Palm Springs Area Real Estate

Did you know that the $8000 Tax Credit is still good for members of the Military & some Federal employees in the intelligence community until April 30, 2011 to have a binding contract, and Closing deadline of June 30, 2011. "It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010. " This is an great opportunity for those who are renting to take a look at buying a home. Home prices are very favorable, coupled with FHA 3% downpayment and incentives , and interest rates at their lowest , lead to a win win situation . For all the details go to IRS-First-Time Homebuyer Credit: Members of the Military and Certain Other Federal Employees Find affordable real estate in Palm Springs , Palm Desert , La Quinta , Indio , Cathedral City .

Homeowners in the Palm Springs area who are opting for short sale is on the increase compared to foreclosed properties by about 1.5 to 1, and might not be aware of the different Federal and California programs that are available to help them , especially if they are going through a hardship. This is a short video from the Making Homes Affordable that the government put out and to my surprise only 57000 people watched it. Options available to you : 1- Loan Modification at Making Home Affordable , if this will not work for you , there is; 2- The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives HAFA 3- Recently FHA launched a new program SHORT REFI OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERWATER HOMEOWNERS . And in California a new program Keep Your Home will start on November 1, 2010 and has different options. If you if are in a situation where you have opt for a Short Sale on your property , then make sure you check with your Attorney and your Tax Accountant first , so that you do not get hi

Google is providing $86 million for Low Income Housing, to fund 480 units in the Midwest & West Coast ,  and some of that is coming to Palm Springs .  That means construction jobs and a boost to the local economy  and will provide affordable housing for low income home buyers in Palm Springs. Since most people refer to the Coachella Valley as Palm Springs , we won't know until more details are available, if these units will be within the city limits of Palm Springs, or in other desert cities in the Coachella Valley.  Any and all real estate developments are welcome in the Palm Springs area as they provide well needed jobs . The money will be given to low income builders and developers in the form of tax credits , the program will be managed by  U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation .  For more details  read Francesca Levy's article . Find homes the easy way   Palm Springs  , Palm Desert  , La Quinta  , Rancho Mirage  , Indian Wells

A question being asked on a daily basis,  and answered speculatively depending on which part of the country you live in.  Some foresee more doom and gloom, others see  opportunity and stability edging up. I can only talk about Palm Springs real estate , the Desert Cities , my personal experience  as a real estate agent in this part of the country, and hard data supplied by our Desert Area MLS. The chart below, shows the Median Prices by California regions , and current Month vs. Year ago . The numbers are encouraging and they represent hard numbers based on the Desert MLS real estate activities for that period.  As for July , that's where my personal opinion based on my activities as realtor comes in. I personally  had a busy July and busier August so far . And with our desert season approaching ,  the Canadian and Northwest Snowbirds will start flocking and that should boost  more home sales and the prices. So is it time to buy ?  I say yes based on several factors : 

If you are underwater with your mortgage, FHA announced a New Program designed to encourage principal write-downs for responsible borrowers. The program starts September 7, 2010. If Lenders cooperate with this program, that could help a huge number of people contemplating a Short Sale.  Before you start defaulting, read this and always get advice from your Accountant for any possible Tax implications. HUDNo.10-173/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Brought to you by Abraham Baghbodorian, Realtor, Palm Springs & Desert Cities

Many Californians who are struggling with their mortgage payments and do not want to default or end up in foreclosure , should take a serious look at these 4 Keep Your Home programs. The, California Housing Finance Agency  CalHFA , got approval for $700 Million in Federal Funding from the US Treasury Department to help California struggling homeowners keep their homes. There are 4 different Programs intended to help struggling, financially distressed homeowners to  avoid defaulting  and foreclosures.  All programs start November 1, 2010  and it is time that homeowners start  familiarizing themselves with these programs . The 4 programs are summarized here, and linked to the programs : Program 1- Unemployment Mortgage Assistance (UMA) .  This program provides a mortgage payment subsidy equal to the lesser of $1,500 per month or 50% of the PITIA (principal, interest, tax, insurance and homeowner’s association dues) net the borrower’s contribution, for up to six (6) months, with

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Apps Marketplace - CRM highlights, 7/27/2010

According to the California Association of Realtors , Median home prices in the Palm Springs Area up by 31.2% from its worst & lowest period in April 2009, when the median home price reached as low as $150,140. As of April 30, 2010 , the Desert Area MLS median home prices jumped to $197,040 from it's $150,140 low within a 12 month period. The Palm Springs Area comes in as number 4 among 13 California regions, and preceded by San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Clara and the Monterey Region, but these 3 regions took 14 months Vs. the 12 months for the Desert Cities to attain their positions. Los Angeles came in as number 11. More real estate good news came from Lenders Processing Services' Data Report as of April 30, 2010 which states that "Delinquent and Foreclosure inventories are starting to stabilize". You can download the full report here. There are still some good real estate buys to be had in the Palm Springs Area: Palm Springs Condos $ 50,000 - $10

In a REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News Article titled : Wholesalers Flip Houses, Distorting the Market Associate director for housing and economics Andrew Jakabovics, at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C., think tank argues that "It makes the bottom [of the market] very frothy and hard to figure out where real value is." Others argue that it makes it harder for lower-income families to take advantage of a down market. My take is "Cash is King" when it comes to lenders in a real estate transaction. My question is how could it be controlled ? What are your thoughts on the subject .. I would love to hear some arguments .

All the marketing experts nowadays are advocating the importance of getting ones business listed local on search engines because it saves web surfers  tremendous time and frustration . When it comes to real estate searches for homes for sale, local websites that provide MLS listings   are as important and powerful. My local site features  the Desert MLS for all Desert Cities, and is divided by city, by subdivisions, homes , condos, luxury homes and price range. Two days ago, I submitted an offer on a property for an out of state client . The seller countered with an offer for an amount higher than the listing price. My client  rejected it ,  and I went to check for him on other available properties , and I suggested that he should log on to my website and take a look  under the country club subdivision he is interested in and check the listings. Half an hour later, he called me and gave me a property address he saw on my website and  wanted to check it the next day.  I right aw

If you are a Californian who went through a ShortSale , Foreclosure or Loan Modification , the State of California yesterday passed the long Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief legislation . Who and What Qualifies For The California Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief ?  Debt can be forgiven by the State of California up to $500,000 for taxpayers who file as married/registered domestic partners (RDP) filing jointly, single, head of household, or widow/widower, and to $400,000 for taxpayers who file as married/RDP filing separately. Your total indebtedness limit is $800,000 for taxpayers who file as married/registered domestic     partners (RDP) filing jointly, single, head of household, or widow/widower, and to $400,000 for taxpayers who file as married/RDP filing separately. The debt must be secured by a Qualified Principal Residence. The debt can include 1st & second mortgages. The indebtedness incurred in acquiring the property, in constructing the property or by substantially im

Great news for California home buyers and home builders. A $200 million Home Buyer Tax Credit Bill was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger this afternoon. The Bill  allocates $100 million  to First Time Home Buyers , and $100 million for repeat buyers of new or existing homes.  The programs will run between May 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010  with a final closing date of August 1, 2011 provided a binding and enforceable contract was entered into prior to December 31, 2010. The credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000, in equal installments over three consecutive years.  Buyers must live in the home for at least two years or forfeit the credit and repay it to the State.  This Tax Credit will overlap with the Federal $8000 & $6500 Tax Credits, which expire on April 30, 2010. Start your Desert Cities MLS search  here. Brought to you by  Abraham Baghbodorian 

The FHA has eased it's anti-flipping rules by waiving the 90 day rule as of Feb 1st 2010 . That means real estate investors seeking foreclosed properties to fix and sell can now obtain mortgage insurance for some purchases and be able to flip the property even if they hold it for under 90 days. That will translate into more affordable first time home buyer homes eligible for FHA financing , and more investors. The first-time home buyers tax credit expires April 30, 2010.