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Sheri’s Palm Springs Area Blog

Whether it be real estate updates, restaurant reviews, events, or highlights of unique homes in Palm Springs, follow Sheri as she covers all that Palm Springs and the surrounding area has to offer.

Andalusia 3,700% Sales Increase Tops In Palm Springs Area

No, that was not a misprint. We just completed examining the latest Palm Springs area MLS stats for some of the most active golf communities and one community clearly stood out. Sales at Andalusia at Coral Mountain in La Quinta clearly exploded over last year and topped our stats with an amazing 3,700% sales increase.

New Andalusia Model Homes = More Buyers

Frankly I’m not too surprised by the big sales increase at Andalusia as last year the developer was bringing new model homes to market and then this year homebuyers started snapping them up. Our Sheri Dettman & Associates team has helped a growing number of Andalusia clients with both new developer homes and resale homes. They present a great value when buyers consider all the amenities that are included.

That said, buyers interested in Andalusia should get cracking as Andalusia inventory of both new and resale homes is beginning to dwindle. I had lunch with the developer team recently and future homes when available are forecast to be at higher prices.

More Golf Community Sales & Pricing Stats Tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ll post results for both sales and price changes in some of the most popular golf communities in the desert. Stay tuned!

Palm Springs Area Golf Communities Real Estate Update

I mentioned in my Andalusia blog post yesterday that I’d follow up today with sales stats for other Palm Springs area golf communities. So here are the top performing Palm Springs area golf communities for sales and for price changes during the last six months compared to the same six month period of 2012.

Note: "SFR" refers to Single Family Residence for communities with both homes and a large number of condos.

Top Palm Springs Area Golf Communities By Sales

  • Andalusia At Coral Mountain, La Quinta +3,700%
  • Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert +100%
  • Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage (SFR) +53.33%
  • Monterey Country Club, Palm Desert +50%
  • Hideaway Golf Club, La Quinta +45.45%
  • Sun City Shadow Hills, Indio +38.27%
  • Trilogy, La Quinta +35.29%
  • La Quinta Fairways +33.33%
  • Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage (Condos) +25.64%
  • Indian Wells Country Club (SFR) +14.29%
  • PGA West, La Quinta (SFR) +12.50

Top Golf Communities By Price Changes

  • Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert +57.45%
  • Woodhaven Country Club, Palm Desert +29.52%
  • Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage (SFR) +27.60%
  • Hideaway Golf Club, La Quinta +25.27%
  • The Palms, La Quinta +21.61%
  • Indian Ridge Country Club, Palm Desert +21.48%
  • Indian Springs Counry Club, Indio +21.35%
  • Indian Palms Country Club, Indio +17.08%
  • Monterey Country Club, Palm Desert +15.61%
  • Indian Wells Country Club +14.46%
  • Mountain View Country Club, La Quinta +11.78%
  • La Quinta Fairways +10.97%
  • PGA West, La Quinta (SFR) +8.82%
  • Citrus Golf Club, La Quinta +7.25%
  • PGA West La Quinta (Condos) +6.68%

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments, even a simple real estate question.
Email Sheri

Data Source: California Desert Association of Realtors MLS. Data is believed to be accurate but cannot be guaranteed. Copyright Sheri Dettman & Associates.

Today’s Forecast: Sunny & Warm On Sparkling Lake La Quinta

Got Cold, Rain Or Snow Back Home?

Looks Like We've Got Warm Sunny Days Waiting For You!

It seems like Old Man Winter is rearing his head already in parts of the U.S. and Canada. So if you’re experiencing cold or rain in your hometown, why not head for the Palm Springs area where the forecast is looking pretty darn good. The October Palm Springs area real estate forecast is for mostly sunny days with increasing chances of discovering your perfect desert home.

Open House Today Saturday, October 5th - 11 AM to 2 PM

On The Water At This Beautiful Lake La Quinta Home

If you’re in the area today be sure to stop by our open house in beautiful Lake La Quinta and say hello to Emily. Enjoy resort lifestyle living at this attractive waterfront home. Lake cruises for family and friends depart from your private boat dock located just below your own private lakeside pool, spa, large deck area and of course a built-in grill.

Open House Directions: Go to the Lake La Quinta guard gate located on the West side of Adams Street between Hwy 111 and Avenue 48. The guard will give you direction to this waterfront home.

What Buyers Should Know About Declining Palm Springs Area Inventory

The available inventory of homes for sale in the Palm Springs real estate market declined from 3,000 available homes in January to just 2,000 units by the end of August. Looking for a nice condo? 1,228 condo units were available for sale in January, but by August 30th the available condo inventory was down to 863 units.

Today’s Home & Condo Buyers Need To Strategize To Win

The combination of declining Palm Springs area inventory and strong buyer demand have resulted in some buyers losing out on the property they wanted to buy. Despite declining inventory, our Sheri Dettman & Associates team completed a record 80 real estate transactionsduring the last 12 months, and we’ve discovered a few things that could help you as a buyer in gaining a slight edge over other buyers.

How To Gain An Advantage Over Competing Homebuyers 

  1. Hire Smart
  2. Set Realistic Goals
  3. Be Prepared To Pounce
  4. Your Own Customized MLS Portal
  5. Financing? Thou Shalt Be Pre-Approved

  1. Hire Smart
  2. Even though the Internet gives today’s buyer’s unprecedented access to home listings, homebuyers can often gain an advantage over other buyers by working with a busy and successful Palm Springs area real estate agent. Top agents usually have better inventory knowledge; they network with other top agents and they can often know about new listings before they appear on the MLS.

  3. Set Realistic Goals
  4. If you expect to buy a home in today’s real estate market at a large discount from the listing price, you may be unrealistic in your goals. Case in point:  La Quinta is the top market for home sales in the Palm Springs area. The average La Quinta home in zip code 92253 sold for 94.7% of the listing price during a recent 12-month period. Homes located in Indio’s 92201 zip code sold for 97.9% of list. Homes in Palm Desert's 92260 zip code sold for 94.6% of list price, and in Palm Springs 92262 that figure was 96.9%.

  5. Be Prepared To Pounce
  6. Palm Springs real estate is, many times, about timing. For some buyers, finding the right property can take months. Other buyers take days. But when you discover the right Palm Springs home, you’ll want to be prepared to pounce. You can tie up that favorite home during a 14-day due diligence period giving you ample time to do your homework.

  7. Your Own Customized MLS Portal
  8. There are a variety of ways to research and view online property listings, but did you know that your realtor can help you to supercharge your real estate research by connecting you directly to their local Desert Area MLS? This can give you a timing advantage over buyers using many of the big national real estate sites where listings can take days or even weeks to appear online. Email Sheri today to supercharge your home search.

  9. Financing? Thou Shalt Be Pre-Approved
  10. Having sold hundreds of homes in all price ranges, I’ve learned there are Palm Springs area mortgage professionals who can get a transaction completed and dozens of others who specialize in foot dragging. Get pre-approved before you start your search and see step one (Hire Smart). My team and I are happy to provide a list of mortgage providers that we’ve worked with over the years.

Canadian Thanksgiving Results In Busy La Quinta Weekend

Canadian Thanksgiving Results In Busy La Quinta Weekend

My husband Bill and I visited Bucatini Trattoria in La Quinta last night for some pasta and we were surprised to find this La Quinta restaurant busier than usual with hungry and thirsty people. The outside patio area seemed to be the preferred location as our desert temperatures where just about perfect.

Crowded restaurants are not the norm in early October, but I quickly realized that this was a long weekend for Canadians enjoying a their Thanksgiving, which for Canada falls on the second Monday of October.

Canadian Homebuyers Very Active In The Palm Springs Market

Canadian homebuyers continue to be very active in our Palm Springs area real estate market in all price segments. Most of our Canadian buyer clients seem to prefer gated resort lifestyle communities offering amenities such as golf, fitness and tennis. And with the Canadian Dollar still strong against the U.S. Dollar, Canadian buyers can still take advantage of some of the best Palm Springs area real estate values in a long time.

Investing In A Second Home Is Fairly Simple For Canadians

Sheri Dettman & Associates has personally helped hundreds of Canadian buyers in finding excellent real estate opportunities, be it a home or luxury condo. Canadian buyers generally don’t need a U.S. Social Security number, just a valid passport. There are a few forms that our La Quinta based real estate team will help you complete, but the process overall is straightforward and fairly simple. An attorney is usually not needed in California, since our escrow and title teams are trained to process all the paperwork for buyer or even selling a home. Keep in mind too that in the majority of Canadian buyer transactions, the home seller pays our Realtor service fee. This applies to both resale and new construction homes.

Choosing An Experienced Buyers Agent To Guide You

The smartest thing a Canadian homebuyer can do before they start looking at Palm Springs area homes or luxury condos for sale is to choose a Palm Springs area real estate agent that has a proven track record of helping Canadian buyers. I like to think of a buyer’s agent as part guide and part negotiator. Additional information: How To Choose A Palm Springs Real Estate Agent.

Our Client-First Approach To Growth

At Sheri Dettman & Associates we believe that our ability to satisfy our Palm Springs area buyer and seller clients is what is most important. For us, client loyalty leads to longevity and steady growth.

Client-First Approach To Our Growth

Our strategy is simple: We strive to provide the highest level of service and satisfaction possible to our buyer and seller clients via a small group of real estate, administration and marketing specialists whose combined and diverse skills and talents is stronger together than individually. Through up and down cycles in the Palm Springs area real estate market we’ve been able to steadily grow our business averaging about 20% per year and we've slowly but steadily built our team of specialists (hence our newest team photo).

What We've Discovered For Our Palm Springs Area Buyer Clients

After helping hundreds of buyer clients find their desert home, we know that most of our buyer clients are investing in a lifestyle for their family and friends rather than just a home. After all, this is about much more than real estate, it’s about finding just the right Palm Springs area property for you and your family's lifestyle and then negotiating the best price and terms possible!

Pro-Active Marketing For Our Palm Springs Area Seller Clients

For our seller clients, we proactively invest in a marketing strategy, which will result in bringing a large pool of qualified buyers to each of our Palm Springs area home sellers. In fact, just in the last 12 months, our team found homebuyers for sixty-two of the seventy-eight properties we sold.

How May We Serve You?

We welcome the opportunity to serve your real estate needs. If not us, you’ll want to choose a Palm Springs area agent team that is busy, successful, and experienced. Personally, I choose my tax adviser, doctor, and dentist the same way!

More About Our Sheri Dettman & Associates Team

Andalusia At Coral Mountain, La Quinta Sales Hot, Hot, Hot!

Andalusia At Coral Mountain, La Quinta Sales Hot, Hot, Hot!

Click To Play Our New Andalusia Video Tour

Andalusia continues to be one of the most active desert country club communities this year as luxury home sales of both new and resale homes continues to accelerate. In fact, in just the last six months there were 22 Andalusia homes sold totaling almost $30 million in sales. 18 additional Andalusia homes are now in escrow pending sale.

Why Is Andalusia Real Estate So Active?

Why is the Andalusia market so active? First let me say that I really appreciate the Andalusia community. I’m there on a regular basis working with our buyer clients interested in both new construction and resale homes. The feedback from clients on almost every visit to Andalusia has been extremely positive.

It’s a given that Andalusia At Coral Mountain in La Quinta offers homebuyers some of the most spectacular views in the Palm Springs area. Many of the homes are located above the golf course fairways, resulting in clear site lines to the nearby Coral and Santa Rosa Mountains.

Andalusia's Resort-Lifestyle Atmosphere

Andalusia at Coral Mountain boasts a resort-lifestyle atmosphere, which is designed for those who enjoy an active life and appreciate being able to entertain family and friends through sharing Andalusia’s warm desert hospitality.

Many people appreciate the fact that Andalusia’s many amenities save golf, are included in the reasonable monthly HOA dues. Whether you golf or not you can take advantage of most of the Andalusia activities without needing a membership or paying additional monthly dues.

Popular Andalusia Amenities

Keep in mind that Andalusia's Country Club amenities include the racquet club with spa, tennis and a very impressive fitness center. A new main clubhouse is also being planned. Additionally, there is an extensive network of walking and biking trails, a private dog park and a newly expanded Tapas Restaurant, which offers casual elegant dining inside and on the mountain-view terrace.

Golfers too can take advantage of Andalusia’s affordable golf membership programs. And once you play this Rees Jones designed championship course, you’ll be glad you did.

Newly Listed Golf Course Home At La Quinta Fairways

Newly Listed Golf Course Home At La Quinta Fairways

Adjacent to the La Quinta Resort is the private gated community of La Quinta Fairways. A few meandering golf holes of the La Quinta Resorts Dunes golf course wind through this private gated community.

This newly listed home at 78665 Castle Pines Drive in La Quinta is located on a premium elevated lot along the 9th fairway of the Dunes course. Here you can enjoy extensive indoor/outdoor living opportunities including sweeping views over the Dunes golf course to the nearby Santa Rosa Mountains where you can take in the desert sunsets.

3 Bedrooms & 4 Baths With Impressive Designer Upgrades

Walking through this three bedroom, four-bath home with attached casita you'll notice a host of upgrades and improvements both inside and out. This home exudes casual elegance and features over-sized stone tile floors on diagonals, upgraded lighting, decorator paint, plantation shutters, a wet bar, formal dining room with French doors, a luxurious master suite, and a large chef's kitchen.

Outside, enjoy the multiple fire pits, fountain and covered patio. Homes with this attention to detail are called shiny pennies and this home likely won't be on the market long! La Quinta golf course living with low monthly homeowners association (HOA) dues of just $233.


Dining Around The Desert: The Bistro At Fantasy Springs

Dining Around The Desert: The Bistro At Fantasy Springs

Several of our local casinos offer some great choices for dining. That said I usually avoid dining in them because usually I have to walk through a smoky casino floor to get to them.

My husband Bill suggested we try The Bistro at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. The online reviews were very good so I agreed to take a chance on casino dining. The ambiance of The Bistro is a little old school. You’ll find a dark square shaped bar near the entry where some people also choose to eat. A large open kitchen area and a sushi bar fill one side of the dining room.

Extensive Menu Choices At The Bistro

Bill and I were seated at a comfortable four top table and the service was both friendly and punctual. The Bistro menu is rather extensive offering sushi, steaks, fish, chops, salads and a number of appetizers. Normally when I find sushi in a non-sushi restaurant I pass, but our server Adrienne informed us that their sushi was flown in fresh from Hawaii almost daily and was very good.

Before we ordered our food, I enjoyed a Slim-Tini cocktail with coconut vodka, pineapple, agave nectar, fresh lemon and toasted coconut on the rim. Simply divine! Bill chose a glass of Fume Blanc from the Bistro wine list.

Sampling The Starters

For starters I ordered the seared scallop-tempura shrimp roll from the sushi menu. Bill chose a vine ripe tomato with buffalo mozzarella salad that included imported Speck ham, EVOO, balsamic syrup and fresh basil. We sampled each other’s choices and enjoyed them both.

Choosing an entrée was a little difficult because of all the choices. Adrienne helped me choose the Chicken and Crab Fontina with an organic chicken breast, lump crab, asparagus, mushroom risotto and a fontina glaze. I recommend this entrée, but you’ll likely be taking half home with you.

Bill asked Adrienne to surprise him as he was torn between the lamb chops and a seared pork mignon. The double cut Colorado lamp chops made the cut and were cooked perfectly. A mild Khadrawi date curry sauce was listed on the menu but Bill didn’t detect any curry, which he really enjoys.

We Didn't Miss Out On Dessert

Adrienne suggested we next sample a little date bread pudding. And while I wouldn’t really call this bread pudding, Bill and I made fast work of the delicious dessert with caramelized walnuts, vanilla ice cream, Grand Mariner anglaise with toffee sauce.

We came to discover that our server’s husband is the food and beverage manager at Andalusia At Coral Mountain in La Quinta. I’m in Andalusia on a regular basis working with buyer and seller clients so I’ll make it a point to say hello on my next visit. And kudos to her for offering great service.

The Bistro is a good choice for discovering a menu filled with lots of variety in a comfortable old school setting. From sushi to fish to big juicy steaks, everyone in your party will likely find something to enjoy.

Bistro Dining Tip: Enter through the hotel entrance to avoid having to walk through the smoke filled casino.

You'll find the Bistro located at 84-245 Indio Springs Parkway in Indio, just off the 10 Freeway. (760) 342-5000.

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