % Distressed Sales (REO or Short Sale) | 75% | 86% | 38% |
Sales figures in North Palm Springs look similar to South Palm Springs this month...better than November 2010 but worse than December 2009. The number of condos sold was pretty good at 12...a big jump over last month and almost equal with last year. Price range was also better than November 2010, but not as high as December 2009. Ditto for average price sold which was better than last month, but not nearly as good as last year. This is the one zone in Palm Springs where the size of the average condo more or less remained unchanged. Price per square foot was higher than last month, but not as high as last year. (I'm sounding like a broken record!) The high point of North Palm Springs is that condos are selling more quickly...equal with the pace of November 2010 and a lot faster than December 2009. Unfortunately, distressed sales equal 3/4 of all condos sold in the zone, which is better than last month, but double the percentage from December 2009.
As I've said several times in this analysis sales appear to be doing better compared with the recent past (last month), but not as good compared with the more distant past (last year). It may be too soon to make a stand, but perhaps the numbers are starting to level off and prices are not dropping any more. It will be interesting to follow the sales figures as we move in to 2011 and see what happens. There's never a dull moment!
If you have any questions or comments regarding this data and/or the analysis please feel free to contact me...I'd love to hear from you!
Alan Wilke
Condos@PalmSpringsCondoLiving.Com
760-464-6693
