Although I was expecting the rate of appreciation to flatten going forward, I will admit that I was suprised by the large fall in average sales price from March to April. The average sales price declined 9% month over month to $386,000 which is only 1% higher than April 2013. Fluctuations in the average sales price from month to month are normal and the underlying trends continue to be positive. I see no reason to be overly concerned here and fully expect to see us gain some of this back next month. The lowest priced sale for the month in Redhawk was $245,000, for a condo, and the highest sale was $544,990.

Listings, after rising steadily the past couple of months flattened out in April, but are well above year ago levels which helps explain the slowing pace of appreciation. Sales activity jumped 58% month over month to the highest level we have seen in the past year. Favorable interest rates and more homes on the market to choose from caused buyer activity to jump.

Buyers have had a little more time to look over the past few months with the number of listings increasing. Even so, days to sell did not increase very much coming in at 61, just above the 60 day average being experienced for Temecula overall.

With sales activity up sharply and listings relatively flat it is no surprise that overall inventory fell. We are currently at just over a two month supply, lowest it has been in some time. This constrined inventory will help push price appreciation back into positive territory. 

The continued decline in distressed properties are one of the best indicators of how much our Redhawk – Temecula Real Estate Market has improved. Only 4% of the sales in April involved distressed properties compared to 20% in April 2013.