Palm Springs Area Real Estate

This May, we saw another healthy month of increased sales of condos in the Palm Springs area, surpassing single family homes in number of units sold and average sold price, when compared to May 2010. According to The California Desert Association's May 2011 report based on the Desert Area MLS of all desert cities; May 2011 266 condos sold at an average selling price of $224,914 . 30% were foreclosures and short sales. That's an increase of 22.6% in sold units, and an increase of 12.4% in average sold price over 2010. May 2010, 217 condos sold with an average selling price of $200,138. 36% were foreclosures and short sales. Palm Springs and Palm Desert tied at 86 in the number of condos sold . The average selling price in Palm Desert came at $266,624, a 7.3% increase from May 2010. Palm Springs condos average selling price came at $173,358, 12.3% increase over May 2010. La Quinta   gained 5.3%, while condos in Indian Wells  , Rancho Mirage , Cathedral City and Indio

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 : 

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

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

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