Coachella Valley continues to show signs of improvement in the Palm Springs Real Estate market with another stellar month in July.  Despite triple-digit temperatures and a credit market that was sure to scare home buyers away, home sales still rose by a tremendous 17.4 percent.  This marked the second month of double-digit gains.

While things are looking up for home sales, the median price is unfortunately still looking down with a less than impressive $180,000 median.  The last time it was this low was all the way back in 2001 and is much lower than the median price of $274,000 just a year ago.  With the remarkably low prices, there is no question why home sales numbers continue to increase.

If you are looking in the market to buy, now is the time.  As a first-time buyer with cash and strong credit, you have the potential to find a deal that is unlike anything seen since the 1980s.  But the $100,000 to $200,000 range is not the only price market that is increasing in sales.  The high-end market is showing signs of improvement little by little.

As with most areas around the country, sales were particularly heavy in areas with a large amount of foreclosure.  Indian Wells Real Estate saw the most drastic signs of increase in sales with numbers rising 100 percent.  In all there were sixteen sales for the month with the highest at $3.8 million.

In homes that have been purchased in Southern California above $417,000, purchase loans rose to its highest mark since August 2008 at15.1 percent compared to 15.6 percent in 2008.  However, before 2007 nearly 40 percent of all Southland sales were financed by these high-priced loans.

One thing is for sure; realtors all over are anxious and excited for what is transpiring into a terrific season.  Many believe real estate sales have hit the bottom and are only going to go up from here.  Although prices will undoubtedly remain low for some time, it is only a matter of time before they begin to increase as well.

As for the high-end homes, realistic prices are what some believe is helping increase sales.  While homes in the $800,000 range have been selling like crazy, homes around $1 million to $2.2 million are beginning to se offers as well. 

Inventory on Palm Springs Bank Foreclosures is declining as well as Riverside County saw 58.7 percent of all homes that resold were foreclosure resales.  Despite this, it is still lower than it has been since April 2008.  While foreclosures were impacting the median price at one point, it is not having quite the same effect today thanks to the rise in high-end sales. 

There is no question that the increase in sales is promising, but DataQuick President John Walsh fears it is too soon to call a bottom.  With the amount of future job losses and foreclosures, he feels it is not appropriate to say the market has bottomed out just yet. 

Another thing that is uncertain is how the high number of mortgage defaults from early in the year will be handled.  There are too many options and variables that could affect the market in the long-run. 

What you are seeing is that banks are not simply putting property back into the sales market right away.  With the stabilized inventory that is taking place, there may be some increases in price.  But for now, all we can do is sit and wait to see exactly what the market will do.