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 Mi...

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 ?...

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