Desert Princess, Cathedral City, CA | Homes For Sale
Explore homes for sale in Desert Princess, a guard-gated Cathedral City golf community known for its 27-hole championship course, mountain backdrops, resort-style amenities, and a wider mix of condos and detached homes than many desert club neighborhoods. Desert Princess has more of a liveable resort feel than a closed ultra-private club, which is part of its appeal for full-time owners, seasonal residents, and buyers who want flexibility alongside amenities.
Lifestyle
Desert Princess carries real resort DNA. The official club site says the community was originally conceived as a resort ownership destination, and that still shows up today in the scale of the grounds, the lakes and mountain views, and the ease of moving between golf, dining, fitness, spa services, and racquet sports. The club highlights the 27-hole course, Mountain View Grille, Lagos Café, golf shop, fitness center, spa and wellness services, tennis, pickleball, bocce, and racquetball, which makes the neighborhood feel active without needing to leave the gates for every part of daily life.
Location
Desert Princess sits in one of the most practical spots for both full-time living and lock-and-leave ownership. The official site describes it as minutes from downtown Palm Springs, with Palm Springs International Airport about 10 minutes away, and it also points to nearby supermarkets, pharmacy, salons, and restaurants. That location gives the community a Palm Springs-adjacent lifestyle without feeling cut off from the rest of the valley.
Real Estate
Desert Princess really behaves like two micro-markets. The condo inventory forms the affordable core of the community, while the detached homes create a second tier with larger footprints, more outdoor living, and a newer-home feel in certain sections. That split is part of what makes Desert Princess useful from a home-search perspective: not every buyer here is playing the same game.
The condo side leans heavily into classic mid-1980s desert-country-club floorplans, commonly 1 to 3 bedrooms with low-maintenance footprints and patios oriented toward golf, greenbelt, mountain, or pool views. The detached homes generally bring more square footage, more privacy, and a broader indoor-outdoor setup, and some of the newer Arroyos-era product pushes into a more contemporary lane. One of the most important due-diligence items here is land tenure: Desert Princess includes both fee-simple and ground-lease conversations depending on the property, so that detail should always be confirmed address by address.
Market snapshot (last 6 months of Desert Princess MLS activity)
Last updated: 3.31.26
Closed Sales: 27
Sold Price Range: $202,000 to $743,000
Median Sold Price: $290,000
Typical Sold Price per SqFt: about $245/sq ft
Median Days on Market: 46
Sale-to-List Trend: median roughly 96.5% of final asking price
Current competition
Active Listings: 60
Pending: 13
Active List Price Range: $208,000 to $784,000
Median Active List Price: about $365,000
Inventory Pace: roughly 13 months of supply at the recent sales rate
Typical home profile
Condo segment: often 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, roughly 1,177 to 1,212 sq ft
Detached segment: often 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, roughly 1,800 to 1,900 sq ft
Construction pattern: condo core from the mid-1980s, detached homes often 1990s–2000s with some newer Arroyos product
Common selling points: golf or mountain orientation, patios, pool/spa access, and low-maintenance desert living
Membership
Desert Princess is more flexible than many country club communities. The official club site says annual golf memberships are available for homeowners, tenants, and nonresidents, with no initiation fee noted. It also describes single, dual, twilight, and summer options, with benefits that include unlimited golf, practice balls, advance tee booking, and restaurant and golf-shop discounts. For buyers who want access to the club lifestyle without a traditional all-or-nothing structure, that flexibility is a real selling point.
Rental / Ownership nuance
Desert Princess often appeals to seasonal owners and income-minded buyers, but this is where careful wording matters. Cathedral City requires a vacation rental permit, and the city says STVR applications are only processed in certain common-interest-development settings with the proper authorizations. So the credible public-facing message is this: Desert Princess can be attractive for seasonal use and rental-minded ownership, but permit eligibility, HOA rules, and land status should all be verified on the specific property before rental income is treated as part of the investment story.
FAQ
Is Desert Princess a gated community?
Yes. Desert Princess is consistently marketed through the MLS as a guard-gated community with controlled access.
What is the overall lifestyle like at Desert Princess?
The lifestyle is active, social, and resort-oriented. Golf is a major part of the identity, but so are dining, fitness, pickleball, tennis, spa services, and the ease of low-maintenance desert living.
What types of homes are in Desert Princess?
The community includes a large condo base and a smaller detached-home segment, which gives buyers a much broader price and lifestyle range than many club communities.
Is Desert Princess mostly condos?
Mostly, yes. The current market leans condo-heavy, though the detached-home inventory is large enough to create a separate second tier within the neighborhood.
What price range do homes typically fall into?
Recent six-month activity ranged from $202,000 to $743,000 closed, while current actives range from $208,000 to $784,000. In practical terms, condos define the lower-to-mid price tiers and detached homes shape the upper end.
How competitive is the market?
More balanced than hot. With about 13 months of supply at the recent sales pace and a median close around 96.5% of asking, Desert Princess currently reads as a negotiation-capable market rather than a bidding-war environment.
Is golf automatically included with ownership?
Golf should be treated as a separate membership conversation rather than assumed as a blanket owner benefit. The official club site positions golf through annual memberships for homeowners, tenants, and nonresidents.
How close is Desert Princess to Palm Springs and the airport?
Very close. The official site says the community is minutes from downtown Palm Springs and about a 10-minute drive to Palm Springs International Airport.
Can owners rent out their property?
Potentially, yes, but verify it at the property level. Cathedral City requires STVR permits and limits where applications can be processed, so buyers should confirm city compliance and HOA approval before counting on short-term rental income.
Is Desert Princess a good fit for full-time living or seasonal use?
Both. The amenity package, the condo-heavy lock-and-leave inventory, the nearby services, and the quick airport access all support seasonal ownership, while the breadth of housing and daily convenience also work well for full-time residents.
What makes Desert Princess stand out?
Desert Princess stands out because it combines resort-level amenity depth, a broad range of price points, flexible club participation, and fast access to Palm Springs. It is not trying to be the most exclusive club in the valley; its edge is value, flexibility, and lifestyle density.
The two lines I would keep intact are the land-tenure caution and the STVR-permit caution. They make the page stronger and more trustworthy.