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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.

Are Luxury Home Sales Here Better Than Expected?

Driving through the Hideaway Golf Club in La Quinta


I’m not surprised but you may be. I’ve mentioned this in several of my blogs this year. Luxury home sales (those over $1 million) continue to be fairly substantial. In fact sales of luxury homes here in the desert totaled an impressive $241 million during the last six months!

This almost one quarter billion in sales was the result of 152 luxury properties being sold. Could the coming winter weather for much of North America be helping? How about large discounts on luxury properties or maybe both?

29 Pending Luxury Sales Today
Today our local Desert Area MLS system shows 29 pending sales of desert homes that were listed between $1 million and $4.9 million. The average list price is $1.6 million with an average price per square foot of $367. The average size is 4,869 square feet and these homes range from 2,644 to 25,447 square feet in size.

If you guessed that most of these luxury properties are located in golf and country club communities you’d be correct. Here’s where most of these 29 pending sales are located:

  • Andalusia, La Quinta
  • Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert
  • Hideaway Golf Club, La Quinta
  • Ironwood Country Club, Palm Desert
  • Old Las Palmas, Palm Springs (non golf community)
  • PGA West, La Quinta
  • Tradition Golf Club, La Quinta
  • Toscana Country Club, Indian Wells

Is Brown The New Color For Desert Golf Courses?

Overseeding the golf course at Andalusia in La Quinta

I mentioned in my post of October 10th that my team and I were previewing properties at Andalusia in La Quinta. Take a look at my photo here and you’ll see that most of the golf course except for the putting surface looks brown. This is the norm in the desert as each fall our golf courses make a transition from summer to winter grass. This process is called over seeding.

Summer To Winter Grass Over Seeding
To start the over seeding process a golf course stops watering the fairways (not the putting surfaces though) and the summer grass soon goes dormant or brown. The existing summer grass is then cut very low which is called scalping. The last step is applying the winter grass seed and then turning the sprinklers back on.

The new winter grass comes in pretty fast. And even though I’ve seen this process over many years, the rapid transformation from brown to green each fall continues to be pretty cool to see.

We Get Scalped Next Week
Local homeowners with lawns usually have their gardeners complete the same process, of course on a much smaller scale than the golf courses. Our gardener will be starting our own lawn over seeding next week and he’ll be planting our winter flowers this month as well.

And come next summer when our desert temps heat up, this winter grass will be taken over by the dormant summer grass, with no scalping required.

Fall Weather In The Desert Brings Lower Temps & Winter Flowers

Tradition Golf Club, La Quinta winter flowers

Sunset over La Quinta taken on Friday 9/23/11

Yesterday marked the beginning of fall weather in the desert. While there are no local maples and oaks to change color, an abundance of new winter colors will soon be sprouting up throughout the desert. Gardeners and homeowners will start to plant winter annuals during October that most Americans and Canadians couldn’t dream of planting until next spring.

The monthly high temperature during October averages 91º F (32.77º C). Temps gradually drop to 78º F in November and 69º F (20.5º C) during December.

In case you missed it, I recently posted a link on this blog to Weather Underground’s Monthly Weather Forecast where you can see the seasonal weather expected for any given month on a calendar.

I shot the sunset photo to the right just last night with my iPhone camera on our way to dinner. The heaven's seemed to be signaling the start of fall. My husband Bill shot the photo at the top at Tradition Golf Club in La Quinta with our Canon EOS 7d camera.

Desert Bank Owned Homes Selling Near Listing Prices

Desert Bank Owned Homes Selling Near Listing Prices

Bank owned home at PGA West, La Quinta

Banks don’t want to own homes that they’ve foreclosed on and so they generally price them to sell. Early on in the mortgage meltdown we saw banks give many properties away at well under market values. Banks have gotten a better handle on pricing over the last year or so and now most bank-owned homes are now selling for close to the banks list prices. Most of these properties are still a very good buy, but I suggest to clients that we examine each property on a case-by-case basis to find the best low hanging fruit.

Our team recently ran the numbers for bank owned properties sold during the last six months. We limited our stats to those properties sold for $100,000 and higher. Of 846 properties sold by banks the average sale price was $256,836 and the high price was $2.5 million. The list to sale price percentage was pretty interesting and we’ve broken them down by the time each property was on market before being sold. Note that these time periods include the contingent periods during escrow.

Bank Sale Prices Versus List Prices By Time On Market

  • 0-30 Days on market: 101.94% of list price (198 sales)
  • 31-60 Days on market: 99.06% of list price (149 sales)
  • 61-90 Days on market: 97.04% of list price (85 sales)
  • 91-120 Days on market: 96.75% of list price (85 sales)
  • 120+ Days on market: 95.59% of list price (329 sales)

These sales represent $203 million in bank owned sales over the last six months. That may sounds like a lot except that 3,648 properties were sold during these six months of which only 719 were bank owned equaling 23% of total sales.

Bottom line with bank owned properties is the offering price will generally be within 5% of the actual selling price at worst case. Entry-level properties (under $300,000) will have the most competition and generally sell for at or slightly above listing price dependent of how many offer the bank receives.

Only 13 Bank Owned Luxury Homes Sold Last 6 Months

Luxury homes (those above $1 million) will likely have a little more room to negotiate. In the last six months only 13 of these 846 bank-owned properties were sold for over $1 million with the average sale price of these luxury homes being $1.5 million.

47 Bank Owned Homes Listed, 14 Remain In 16-Days!

47 Bank Owned Homes Listed, 14 Remain In 16-Days!

MLS Bank Owned Home Screen shot from 9/17/11

Everyone loves a bargain and a bank owned home usually offers buyers a great opportunity and value. Regular readers of my blog know that banks don’t want to own homes. Banks want to sell foreclosed properties and they want to sell them quickly. So how quickly have bank owned properties been moving lately?

I created a custom report today for bank owned homes that were listed (offered for sale) between 9/1/11 and 9/16/11. I used the popular and active price range of $350,000 to $999,000. 47 foreclosure properties were listed during this 16-day period.

Here’s Where It Gets Interesting!

33 of the 47 homes and condos are already shown as pending (or contingent pending) with having accepted offers in 16 or less days! Only 14 properties remained, and many of these homes were just listed in the last few days.

I took a screen shot of a small portion of today’s Desert Area MLS screen that we agents use in order to give you a graphical look at what I’m seeing. The green REO listings are ‘active’ or available, while the blue, yellow and blue listings are at some stage of having an accepted offer or already in escrow (pending).

Buyer Tip: When we discover a bank owned property that looks like a great opportunity, let’s be prepared to pounce! My team and I have helped people discover and win great opportunities in bank owned homes from $200,000 to over $2 million.

How Important Is Location Here In The Desert?

How Important Is Location Here In The Desert?

Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta

If you’re a first time home or condo buyer in the Palm Springs area you might be interested in a series of articles that I posted online over the last few months that are linked from our Information For Buyers web page.

Location is near the top of the list for most desert buyers, and yes it is possible to by the right home but in the wrong location. The old adage of location, location, location, is repeated three times to emphasize the importance of location. It basically means that similar or identical homes or condos can be valued differently based on their location.

Once your agent helps narrow down your overall location criteria, s/he will then help you discover your location options within each community to form your ‘short list’. One example is sunlight exposure. Year-round residents and winter residents will likely have different needs and preferences.

Jump to the full article: How Important Is Location?

Palm Springs Area Attractions – Things To Do

Palm Springs Area Attractions – Things To Do

Top of The Palm Springs Tram

The Palm Springs area is not only a mecca for golf, but tennis and relaxation with more than 600 tennis courts and 50,000 swimming pools. The recreational opportunities are endless.

Travel by Jeep, Hummer, or on foot through historic Palm Springs Indian Canyons or the San Andreas Fault. Watch a polo match or see the valley, part of the Colorado Desert, from a hot air balloon. Rejuvenate with a spa treatment or soak in natural mineral waters. Spend a day shopping at trendy boutiques on historic Palm Canyon Drive or exclusive El Paseo.

Here are a few suggestions:

Balloon Flights - A great adventure with this first-class hot air balloon ride company

Balloons Above The Desert

Bike & Jeep Tours - The Palm Springs Outdoor Adventure Company.
Big Wheel Tours
Desert Adventures (Red Jeep Tours)

Casinos
Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage
Augustine Casino, Thermal
Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio
Spa Resort & Casino, Palm Springs
Spotlight 29 Casino, Coachella

Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert - Hands-on museum in a safe, caring setting with lots of fun for child and adult alike.

Coyote Ridge Stable - Just 20 minutes from Palm Springs. Ride horseback through the scenic foothills of Morongo Valley, with breathtaking views of the San Gorgonio Mountains and Mt. San Jacinto.

The Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway - Tour the lavish estate where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their first night of marriage in 1967. An iconic example of mid-century modern architecture.

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies - Internationally known guest stars, hilarious variety acts and their legendary line of long-legged lovelies, all over the age of 55, have made the Follies a Palm Springs favorite. Now in its 15th season.

Hiking In The Palm Springs Area (blog entry about 140 nearby hikes offered in local book)

Joshua Tree National Park - Located north of the Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree National Park covers 794,000 acres of two diverse desert ecosystems: the Colorado and Mojave deserts.

Knott's Soak City Water Park - 16 Acres of wet fun in Palm Springs.

The Ice Castle, Cathederal City

Desert Ice Castle Ice Skating. 68600 Perez Rd, Cathederal City. 324-0400

Indian Canyons - Hiking, picnicking, or horseback riding near Palm Springs.

The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens - And you thought you knew what a desert was about!

Moorten Botanical Garden - Historic showplace with 3,000 varieties of desert plants, birds, crystals, and relics.

Oasis Date Gardens - 175-acre working date ranch with tours and store.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway - One minute you’re in the desert; 10 minutes later, you’re in a lush forest 8,516 FT above the valley floor — and you got there via the world’s largest rotating tram cars.

Palm Springs Mid Century Modern Tours - Guided tours viewing the exteriors of famous Palm Springs homes and commercial buildings (circa 50's to 70's) in and around downtown Palm Springs. By appointment with Robert Imber (760) 318-6118 / Email Robert

Palm Springs Air Museum - Expansive collection features propeller-driven World War II aircraft in flying conditions. 60-seat Buddy Rogers Theatre of the Air, a restoration center, photographs and memorabilia.

Palm Springs Fun Trips - Over 10 different tours to choose from. Small or large groups welcome.

Disclaimer: YourResortHome.com and Sheri Dettman & Associates are not affiliated with or endorsed by any, nor do we endorse any of the area attractions listed. Information presented here is deemed to be correct but is not guaranteed.

$300,000 Price Reduction At Madsion Club, La Quinta

$300,000 Price Reduction At Madsion Club, La Quinta

The Tom Fazio private course at Madsion Club La Quinta

I just reduced this fabulous custom estate homesite by $300,000 to $1.2M. And it gets even better with the added option of attractive seller financing. Only property owners have the ability to become members at Madison Club and enjoy this super-premium private club experience.

A Madison Club custom home recently sold for $7.6M, and a custom home located just down the street from this lot at 53556 Ross is currently offered at $6.9 million.

View this Madison Club listing at: 52475 Ross Avenue, La Quinta

Local Real Estate Reporting: Read Between The Lines!

Local Real Estate Reporting: Read Between The Lines!

I browsed the local paper today, which took about five minutes. One headline proclaimed “Palm Desert Home Prices Rising.” The story went on to make several broad statements about local real estate that I thought I’d check out. I'll help you here to read between the lines.

  • Large numbers of short sale and bank owned homes in La Quinta
  • 54% of La Quinta single-family homes sold were distressed properties
  • Palm Desert home prices rising and inventory down
  • Coachella Valley median price down 8% to $167,500

The Palms Golf Club in La Quinta

Large numbers of short sale and bank owned homes in La Quinta

The majority of La Quinta’s distressed properties continue to be located in La Quinta Cove. ‘The Cove’ offers an eclectic mix of mostly entry-level properties and a large number of Section-8 investor owned rentals.

While some people like the funkiness of the Cove it's not on the short list of shall we say 99.9% of people interested in second homes here in the desert. Of 177 Cove properties sold in six months, 82 were bank-owned at an average sale price of $117,816.

54% of La Quinta single-family homes sold were distressed properties

In the last six months 754 La Quinta homes were sold. 200 of these were bank owned sales. But when we take the Cove (see above paragraph) and any homes that sold at under $200,000 out of the mix, that number drops to 84 or about 11% of the total. Using the same parameters there were only 87 short sales or about 11% of sales in six months.

Palm Desert home prices rising and inventory down

Palm Desert has four zip codes, but the data they used included only 92211. Turn out this zip code includes the active-adult community of Sun City Palm Desert with about 5,000 homes. Home sales at Sun City Palm Desert have been strong for over a year. So have sales in the similar communities of Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio and Trilogy in La Quinta. I’ve been blogging about this for over a year now.

Coachella Valley median price down 8% to $167,500

The median price has little bearing on the vast majority of people looking at buying or selling second homes in the desert. Most buyers want to be located in a gated resort lifestyle community, so the median price is out the window! A better strategy is to look at the average sales price over six months development by development.

Data Source: Desert Area MLS 9/29/11

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