Imperial County, CA housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Balanced market · leverage 47
Open on the mapMarket report (PDF)Compare
Home Value
$382,827
+5.2% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
47
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
7.6 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
71 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
14%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
100.4%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
48%
Aug 2026
Rental Rate
$1,754/mo
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
60%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$308
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 60% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 5.2% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 16% below the 2017-19 norm and rising (+21% vs. a year ago), still somewhat tight.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is moderate (47/100; U.S.: 54): homes typically sell at or above asking (100.4% of list); 14% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 48% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $93k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,357 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Buy vs. rent. Buying costs about $576/mo more than renting a typical home (mortgage payment vs. typical rent).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $308 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from earthquakes. Earthquakes aren't covered by standard homeowners insurance.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −5% to +11% over the next 12 months (76% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −5.0% to +11.4% (80% range; middle estimate +4.5%), chance of a rise 76%, of a 5%+ drop 9%.
HouseVane's model, refit every month on local market signals and national ones, trained only on data known at the time. How accurate it has been.
Follow Imperial County, CA
One email a month: what changed in prices, supply and the outlook. Unsubscribe any time.
ZIP codes in Imperial County, CA
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro, CA 92243 | $393K | +6.3% | 31 |
| Calexico, CA 92231 | $394.4K | +5.1% | 31 |
| Brawley, CA 92227 | $362.2K | +4.2% | 36 |
| Imperial, CA 92251 | $441.6K | +5.0% | 27 |
| Holtville, CA 92250 | $358K | +4.4% | 71 |
| Heber, CA 92249 | $419.2K | +5.7% | 16 |
| Calipatria, CA 92233 | $268.5K | +1.3% | 57 |
| Niland, CA 92257 | – | – | 12 |
| Westmorland, CA 92281 | – | – | 60 |
| Winterhaven, CA 92283 | – | – | 29 |
| Salton City, CA 92275 | – | – | 13 |
| Seeley, CA 92273 | – | – | 71 |
| Ocotillo, CA 92259 | – | – | 75 |
| Palo Verde, CA 92266 | – | – | 87 |
| ZIP 92222 | – | – | – |