Palm Springs real estate market

The Palm Springs real estate market, along with the rest of the Coachella Valley real estate market, seems to be edging towards recovery, although it will be gradual and difficult. According to a May 14, 2010 article in the Record Gazette, “In the year since Beaumont initiated an economic stimulus plan to spur development, there appears to be evidence that its incentives are working. While the majority of Riverside County saw the number of permits for construction of new single family homes drop 10.6 percent last year, Beaumont boasted an increase of 16.7 percent over its 2008 volume, according to statistics presented at the May 4 city council meeting.” The article by David James Heiss continued to note that “In 2009, there were 350 permits for single family residential units – the highest number of any city in the country, followed by Meifee, which issued 325, and Temecula, with 323.”

Foreclosures represented a smaller proportion of Palm Springs homes for sale, according to a May 11, 2010 article in My Valley News. This piece noted that “The number of foreclosed homes in Riverside County ending up on the auction block declined last month, but remained far above the year-ago level, a real estate tracking firm reported today. According to Bay Area-based ForeclosureRadar.com’s monthly ‘California Foreclosure Report,’ 2,398 repossessed properties in the county were sold in April, compared to 2,325 in March, a roughly 3 percent drop.” The article from Issue 19, Volume 14 of My Valley News continued to say that “Foreclosure sales statewide slid 3 percent last month but were 36 percent above the level of the year before, according to ForeclosureRadar.com. Sean O’Toole, the company’s founder, said that on a year-over-year basis, foreclosure cancellations had surged 174 percent in California.”

Another article from My Valley News, this one from May 4, 2010, pointed towards a gradual economic recovery that should help lift the Palm Springs real estate market. It said that “Riverside County will lurch toward an economic recovery, but getting there won’t be easy, and factors rooted in state and national policies are bound to get in the way, economists told the Board of Supervisors yesterday.”