January 2012 Sales Analysis

The following sales analysis compares January 2012 sales information with data from the preceding month (December 2011) and the previous year (January 2011). Data from all three regions of Palm Springs (South, Central, and North Palm Springs) is analyzed together.

Palm Springs

	January 2012	December 2011	January 2011
Condos Sold	69	92	39
Price Range	$35,000 - $550,000	$34,000 - $515,000	$47,500 - $400,000
Average Price	$152,153	$153,685	$161,288
Average Square Feet	1,366	1,281	1,231
Price/Square Foot	$109.59	$115.37	$125.31
Days on Market	115	109	128
% Distressed Sales (REO or Short Sale)	41%	40%	41%

(Note to blog followers...I've started analyzing the data in Palm Springs by the city as a whole, not by region any longer.)

The number of condos sold in January, at 69, was a steep drop from the 92 sales that occurred in December, but in comparison with the 39 total sales in January of 2011 it was a great increase.  The months of December and January are one of the reasons we look at the preceding month as well as the previous year when we do a sales analysis.  January closings are always lower because this would typically mean the buyers were writing offers in December, which doesn't happen too much because of the holidays.  So comparing year over year in January is probably a better way to analyze the data and when doing so 2012 is off to a great start...at least when we examine the number of properties sold.  The range of prices was also good in January...an improvement over December and January of last year.  However, the average price paid, while in line with December did drop when compared with last January.   The average size condo in January was the largest of the three time periods analyzed.  This led to a bit lower price per square foot paid in January than December and a substantially lower price per square foot compared with January 2011.  The number of days on the market was a bit longer than in December and shorter than January 2011.  And the percent of sales that were distressed properties was near constant at 40-41% over all three time periods analyzed. 

I think the data shown speaks of good news for the year to come.  There were a good number of sales in January, especially when compared with last January.  This tells me that there are a lot of buyers looking for condos.  As always, though, these buyers are looking for deals as we can see by the prices paid.  But the range of prices was higher this year than last which tells me that buyers will pay higher prices if the properties seem worth it.  The length of time needed to sell a property dropped so I'm hopeful that banks and other sellers are getting deals done faster than before.  And while 40-41% of all sales being distressed properties may sound like a lot it is actually a lower percentage than in other communities.  Palm Springs presently has fewer distressed properties for sale.  The question is how long with that last?  Tune in next month to see what transpires in February!

If you have any questions or comments regarding this data please feel free to contact me...I'd love to hear from you!

Alan Wilke
Condos@PalmSpringsCondoLiving.Com
760-464-6693