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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.

Buying A Palm Springs Area Home: The Missing Rolls Royce

Buying A Palm Springs Area Home: The Missing Rolls Royce

I recently sold a luxury property at a La Quinta golf club. About 90-days later Zillow™ displays the property sale on their real estate website as being sold for $675,000.

Actual screen shot from Zillow

What Zillow doesn't mention is that in addition to their stated $674,000 selling price, the buyer also traded personal property in addition to cash, which in this case was a late model Rolls Royce (new value: $375,000). Bottom line here is the reported selling price was understated by a large amount.

La Quinta Home Sale Price Off By $115,000
Another luxury golf course property I sold shows sold at $1.1 million on Home-Gain™. This sale price actually also included a golf course membership valued at $115,000. In this case the property was over-valued by $115,000 as the buyer got a free golf membership. Deduct the country club membership and the home sale price was actually $985,000.

I’ve seen $300,000 condo sales where trulia’s sale amount was off by $50,000 and I’ve seen $9 million homes where Zillow is off by $2 million because they simply don’t have all the information.

Public Records, Not The Live MLS Agents Use
Most people don’t know that Zillow, trulia™, Home-Gain and other shopping sites get their information from available public records and not the local MLS. Most of these sale records don’t show up for 90-days or more after the sale. But the worst part is these sites do not have access to the whole story. Only local agents with access to the agent side of the MLS have ability to do some detective work, which includes speaking to the selling agent.

For home buyers, these sites use dated listings instead of live MLS feeds. I receive calls everyday from buyers looking at homes online that actually sold 60-days ago. Home sellers too can be misled on the value of their properties.

A local licensed real estate agent has access to all the information and resources needed to give buyers and sellers accurate and timely information. A local agent site (including ours) will also usually feature live MLS listings.

Could it be that Zillow’s tag line of “Your Edge In Real Estate” needs a little sharpening?

From Sheri Dettman
In Buying - Info For Buyers, Buying – Info For Canadian Buyers, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog

31 Desert ‘Super Luxury’ Properties Sold Last 6 Months


Sold by Sheri at Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert

In the Palm Springs Real Estate Market, super luxury properties are those that sell for $2 million and higher. In the last six months 31 properties sold for $2 million or higher in the desert. La Quinta topped the list of sales over $2 million for this period and recorded the high sales price of $7.6 million at Madison Club.

Palm Springs Area Sales Over $2 Million By City Last 6 Months:

  • La Quinta: 13 ($2.016 to $7.6 million)
  • Palm Desert: 7 ($2 to $5.1 million)
  • Indian Wells: 5 ( $2 to $3.25 million)
  • Palm Springs: 3 ($2.4 to $4.9 million)
  • Rancho Mirage: 3 ( $2.75 to $4.253 million)

Super Luxury Sales Down From 2010 / Average Prices Up

During the same six-month time period in 2010 there were 40 super luxury homes sold with an average sales price of $3,006,876. While the number of sales this year decreased to 31 the average sales price increased to $3,130,94. The average price paid per square foot also increased from $534 to $543 per square foot. The average super luxury home had 5,871 square feet with four bedrooms and 5.61 bathrooms.

Bank Owned & Short-Sale Super-Luxury Sales

Only two of these 31 sales were bank owned homes. One REO sold in less than 30-days for 110.49% of the asking price while the other sold in 120+ days for 94.34% of asking price. Two of 31 sales were short sales leaving 27 sales as regular traditional sales.

Source: Latest six month data from Desert Area MLS for the period 2/24/11 to 8/24/11

From Sheri Dettman
In Real Estate Market Updates, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog

Frontier Adds Denver Flights To Palm Springs


Palm Springs International Airport

Frontier Airlines is adding three round-trip flights weekly to Palm Springs. The new flights will operate seasonally on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Frontier is scheduled to use E190 jets on the new service.

Flights from Denver will depart at 9:25 AM and arrive in Palm Springs at 10:35 AM. Return flights will depart at 11:15 AM and arrive in Denver at 2:20 PM.

An introductory fare of $79 each way will be available through August 22 for those traveling December 1st – 15th and January 6 – 15th according to Frontier’s website.

From Sheri Dettman
In Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog

Dining Around The Desert: Cork Tree, Palm Desert

Previously I wrote about one of our visits to Cork Tree in ’09. Since then my husband Bill and I have returned numerous times. Cork Tree remains one of our top suggestions for clients and friends.

Cork Tree offers a bar and lounge menu featuring small bites and appetizers as well as a full dinner menu. On our recent visit we enjoyed Mini Duck Tacos and Smoked Tuna Sliders from the appetizer menu in the lounge. I enjoyed a wonderful Summer Salad with mixed greens, sherry-honey vinaigrette, haricots verts, strawberries, and crumbled feta for my main course. Bill ordered a fabulous Roasted Jidori Chicken Breast with ricotta-artichoke ravioli, sweet and spicy peppers, and a vegetable medley. They were all excellent.

Cork Tree is known for California Cuisine and offers a summer price fixed menu at $28 for a delicious three-course meal. Don’t pass up the soups and crab cakes!

The lounge at Cork Tree offers music most evenings and diners can enjoy the patio deck just off the lounge. Reservation tip: The tastefully decorated booths in the dining room are popular for romantics or diners looking for a fun social evening. If you enjoy people watching try dinner or small plates in the lounge.

Cork Tree California Cuisine is located at 74950 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert at the corner of Country Club and Cook Street. (760) 779-0123

> View ALL Desert Dining Suggestions Here

From Sheri Dettman
In Dining Around The Desert, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog

5 of 6 Desert Cities Show 2011 Sales Increases So Far In 2011!

Indian Springs Country Club, Indio

Palm Springs area home sales continue to be strong in most local cities as buyers continue to take advantage of bargain prices and low interest rates.

Year To Date Sales Leaders By City (Jan 1 – Aug 19, 2011)

  • Palm Springs: 1,157 sales (compared to 1,151 in 2010)
  • La Quinta: 958 homes sold (922 in 2010)
  • Palm Desert: 950 homes sold (887 in 2010)
  • Rancho Mirage: 490 homes sold (453 in 2010)
  • Indian Wells: 185 homes sold (154 in 2010)
  • Indio: 817 homes sold (882 in 2010)

Indio was the only city showing an overall sales decline in 2011, which could reflect a near bottoming out in prices and/or a tightening inventory of entry-level homes.

Data from the Desert Area MLS as of 8/20/2011

From Sheri Dettman
In Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog
New Construction on Luxury Resort at SilverRock in La Quinta

New Construction on Luxury Resort at SilverRock in La Quinta

La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans breaks ground with Montage International and Pendry Hotels developers for La Quinta's Silverrock Resort development project, Monday, May 1, 2017. (Photo: Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun

La Quinta crossed a milestone more than 15 years in the making Monday morning with a groundbreaking ceremony at SilverRock, marking the start of development on a luxury resort that brings the Montage brand to the Coachella Valley.

More than 100 people sat along the 18th fairway of the existing golf course, which will remain part of the resort, – a prime view of the Santa Rosa Mountains before them – for the ceremony, including city staff, all current council members and former members Terry Henderson and Lee Osborne, as well as past Mayor Don Adolph.

“I am over the top excited to have today happen,” Mayor Linda Evans said.

The groundbreaking marks a major step forward in the development of a project that has seen years of delays, due to the Great Recession followed by loss of redevelopment funds and the need to bring in a new developer, which the council did in November 2014 with approval of a contract with The Robert Green Co.

The project includes two luxury hotels which are scheduled to open simultaneously in October 2019.

READ MORE: Montage ties name to resort

With the groundbreaking comes the closure of the back nine holes of the Arnold Palmer-designed golf course to begin realignment of three holes to make room for the Montage La Quinta 140-room “five-star” quality hotel.

The second hotel is a 200-room Pendry – Montage’s newest brand.

“It’s the first opportunity to build a Montage and a Pendry side-by-side and it took a very unique location … to do that,” said Alan Fuerstman, Montage founder, chairman and CEO.

“But the appeal of this market and this destination for both brands is so strong, it was a logical conclusion” to bring both, said Fuerstman, whose hospitality career started in Rancho Mirage.

Pendry is a new brand for the Irvine-based Montage International with just two other hotels open – in San Diego and Baltimore.

Fuerstman's son, Michael, heads the Pendry brand, and described it as “ultra-luxury” for the younger, active but well-traveled customer.

Construction will begin from this site for La Quinta's Silverrock Resort development project, Monday, May 1, 2017. (Photo: Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun)

The golf course realignment will start soon, said John Gamlin, of La Quinta, who has been with the project since the beginning and will be the local face for Green throughout development.

The improvements must be completed and the course fully reopened by Nov. 1, according to the agreement with the city. The front nine holes will remain open throughout the realignment.

The mass grading for the hotels, conference center and other amenities is expected to start in the fall, followed by the building of the infrastructure, Gamlin said.

GETTING OUT: La Quinta getting out of golf business

The city’s redevelopment agency purchased the then-vacant SilverRock land in 2002 with a vision for a luxury resort with hotels, two 18-hole golf courses and more. The existing golf course opened in 2005.

La Quinta views the development as a major source of revenue that will help secure the city’s financial future, through hotel, property and sales taxes. The city has projected revenue from SilverRock will be well above $50 million in the first 15 years, even with a bed tax sharing agreement with the developer. To date, the city has seen about $40,000 developer impact fees.

Rosemary Genovese, mother of the late Tom Genovese, who was city manager when SilverRock was conceived, was also present. Genovese died while hiking in 2011.

“I think it’s going to be beautiful,” she said. “Very different from the original but … I think it will be a wonderful project for our city. I just wish Tom and Arnie (Palmer) could have been here.”

Desert Sun reporter Sherry Barkas covers the cities of La Quinta, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert. She can be reached at [email protected] or (760) 778-4694. Follow her on Twitter @TDSsherry

From Sheri Dettman
In Buying - Info For Buyers, Real Estate Market Updates, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog
Palm Springs Area Home Buyers Going Nuts As Sales Increase Again!

Palm Springs Area Home Buyers Going Nuts As Sales Increase Again!

La Quinta golf course home patio

Well, maybe our desert homebuyers aren’t actually going nuts but our local sales trends and our sales activity this year seem to be very contrary to what’s going on elsewhere in the country.

Why do you think buyers keep coming to the Palm Springs Real Estate market while most other real estate markets in the U.S. are flat or in decline? I’m going to take a wild guess that maybe it is due to 350 days of sun a year, beautiful desert vistas showcased by two mountain ranges, over 150 golf courses, low housing prices, or a combination of all of the above.

Palm Springs Real Estate Sales Up 6% In May

Fact is home sales in the Coachella Valley rose six percent (6%) in May in contrast to double-digit sales declines in the rest of Southern California and most of the nation. Condo sales were up a whopping 29.2% compared to May of 2010.

It seems that buyers of second homes are fueling the rise in sales. Buyers from other areas of California as well as from throughout the nation and other countries are all contributing to this surge in sales of second homes.

Foreign Buyers Helping To Stroke Desert Home Sales

USA Today reports “foreign buyers are helping to stroke home sales in U.S. vacation spots.” Top buying locations were in Sunbelt areas of Florida, Phoenix and California. Canadian home buyers accounted for the largest share of foreign buyers accounting for 25% of sales followed by Chinese buyers at 9%.

Many buyers are negotiating bargain prices and paying cash rather that choosing to let their money earn low interest rates in banks. For those interested in financing, historically low interest rates are still available.

If you're considering having your own place in the sun next winter, now is a great time to start making your plans. Please don't hesitate to contact me–even with a simple real estate question.

From Sheri Dettman
In Real Estate Market Updates, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog
Resale Home Sales Continue To Be A Great Value

Resale Home Sales Continue To Be A Great Value

Waterfront condos at PGA West in La Quinta

It may surprise you that of the 4,800 homes sold during the first five months of 2011 in the Coachella Valley, only 160 were new construction homes. Do you think price and value had anything to do with these stats?

There are a few communities we identified where new homes are still a good value. Some developers are still able to compete with resale prices and I’m happy to share that information with you. But, in general, we continue to find resale homes and condos to be a better value than newly constructed homes in today’s real estate market.

New Homes Usually Optioned To The Max

In a resale home what you see is usually what you get. All the options and upgrades that the original buyer invested in are usually included. In contrast, new model homes are often optioned to the max and many features are considered extras and not included in the base price of the newly built homes. So, If you choose a new home, you’ll want to be sure that all options and potential extras are spelled out in writing and broken down line by line. My team and I have helped buyers in a number of new home communities at no charge since the seller handles our service fee.

Helping You Discover A Great Home Value

Consider myself and my team as part real estate guide, part number cruncher and part negotiator. We combine these skills on a daily basis to help our buyers discover great values. My team and I view hundreds of homes in dozens of golf and country club communities and non-golf communities every year and we stay up to date on changing home and condo inventory throughout the desert. In short, our job is to help you discover a great value.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me when the time is right – even if you have a simple real estate question.

From Sheri Dettman
In Real Estate Market Updates, Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog

Hot Buy Suggestions: 30% Off At Palmilla La Quinta

2,894 Square Feet / 3 bedrooms & 4 baths on the water.
Previously sold for $1,000,000. Now Offered at $719,900

This waterfront contemporary home at Palmilla in La Quinta was purchased in '07 for $1 million. Offered today at $719,900 this home was just listed today. Please call for details.

Short Sale Listing courtesy of REO Sales & Associates. Short sale subject to prior sale and bank approval.

From Sheri Dettman
In Sheri's Palm Springs Area Blog
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