Home prices rise 17.9% in March In The Desert Sun | Chappaqua Real Estate

Realtor John Gonnello can attest to the fact that rising demand for low and moderately priced single-family homes and condos, coupled with falling supply, continue to push prices higher in the Coachella Valley.

Of the 22 Sun City Palm Desert homes he had listed featuring everything from vaulted ceilings and great rooms to open floor plans and golf course and mountain views, all but six have sold.

“There was a surge for about three weeks where it was just crazy,” said Gonnello, an agent with Windermere Real Estate. “It’s quieted down a bit, but now we’re starting to see activity build again.”

Gonnello’s experience is in line with two new real estate reports that show the valley’s median price rose by double-digits last month, the ninth straight month with such robust increases.

The valley’s median home price — half sold for more, half for less — jumped 17.9 percent year-over-year to $247,500 in March, following a 15.9 percent increase to $226,000 in February, San Diego-based real estate information provider DataQuick reported.