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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.



Palm Desert, CA Real Estate Market

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Home Values, Rents: Reflects Q4 2023. Updated quarterly.
  • Setting, Housing Stock, Homeownership: 2022 (latest available). Updated annually.

Methodology:   NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data

Palm Desert, CA Housing Market Trends

With 51,583 people, 24,129 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $634,876, real estate costs in Palm Desert are among some of the highest in the nation, although house prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive California communities.

Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Palm Desert, accounting for 38.77% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Palm Desert include row houses and other attached homes ( 26.90%), large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 16.83%), and a few mobile homes or trailers ( 8.84%).

Dwellings in Palm Desert tend to be quite small (one, two, or no bedrooms) and owner occupied. In fact, 56.40% of the homes in Palm Desert have two or fewer bedrooms.

There is a lot of housing in Palm Desert built from 1970 to 1999 so parts of town may have that "Brady Bunch" look of homes popular in the '70s and early '80s, although some of these houses were built up through the early '90s as well. There is also a lot of housing in Palm Desert built between 2000 and later ( 16.18%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from between 1940-1969 ( 10.96%).

A decent proportion of the Palm Desert housing stock is seasonally occupied. That is, homes and condos in Palm Desert are occupied by people for a portion of the year - mainly for vacation purposes - and then locked up and left unoccupied for the remainder of the year as owners return to their primary residences. This characteristic of the Palm Desert housing market speaks to its popularity as a vacation location of choice.

Palm Desert Home Appreciation Rates

Appreciation rates for homes in Palm Desert have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 107.89%, which ranks in the top 30% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Palm Desert house appreciation rate of 7.59%.

Over the last year, Palm Desert appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Palm Desert's appreciation rate has been 1.06%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Palm Desert were at -0.10%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -0.40%.

Relative to California, our data show that Palm Desert's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 50% of the other cities and towns in California.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Palm Desert differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Palm Desert - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Palm Desert real estate investment or home purchase decisions.

Average Home Values

Median Home Value

$634,876

Palm Desert, CA Home Prices
> $1,351,000
$1,013,001 - $1,351,000
$675,001 - $1,013,000
$540,001 - $675,000
$405,001 - $540,000
$270,001 - $405,000
$135,001 - $270,000
$67,001 - $135,000
$0 - $67,000
8.4%
8.4%
8.3%
8.3%
25.1%
25.1%
18.8%
18.8%
17.4%
17.4%
13.3%
13.3%
4.8%
4.8%
1.1%
1.1%
2.6%
2.6%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes
Average

for California

Very High

for nation

Number of Homes And Apartments:

24,129

Palm Desert Appreciation Rates

Rent & Ownership

Average Market Rent:

$2,861 / per month

Homeownership Rate

Owners
Renters
65.5%
65.5%
34.5%
34.5%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Vacancy Rate

Vacant
Occupied
34.4%
34.4%
65.6%
65.6%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Housing Market Details

Age of Homes

2000 or Newer
1970 - 1999
1940 - 1969
1939 or Older
16.2%
16.2%
72.4%
72.4%
11.0%
11.0%
0.5%
0.5%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Types of Homes

Single-Family
Townhomes
Small Apt. Buildings
Apt. Complexes
Mobile Homes
Other
38.8%
38.8%
26.9%
26.9%
8.6%
8.6%
16.8%
16.8%
8.8%
8.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Home Size

No Bedroom
1 Bedroom
2 Bedrooms
3 Bedrooms
4 Bedrooms
5 or more bedrooms
2.6%
2.6%
8.0%
8.0%
45.7%
45.7%
32.6%
32.6%
10.0%
10.0%
0.9%
0.9%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes