After sinking for most of the year, condo sales rose in October as more buyers invested in smaller, more affordable pads convenient to downtown Palm Springs, according to a housing report. Existing condos sales rose 2.5 percent year-over-year to 209 transactions in October, according to CoreLogic DataQuick, an Irvine-based real estate information services firm. Coachella Valley condo prices, too, increased to $200,000 in October. The most expensive condo sold for $820,000, reported CoreLogic DataQuick, which compiles monthly housing data based on public records. “I have seen a pickup in the condo business,” said Bill Weaver, a Keller Williams agent based in Palm Springs. “Most of the people are looking for something that’s convenient walking to downtown.” One of Weaver’s listings is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom 1966 condo in The Villa Alejo complex selling for $129,000. The community is apparently hot property: Weaver recently sold a condo there within a few days of its listing. October’s positive growth was a marked turnaround from the yearly trend. After a spurt in January, condo sales fell 3.6 to 24.7 percent for every following month compared to a year ago.
Villa Boutique Living at East Palm Canyon and Araby drives is offering some of the newest condos on the market. Ranging from $170,000 to $250,000, the one- and two-bedroom condos were previously rented as apartments on lease land in south Palm Springs. Now the 104-unit community sits on fee simple land, a benefit to buyers who desire owning both the building and the land underneath. In contrast, Indian lease land have long-term leases attached to the land under a home. “It’s really been a good mix, including snowbirds,” said Chris Gray, president of Strategic Sales & Marketing, the sales firm managing the complex. “We also have local investors and out-of-area investors looking to capitalize on getting a condo at the right price that will appreciate over time.” Other condo buyers are retirees wanting a lower-maintenance home, preferably close to downtown Palm Springs.
About 20 percent of the condos at Villa Boutique Living have been sold since their debut in May, Gray said. Many options are still left for buyers arriving during the tourist season, including condos with unobstructed mountain views, pool views and private landscaped gardens. “We’re expecting to have a very busy 2015,” Gray said. Condos also offer a cheaper option for first-time buyers who have been priced out of the single-family home market – which this spring saw prices jump as high as 25 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
A single-family home in Palm Springs sold for a median price ranging from $259,250 to $339,500 in October, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. The valleywide median price of condos and homes combined across the desert was $265,000. Lease land and higher HOA fees – a trade for more amenities, manicured landscapes and gates – have held down condo prices, agents say. Homes on lease land can, on occasion, be as much as 20 percent less than those simple fee land, Weaver said. “The price point of the house has gotten a little high, which is pushing people toward condos,” said Alex Dethier, a real estate agent with The Paul Kaplan Group in Palm Springs. “People are realizing that condos are more affordable. They’re less maintenance, easier living, more landscapes and amenities.” In June 2013, Dethier created the website PScondos.com to compile the unique condo complexes in Palm Springs. The site helps users learn the history behind condo developments and search specific features, such as pools, tennis courts, HOA fees and gated security measures.
Midcentury single-family homes garner much of the attention for design in Palm Springs. But buyers are also increasingly attracted to midcentury condos, agents say. There are the Royal Hawaiian Estates, designed by power duo Richard Harrison and Donald Wexler. Another historic site is the Racquet Club Garden Villas, a nook of 37 units designed by the famed architect William Cody. One of Dethier’s listings, a 1967 condo in Seven Lakes Country Club, has all the trademarks of a midcentury house. The 2,165-square-foot condo features two bedrooms and two bathrooms and polished concrete throughout the living and dining rooms. The built-in amenities, though, are the biggest draws for condo buyers. There’s a 24/7 guarded front gate, an 18-hole golf course, tennis court, 15 pools and spas, outdoor barbecue areas and a William Cody-designed clubhouse. “There’s less maintenance, it’s safer, behind gates, and there are a lot more neighbors,” Dethier said.
Resale Condos in October Sales: 209 Median price: $200,000 High price: $820,000 Median price/square foot: $152
Source: CoreLogic DataQuick
Top 5 Home Sales in October
1. $2.8 million, La Quinta
2. $1.195 million, north Palm Springs
3. $1.18 million, south Palm Springs
4. $1.5 million, Rancho Mirage
5. $1 million, Indian Wells
Source: CoreLogic DataQuick