Real estate professionals see rays of light in cloudy market

Local real estate professionals discussed how to ride out a currently stormy housing market that holds promises of better times ahead at the eighth annual State of Real Estate in the Coachella Valley presentation, held today at the Doral Palm Springs Resort.

From the dizzying highs of the local real estate boom of a few years ago has come the hangover  third-quarter numbers of homes sold down almost 25 percent from last year; 53 percent from two years ago.

But average home prices continue to rise  up 9.1 percent from last year, up 11 percent from two years ago.

We have a tale of two markets, said Patrick Veling, president of Real Data Strategies Inc.

Markets above the median price continue to do very well. They are holding up on prices, and in many cases we’ve got tremendous appreciation in your toniest markets of Rancho Mirage and La Quinta.

In your entry-level markets we’ve got some real challenges. And that’s due entirely to the inability of first-time buyers to be able to afford to get into the marketplace.

Experts said all is not gloom and doom for local real estate agents. It’s a definite buyer’s market, with more houses available to choose from and more power to negotiate a lower-than-listed price. And after the current market contraction passes, possibly within two years, even more opportunities may arise.

The good news is the fundamentals in this market are solid, said Fred Bell, executive director of the Desert Building Industry Association.

With the group of Baby Boomers that are retiring in the next 10 to 15 years we are going to continue to see a migration into this market.

See Wednesday’s Desert Sun for a complete report.

By Keith Matheny, The Desert Sun