Does a Rancho Mirage Seller's Buyer Live Here Year-Round or Only in Winter? Reading Redfin, Zillow, Realtor.com and the Census Seasonal Homes

What do the three Rancho Mirage price figures say?

The three sources agree on direction and differ on level. Redfin's $872,775 is a three-month median of all home types through June. Realtor.com's $782,500 is the June median sold price, 10.3% below Redfin's, computed here. Zillow's $829,304 is an index of typical value across all homes, and it sits between the two. A seller reading all three should expect a citywide range of about $0.78M to $0.87M.

The year-earlier values show a soft year. Redfin's fall of 2.5% implies about $895,154 a year earlier. Zillow's fall of 0.3% implies about $831,800. Realtor.com's fall of 5.72% implies about $829,974. The three-year change tells a similar story on Realtor.com, with the sold median down 5.15%, which implies about $825,000 three years earlier, so prices have gone sideways for three years while the number of homes for sale has risen.

Listings sit well above sales. Realtor.com's listing median of $992,000 is 26.8% above its sold median, computed here, and down 3.16% in a year, which implies about $1,024,370 a year earlier. A gap of that size is common in a resort market, where the homes put up for sale skew to larger and more expensive properties while sales include many smaller condominiums and townhouses. That is an inference from the mix of property types, not a figure on the page.

Per-foot prices are consistent. Redfin's $384 is down 1.2%, which implies about $389 a year earlier, and Realtor.com's $402 is down 6.43%, which implies about $430. The two sources are within 5% of each other on level, computed here, and both show a lower price per foot than a year ago. The Census owner value of $807,200, plus or minus $34,375, is 3.2% above the Realtor.com sold median and 7.5 times the Census median household income of $107,364, computed here.

The rent figure needs a caution. Realtor.com's median rent of $5,900 is down 1.67% on both the one-year and three-year columns, an identical change that suggests a thin sample of rentals, and it sits far above the Census median rent of $1,510 for the postal area. The gap is mostly a difference in what is measured: the page counts homes listed for rent, which skew to large furnished houses let for a season, while the Census counts the rent paid by every renter, including those who have been in place for years.

One more comparison is useful. Redfin's three-month figure and Realtor.com's single-month figure are 10.3% apart, and some of that gap is the month. A resort market has a calendar, with more sales in the cooler months and fewer in summer, so a median taken in June reflects the end of the winter season and the start of the quiet one. A seller who compares a June median with a January median is comparing two different mixes of buyers, and the fairest comparison is the same month a year earlier, which is the change each page prints.

Sources as cited. Ratios and year-earlier values in this section are computed from the published figures and percentages.

How slow is the Rancho Mirage market, and what does a slow market ask of a seller?

Redfin rates Rancho Mirage not very competitive, with a score of 24 out of 100. Multiple offers are rare. The average home sells about 4% below list and goes pending in around 89 days. The hottest homes do better, selling about 1% below list in around 44 days, so the best homes still take six weeks and the rest take nearly three months.

The pace has slowed. Redfin shows a median of 86 days on market against 68 a year earlier, which is 18 days longer. Zillow shows around 71 days to pending, and Realtor.com shows a median of 71 days, down 1.39% in a year, which implies about 72 days a year earlier. The sources differ on whether the pace is slower or flat, and they agree that a typical sale takes more than two months from listing to contract.

Few homes sell above the ask. Redfin shows 2.7% of homes sold above list, down 5.9 points, which implies about 8.6% a year earlier. The sale-to-list ratio is 95.8%, down 0.57 points, which implies about 96.4% a year earlier. Price drops affect 36.2% of listings. More than one listing in three had to be cut, and a seller who started high paid for it in time.

Supply has grown over three years. Realtor.com shows 480 active listings, down 7.32% in a year, which implies about 518 a year earlier, but up 83.22% in three years, which implies about 262. Redfin counted 225 sales in June, so the 480 active listings are about 2.1 times a month of sales, computed here, which is a rough measure of months of supply and an inference, since the two sources count differently. A resort market with that much supply gives a buyer room to wait.

For a seller, the practical question is who the buyer is. In a market where most sales take months, a buyer who must pay a mortgage and leave a job behind will move slowly, while a buyer who plans a winter home can act on a visit. A private offer from a purchaser with cash and no financing condition removes the months of waiting, and with it the cost of carrying a second home through a summer when no one is there.

The seasonal calendar matters here as well. A home that goes on the market in late spring meets a buyer pool that is thinning, since many winter residents have left, and a home listed in autumn meets one that is returning. The pages do not break out sales by month, so this is an inference from the Census count of seasonal homes and not a measured pattern. A seller who cannot choose the season can ask for a private offer that does not depend on it, and compare that offer with the price and the carrying costs of waiting through another summer.

Sources as cited. Year-earlier values and differences are computed from the published percentages.

How many Rancho Mirage homes are second homes?

The Census count is stark. Of 15,026 housing units, 9,003, or 59.9%, are occupied and 6,023, or 40.1%, are vacant. Of the vacant units, 5,245, or 87.1%, are held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, which is 34.9% of all units. Another 276, or 4.6% of vacant units, are for sale only, 160, or 2.7%, are sold and not yet occupied, 149, or 2.5%, are for rent and 193, or 3.2%, are vacant for other reasons.

This is not a sign of distress. A home counted as vacant for seasonal use is a house or condominium that an owner uses for part of the year and keeps closed the rest, and the Census counts it as vacant because no one lives there as a usual residence on the survey date. In a desert resort, that is a normal pattern, with many owners arriving in the cooler months and leaving before the summer heat.

The pattern shapes who buys. A buyer for a second home often visits, decides during a stay and pays in cash or with a large down payment, and a seller who has a house that suits a winter resident can reach that buyer. It also shapes who sells. An owner who uses a house for a few weeks a year may find that it costs more to keep than it is worth in use, with taxes, insurance, landscaping, pool service and utilities running all year.

Housing types are mixed. Of the 15,026 units, 8,643, or 57.5%, are detached houses, 4,216, or 28.1%, are attached, 554, or 3.7%, are in buildings of two to four units, 900, or 6.0%, are in buildings of five or more and 713, or 4.7%, are mobile homes. Houses and attached homes together make up 85.6% of units, and the attached share is large because many resort communities are built as townhouses and villas.

Age is mixed too. Of the units, 3,694, or 24.6%, were built in the 1970s, 2,485, or 16.5%, in the 1980s, 1,505, or 10.0%, in the 1990s and 3,779, or 25.1%, in the 2000s, so the 1970s and 2000s are the two big waves. In all, 5,939 units, 39.5%, were built before 1980, and 5,097, 33.9%, were built since 2000. The median build year is 1986. A house from the 1970s may have original roofing, air conditioning and plumbing, which an inspector will check.

For an owner of one of these homes, a few plain questions apply. Is the house used for a few weeks or most of the winter? Does the owner pay for a manager, a pool service and a landscaper while away? Does an association charge dues, and have they gone up? Each answer sets a monthly cost of ownership, and a seller who adds those costs for another year or two will see what waiting for a higher price really costs. The Census cannot answer these questions, but the owner can, and the answers are often the real reason for a sale.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B25004, B25024 and B25034, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

Who lives in Rancho Mirage year-round, and what do they spend?

The year-round residents are older. Of 17,563 people counted, 9,243, or 52.6%, are 65 or older, and 5,192, or 29.6%, are 75 or older. Only 1,454, or 8.3%, are under 18. Residents in their middle years, 45 to 64, number 4,923, or 28.0%. This is a retirement community, and sellers here are often owners who are downsizing, moving closer to family or moving to a place with care.

Owners dominate. Of 9,003 occupied homes, 7,383, or 82.0%, are owner-occupied and 1,620, or 18.0%, are rented. The Census median household income is $107,364, which is a wide gap from the $807,200 owner value, 7.5 times income, computed here. Many owners are living on savings, pensions and the equity in the house, not on a working income.

Tenure is mixed. Of 7,383 owner households, 328 moved in during 2023 or later and 1,571 between 2020 and 2022, so 1,899, or 25.7%, moved in since 2020. Another 3,208, 43.5%, moved in between 2010 and 2019, 1,342, 18.2%, between 2000 and 2009, 649, 8.8%, in the 1990s and 285, 3.9%, before 1990. In all, 69.2% arrived since 2010 and 12.7% have been in place since before 2000, so the owner base is newer than in many older suburbs.

Costs are uneven. Of 7,383 owners, 3,682, or 49.9%, have a mortgage and 3,701, or 50.1%, do not. Among owners with a mortgage, 1,518, or 41.2%, spent 30% or more of income on housing, and 1,049, or 28.5%, spent half or more. Among owners without a mortgage, 877, or 23.7%, spent 30% or more, and 466, or 12.6%, spent half or more, which reflects taxes, insurance and association dues set against a small retirement income. In all, 2,395 owner households, 32.8% of those with a computed figure, carry a heavy cost.

Homes are of a middle size. Of 7,383 owner households, 158, or 2.1%, live in a one-bedroom home, 2,026, or 27.4%, in a two-bedroom, 3,736, or 50.6%, in a three-bedroom, 1,287, or 17.4%, in a four-bedroom and 176, or 2.4%, in one with five or more bedrooms, so 70.4% have three or more bedrooms. Of 1,620 renter households, 510, or 31.5%, moved in since 2020, and 660, or 40.7%, live in a two-bedroom home.

Putting age and tenure together, the typical year-round owner is a retiree who arrived in the last fifteen years, owns a three-bedroom home and lives on a fixed income. Such an owner may want a sale that closes on a set date, with no showings in a house that is lived in and no repairs to arrange, and may want to be sure of the net sum before choosing a new place to live. A family selling for the heirs of a departed owner has the same needs, with the added wish for a quiet, short process. Readers comparing markets can also read the Rancho Santa Fe brief and the El Dorado Hills brief.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B25003, B25038, B25091, B25042, B01001, B19013 and B25077, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

What should a Rancho Mirage owner ask, and what does a private sale change?

Five questions are worth asking. Is my home priced against sales or against listings, which sit more than a quarter higher? How long can I afford to carry it while it sits? Who is the likely buyer, a year-round resident or a seasonal one? What will the fees be? How much of the price survives the buyer's inspection?

Fees are simple arithmetic, and no rate is assumed here. Each 1% of a $450,000 sale is $4,500, of a $725,000 sale is $7,250 and of a $1,200,000 sale is $12,000. Three percent is $13,500, $21,750 and $36,000, and five percent is $22,500, $36,250 and $60,000. A seller can put their own quoted costs into those rows. On the Redfin median of $872,775, 1% is $8,728, 3% is $26,183 and 5% is $43,639.

A private sale has no showings and no neighbors talking about it, which is the first benefit. For an owner of a second home who lives elsewhere, there is a practical side: no staging, no open houses and no need to be in the desert when a buyer calls. The second benefit is a closing date that suits the seller, which helps an owner who wants to close before summer or who needs time to settle a move.

The third and fourth benefits are no commission costs and no closing costs, and the fifth is no inspection repairs. Across the postal area, 39.5% of homes were built before 1980, and an inspector will look at the roof, the air conditioning, the pool equipment and the plumbing in each, so the fifth is worth pricing. A buyer who takes the home as it stands leaves the seller no repair list.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. It does not say that a private sale always beats a public listing, and in a market where homes sell about 4% below list on average, an owner is right to compare an offer with what the same home would net after costs. If you would like a private, no-obligation offer for a home in Rancho Mirage, call 401-219-4207 or use the contact form on this site.

Sources as cited. Fee illustrations are arithmetic only and assume no commission rate.

Methodology and limitations

Each page's date, title and place were read before use. The Redfin page is for the three months ending June 2026 and is titled as of July. The Zillow page was updated August 31, 2026. The Realtor.com page is for June 2026 and compares with a year earlier and three years earlier; its rent change is identical in both columns and is reported as printed and not relied on. Only established data publishers and the Census are cited. The Census figures are five-year estimates for the postal area that the sheet lists for Rancho Mirage, and a postal area can extend past the city line. Percent changes were taken as printed, and ratios, sums, fee figures and year-earlier values are this brief's arithmetic.

Conclusion

The record for Rancho Mirage shows a citywide level of about $0.78M to $0.87M, a year of small declines, homes that sell about 4% below list in around three months and a stock in which more than one home in three is a seasonal home. The useful number for an owner is a closed sale of a comparable home, and a private buyer can price the home in front of them and close on the owner's schedule.