Sun City Palm Desert: Home Prices & Market Trends

Latest complete quarter: July–September 2026

July 1–September 30, 2026: 65 closed sales, $525,000 median closed price, $272.65 median price per square foot and 64 valid median MLS days on market. This complete-quarter supplement uses the same reconciled records as the primary two-year analysis.

Latest 12 months versus the prior 12 months

The latest period, October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026, contains 305 MLS-recorded closings at a $526,000 median, compared with 293 at $540,000 in October 1, 2024–September 30, 2025. Median price changed −2.6%; sales count changed +4.1%.

Median sold price per square foot moved from $299.08 to $288.56 (−3.5%). Median valid MLS marketing time moved from 51 to 53.5 days.

What Sun City Palm Desert homes actually sold for

Latest closed prices ranged from $280,000 to $1,150,000. The middle half fell between $425,000 and $620,000; the community-wide median was $526,000.

Price-band counts show which homes actually sold. A change in the mix of floor plans and locations can move the community median even when closely matched homes behave differently.

Compare the larger 55+ market: Explore the Coachella Valley 55+ resource hub or the two-year sales study across six major 55+ communities.

Why the median price declined

Under 1,600 sq. ft.: 86 latest sales at $390,000, versus 69 prior sales at $420,000; median price-per-square-foot change −2.5%. 1,600–1,999 sq. ft.: 81 latest sales at $509,900, versus 93 prior sales at $515,000; median price-per-square-foot change −7.7%. 2,000–2,399 sq. ft.: 89 latest sales at $571,000, versus 84 prior sales at $585,000; median price-per-square-foot change −2.5%. 2,400 sq. ft. or more: 49 latest sales at $717,500, versus 47 prior sales at $789,000; median price-per-square-foot change −6.2%.

A size band still combines different floor plans, conditions, pools, views and lots. Medians and percentage comparisons are suppressed when either required cohort has fewer than five usable observations.

Performance by home size

Performance by recorded construction period

Where buyers found negotiating room

The latest median sale reached 98.16% of final list price and 96.73% of valid original list price. 78 of 305 closings (25.6%) met or exceeded the final asking price.

Among 303 usable original-price records, 118 (38.9%) reduced before closing, compared with 41.6% in the prior period. Among reduced listings, the median dollar cut was $22,000 and the separately calculated median percentage cut was 4.77%.

Final asking price can already incorporate substantial earlier reductions. These gross price ratios do not measure seller concessions, net proceeds, or the full exposure across relistings.

Inventory snapshot: September 15, 2026

Retained September 15, 2026 inventory analysis. Every trailing-sales denominator and supply ratio in this section uses the original September 16, 2025–September 15, 2026 period, not the refreshed September 30 closed-sale window.

Snapshot date: September 15, 2026

The community sample contains 70 listings coded active and eight coded pending. Eleven of the active records carry a contingent flag, leaving 59 apparently available listings. The available and contingent columns partition the 70 active-status records; they are not extra listings. One additional pending record with the broad “Sun City” label was excluded as an off-community property. Pending and contingent contract prices remain unknown until closing.

The original snapshot’s trailing 12 months produced 312 closings, or exactly 26 per month. The supply calculation separates apparently available listings from all active-status records:

59 apparently available listings ÷ 26 monthly closings = approximately 2.27 months of supply. Including all 70 active-status records, with the 11 contingent listings, gives 2.69 months. Pending records are excluded from both calculations.

This is a transparent snapshot-to-trailing-sales ratio—not a seasonally adjusted supply series or a forecast. A rare plan, extensively remodeled home, private-pool property, golf-course lot, or unusually well-priced new listing can face a much narrower competitive set than the community average.

Where the active listings were priced

The active-status market was concentrated from $500,000 through $599,999, with 30 listings, or 42.9% of the 70 active records. Eleven active-status listings had at least 90 reported days on market, including three at 180 days or more. The price-band and size tables include the 11 contingent records.

September 2026 supply by home size

The 70 active-status listings are spread across all four size categories. The 1,600–1,999-square-foot group had the longest median reported exposure at 41 days. The 2,400-square-foot-and-larger group had nine listings at a $719,000 median ask. These figures describe seller expectations in the snapshot, including contingent records.

In the retained September 15, 2026 inventory analysis, the $529,000 median active asking price was compared with the $523,000 sold median for September 16, 2025–September 15, 2026. Asking price per square foot was $288.11 across all active records and $292.28 among apparently available records. The refreshed October 1, 2025–September 30, 2026 sold median is $526,000; that newer window is not used to rebase this historical inventory comparison. Asking and sold homes are different groups.

All status counts describe the September 15 export. A review of the active listings found no additional clear current escrow or backup-offer indications beyond the structured contingent flags. Showing start dates and availability can still differ, and live status should be confirmed before scheduling a tour.

Search the latest Sun City Palm Desert listings on Bloom

How pools, golf settings, and casitas divide the market

In the latest 12-month sample, 43 sales carry an explicit pool marker. Their median was $669,000 and $330.88 per square foot, versus $510,000 and $284.06 among 262 records without that marker. Features overlap and missing coding does not prove absence. These are comparison groups, not isolated feature premiums.

Golf requires an affirmative golf-course lot or view field; casita requires an explicit casita or guest-house field. Generic community amenities do not qualify. The tables also separate overlapping pool and golf groups.

official Mountain Vista Golf Club rate page

Why floor plan matters more than the community median

Usable structured model fields identify a plan on 202 of 305 latest sales. The seven tracked plan families below preserve normalized spelling, punctuation and expansion variants. Marketing descriptions alone do not assign a Sun City Palm Desert plan.

Use the plan rows to select comparables. Small cohorts are suppressed; differences in lot, casita, expansion, pool and condition remain within each family.

See the complete Sun City Palm Desert floor-plan and search guide

Closing volume is seasonal; price conclusions are not automatic

The earlier historical analysis found that, across the seven complete calendar years from 2019 through 2025, March and April produced the most closings on average, while November produced the fewest. This retained finding describes closing volume rather than the best month to buy or sell. Closings lag contract activity and can be affected by seasonal residency, holidays, financing and escrow timing.