Photo by Taylor Simpson on Unsplash
The Palm Springs housing market has transitioned from a resort town to a Zoom town.
Riverside County, home to the architecturally significant desert city, saw home sales increase by 27 percent year-over-year in September, according to a new report from Redfin. The uptick has been spurred by urban dwellers with the flexibility to work remotely, who are taking up full-time residence in Greater Palm Springs.
Palm Springs benefits from larger homes listed at more affordable prices, an abundance of shopping, dining and entertainment options, and sizzling temperatures year-round. Its median sale price rose 15 percent between September 2019 and 2020, hitting $450,000.
The typical home spent 37 days on the market, 20 days faster than the same period last year. A whopping 44 percent of homes sold above asking, an indicator of just how red-hot this vacation market has become.
Compared to Q3 2019, there were 7,845 more Redfin users searching for homes within Riverside County. Palm Springs earned the number eight spot in Redfin’s ranking of US counties that have heated up the most over the past year.
Other California counties that have experienced a significant sales boost include El Dorado County and Placer County, both of which border Lake Tahoe — North America’s largest alpine lake and a popular destination for boaters and skiers.
El Dorado has seen an eye-popping 80 percent increase in home sales, with median prices surging 16 percent to $570,000. Homes are snapped up in 16 days, on average, a 31-day difference over the same period in 2019.
Home sales in Placer County climbed 54 percent year-over-year. The median sale price grew by 7 percent increase to $540,000. Homes went under contract in about 17 days, more than two weeks sooner than year-ago totals. El Dorado nabbed first place in the ranking, while neighboring Placer County took tenth.
