Palm Desert Real Estate Market 2026: Year-to-Date vs. 2025

By Jaimee Linder | October 4, 2026

More homes are selling in Palm Desert this year. They are just selling for a little less per square foot, and a little more slowly, than they did a year ago.

That is the short version of nine months of MLS data. The longer version matters more if you are thinking about listing this season, because the gap between homes that sold and homes that didn't is wider than the headline numbers suggest.

Here is the year-over-year comparison for all residential sales in the City of Palm Desert, January 1 through September 30.

What the 2026 numbers are telling sellers

Buyers are active, and they are price-sensitive

A 4.4% increase in closed sales is real demand. Buyers did not disappear this year. They showed up, made offers, and closed.

But they paid less per foot to do it. Median price per square foot fell from $328 to $319, even as the median home that sold got about 3% larger (1,821 square feet versus 1,764). In plain terms, buyers bought a bit more house for a bit less money.

The average price rose 1.5% while the median fell. That tells you the upper end of Palm Desert held up better than the middle of the market. Higher-priced sales pulled the average up, while the typical home softened slightly.

Homes are taking a little longer

Median days on market moved from 55 to 58. The average moved from 69 to 75. Neither shift is dramatic, but both point the same direction: buyers are taking their time and comparing options.

Negotiation held steady at the median, with sellers receiving 97.5% of list price in both years. The average dipped from 97.0% to 96.6%, which reflects a larger share of sellers accepting deeper discounts to get to the closing table.

The number most sellers overlook: listings that didn't sell

Closed sales only tell half the story. The other half is what happened to the listings that came off the market without a buyer.

Nearly half of the Palm Desert listings that left the market this year did so without selling. That is 1,088 homeowners who went through the work of preparing, photographing, and showing a home, and ended up back where they started.

Two details stand out.

First, expirations rose 7.9% while cancellations fell 15.5%. More sellers stayed on the market until their listing agreement ran out instead of pulling the home early. Staying the course is fine when the price is right. When it isn't, it just means more days of the same result.

Second, look at how those expired homes were priced:

• Homes that sold in 2026: median $319 per square foot
• Homes that expired in 2026: median $336 per square foot

That is roughly a 5% premium per foot. The expired homes were not dramatically overpriced. They were priced just above where buyers were actually paying, and in a market where buyers have options, that small gap was enough.

The median expired listing also sat for 115 days before it came off the market. That is nearly four months of carrying costs, showings, and lost momentum.

Where Palm Desert stands heading into season

As of the end of September, Palm Desert had 637 active listings, plus 48 active under contract and 62 pending.

At 2026's closing pace of about 142 sales per month, that active inventory represents roughly 4.5 months of supply. That is a balanced market with buyers holding some leverage on price. Keep in mind the monthly pace is averaged across the slower summer months, so the effective supply will tighten as seasonal buyers return.

The same pricing gap shows up in current inventory. Active listings carry a median of $333 per square foot, about 4% above what buyers paid on closed sales this year. Some of those homes will sell. Many will need an adjustment first.

This is exactly the conversation I have with sellers in South Palm Desert, Ironwood, and across the city before we list. The question isn't what your neighbor's home listed for. It's what buyers have actually paid, per foot, for homes like yours in the last 90 days.

What this means if you're selling

• Price to closed sales, not active listings. The active market is priced about 4% ahead of what buyers are paying.
• Treat the first 30 days as your best window. With median days on market near 60, a home that hasn't drawn serious interest by week four is sending you a pricing signal.
• Use season to your advantage. Buyer traffic increases from fall through spring. A well-priced home entering that window competes on value. An overpriced one becomes a comparison point for the homes that do sell.
• Expect negotiation. A 97.5% median sale-to-list ratio means a typical buyer is negotiating roughly 2.5% off list price. Build that into your strategy.

Every home is different, and citywide numbers only go so far. Your specific price depends on your community, your floor plan, your condition, and the competition you'll face the week you list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are home prices going down in Palm Desert?

Slightly. Through September 2026, the median closed price in Palm Desert was $560,000, down 1.8% from $570,000 over the same period in 2025. Median price per square foot fell 2.8%, from $328 to $319. Sales volume rose, so this is a softening in price, not a drop in demand.

How long does it take to sell a home in Palm Desert right now?

The median home that closed in Palm Desert through September 2026 spent 58 days on market, up from 55 days in 2025. The average was 75 days, up from 69. Homes priced in line with recent sales still move. Homes priced above them sit.

How many Palm Desert listings fail to sell?

Through September 2026, 684 Palm Desert listings expired and 404 were canceled, a combined 1,088 against 1,277 closed sales. Roughly 46% of the listings that left the market did so without selling, compared with about 48% in 2025.

Is it a buyer's or seller's market in Palm Desert?

It is a balanced market leaning toward buyers on pricing. With 637 active listings and an average of about 142 closings per month in 2026, Palm Desert held roughly 4.5 months of supply at the end of September. Buyers have choices, and they are negotiating, with homes closing at a median of 97.5% of list price.

Should I list my Palm Desert home before season?

Listing ahead of the winter season puts your home in front of the strongest buyer traffic of the year, but only if it is priced to recent closed sales. Expired listings in 2026 were priced about 5% higher per square foot than homes that sold, which is the gap that separates a sale from a relist.

The bottom line

Palm Desert is selling more homes in 2026 than it did in 2025, but buyers are paying slightly less per foot and taking a little longer to commit. The sellers who are winning this year are the ones pricing to what buyers have actually paid, not to what the house down the street is asking.

If you're thinking about selling this season, I'm happy to walk you through what homes like yours have sold for and where your price needs to be to land on the right side of that line.

Source: MLS data, Property Type Residential, City of Palm Desert, California. Closed, expired, and canceled listings for January 1 through September 30 of each year. Active, active under contract, and pending counts reflect inventory at the time of the 2026 pull. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.