By midsummer, the desert heat had settled in as usual, and so had a quieter, more deliberate housing market. The Greater Palm Springs market closed July with a split personality: single-family home activity nudged up while condo sales sagged; prices eased just enough to reopen negotiations; inventory hovered near a six-month supply; and days on market lengthened. All figures in this article are for the region as a whole, not by city.
Data backdrop: Single-family closings reached 431 (+6.7% YoY), while condominium closings fell to 161 (–23.0% YoY). Accepted offers accelerated in both segments to 575 single-family homes (+49.7% YoY) and 210 condos (+30.4% YoY), signaling firmer late-summer pipelines.
“Buyers haven’t disappeared, they’ve simply regained the one thing they didn’t have for a few years: time,” said Jon Gordon of Palm Desert–based Rosenthal Associates. “That extra beat changes the tone of every conversation. People look twice, compare neighborhoods, and negotiate instead of racing to the finish line.”
Single-family home sales showed the stamina of a jogger keeping pace in the heat. It was steady and slightly stronger than last summer, while condominium closings pulled back. Gordon reads that divergence less as a warning than as a sorting process. “Condos are absorbing the reset faster,” he said. “They’re the first place you see price sensitivity when buyers get choosy, and the first place activity returns when value is obvious.”
Data backdrop: For single-family homes, the average price per square foot was $416 (+5.0% YoY), a sign that quality is still commanding dollars even as headline medians soften. On the condo side, $339/sf was essentially flat (–0.8% YoY).
Prices didn’t tumble, but they did flex. Median sale figures for both houses and condos drifted lower from a year ago, and the sale-to-list ratios slid under the mid-96 technical signals that buyers are negotiating, not capitulating. “Think of it as the market catching its breath,” Gordon said. “Sellers are still getting real money for good properties, but list prices now have to earn their keep.”
Data backdrop: Single-family median: $650,000 (–1.9% YoY; –1.8% MoM), with a three-month median of $665,000. Negotiation widened: sale-to-list 95.8%, sale-to-original-list 92.2%. Condominiums median: $415,000 (–8.8% YoY and MoM), three-month median $450,000; sale-to-list 95.9%, sale-to-original-list 92.8%.
July’s inventory pulled back from June yet remained higher than last year, leaving the Valley near a balanced six months of supply. That balance, Gordon argues, is what’s giving the region its texture right now. “We’re not in a frenzy or a freeze,” he said. “It’s a buyer-tilted balance. If you’re listing, you have to meet the market where it is. If you’re buying, you finally have leverage to ask for credits, repairs, or a price that fits the comps.”
Data backdrop: Active listing inventory ended July at 2,473 single-family homes (–13.4% MoM; +10.8% YoY) and 1,064 condos (–17.1% MoM; +14.5% YoY). Months of supply sat at 5.9 (SF) and 5.8 (condos). New listings were 607 (SF) and 212 (condos), with condos flat YoY but down from June.
Homes also took longer to sell than a year ago, another sign of deliberation. “Days on market is the market’s way of saying, ‘Be precise,’” Gordon said. “In this climate, a tight list price, clean presentation, and fast response to feedback are the difference between a tidy 30- to 45-day escrow and weeks of price reductions.”
Data backdrop: Days on market averaged 74 for single-family homes (vs. 71 in June; 64 last July) and 69 for condos (vs. 73 in June; 61 last July).
Yet beneath the slower surface, the pipeline thickened. Accepted offers jumped in July, positioning late-summer closings to firm up. Gordon calls it the tell that matters. “Escrows opened is the heartbeat,” he said. “When that rises, it tells you buyers are engaging—even as they negotiate harder.”
Data backdrop: Went to contract surged to 575 (SF) and 210 (condos), up 22.9% and 28.0% from June, respectively.
For sellers, Gordon’s counsel is pragmatic: don’t chase last spring’s comps, and don’t take a first offer personally. “Price to the market you’re in, not the market you miss,” he said. “Counter everything. You hired the market to tell you the truth—listen when it speaks.”
For buyers, the assignment is equally clear. “Get fully underwritten, know your must-haves, and move when a well-priced property checks those boxes,” Gordon said. “You have room to bargain, but the best listings still move.”
Looking toward fall, Gordon expects a steadier cadence rather than a dramatic turn. “If new listings keep easing and escrows stay elevated, we’ll ride into the season with a healthy, negotiated market,” he said. “Not frothy, not frozen, it’s functional. In this valley, that’s often when the smart deals happen.”
Editor’s note: Market figures referenced are drawn from the Greater Palm Springs MLS monthly market summaries compiled for the California Desert Association of REALTORS; results reflect MLS-reported activity and may not capture every transaction.
