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Palm Springs, CA Real Estate News

By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
There is always something happening in Palm Springs, and it is happening every single day. Just looking at the local newspaper the number of events and activities going on can make you dizzy and in Palm Springs, there is never a dull moment. Just look at some of these events coming up on the Famous Palm Springs Events Calendar in January and February 2008: January: Palm Springs International Film Festival, Palm Springs Dog Show Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Golf Tournament Southwest Arts Festival February: Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Ceremony Tour de Palm Springs Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival Palm Springs Modernism Week Frank Sinatra Countrywide Celebrity Golf Invitational, Black History Parade and Townfaire And we are not even out of December yet, there are four lar...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
 You can read any local newspaper or magazine, you can turn on any TV station or sit back and listen to any radio show and you will get a pretty good idea that the life in Palm Springs is about as good as it gets. The news outlets in this case are merely mimicking the perception that pervades the Coachella Valley. Being a resident myself, I have to agree and even smile when I hear that truth being spoken or written. From T-shirts to Bumper Stickers, "Everyone Loves Palm Springs!"It is no doubt that those who come to visit, often say; I want to live in Palm Springs, I don't ever want to leave. Many of them wish to do a little bit of home shopping while they are here. Generally, they are pleasantly surprised that homes here are presently within their grasp. Of course, this is the current ...
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By Charles Dismuke, Palm Springs Mortgage Guy
(Amerifund Lending Group)
 In todays market the REALTOR / MORTGAGE relationship has never been more needed.  With guidelines changing and banks closing shop, realtors need to know that they have a solid mortgage professional on their team.                                                                                                                                 A good Realtor and a knowledgeable, professional mortgage broker are the "one, two punch" for prospective buyers. As a mortgage guy in the Palm Springs area...over the years I have heard many different perspectives from realtors regarding mortgage brokers and their expectations of them. When I got in the mortgage business I was told that, "there are no loyalties with realtors in this business" and "to realtors, you are only as good as your last closin...
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By Harold Watts, Palm Springs Real Estate Blog
(Teles Properties)
 Every city across America has a neighborhood that everyone says it is the most charming neighborhood they have ever seen.  Palm Springs is no different in that respect.One the most established and sought-after neighborhoods in the city of Palm Springs is Old Las Palmas.The line from the TV show, "Beverly Hillbillies" comes to mind when I drive through this neighborhood everyday:  "Swimming Pools, Movie Stars" Movie directors and entertainers have been making Old Las Palmas their home since the 1940's.  It is an eclectic mix of the Old Hollywood Estates of yesteryear, to the more modern Mid-Century designs.  This was and still is, the place to live.Liberace House- Corner of Alejo & Belardo The Old Las Palmas neighborhood is bordered by Alejo Rd to the north, Stevens Rd. to the south, ea...
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By Charles Dismuke, Palm Springs Mortgage Guy
(Amerifund Lending Group)
When I started working in the mortgage industry many years ago.  Here in the Palm Springs, Coachella Valley area the were only a handful of mortgage brokers working here.  Less the 40.  Around 2002 and 2003 when the Coachella Valley was in the midst of its housing boom and rates were ridiculously low, the "fly by nighters" in the mortgage profession came to the valley in droves to set up shop and make a quick buck or million.  By 2004, there were over 200 mortgage brokers doing business here in the Palm Springs area.  Employing unlicensed personnel, individuals uneducated in mortgage or real estate and there was a "just get in the way and you will make money", mentality.  Lending guidelines were lenient and all that a person needed to know was how to take a loan application in order to ...
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By Harold Watts, Palm Springs Real Estate Blog
(Teles Properties)
 Did you ever have one of those moments when you have so many thoughts going on in your head that you can't think? Imagine what homeowners are going through when they make the decision  to put their home or condo on the market to sell.  The current condition of the real estate market, rising foreclosures, Mortgage Meltdown 2007, and the overall negative media coverage of everything, it's no wonder that home sellers in Palm Springs have so many questions.  When interviewing your potential Realtor, ask this question:  "What is the absorption rate of homes in Palm Springs?"   If they hesitate or cannot answer the question knowledgably, run.  Any real estate professional "worth their salt" will know the answer to this question.  Absorption rate is a simple mathematical equation that demonst...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
Palm Springs is famous for many things, such as it championship golf course, resorts, and world class restaurants. After all, many of the restaurants have all or part ownership with famous movie stars, actors and musicians. The Golf Courses, well those too, many top PGA players have designed the golf courses here, folks like Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to name a few. Of course, the promoters spared no expense in putting their name on them either. Still, with all the celebrity status around here, it is refreshing to know that the wind above blows away any smog and keeps the sky clear. Meanwhile some green entrepreneurs many decades ago decided to use that wind to generate electricity. Thus, Palm Springs is known as the Wind Generator Capital of North America. The Wind Ge...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
Palm Springs offers tremendous opportunity in residential real estate compared to other California real estate markets. If we look at Los Angeles and Orange County, we see there are not many foreclosures available. This is because those areas were pretty much built-out before 2005 and 2006 when the irrational exuberance took place at the top of the real estate bubble. Still, the prices are off from the 2006 highs by as much as 35% in some areas and it could be 8 or more years until they return to those highs again. There are many good deals on the foreclosures in places like Riverside, Las Vegas and Phoenix real estate markets, but the worse there is still yet to come say bankers and real estate brokers in those markets. These were some of the fastest growing real estate markets during ...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
  Most buyers of real estate looking to invest in their home or secondary residence in the Coachella Valley do not understand that what they really need is not just a Real Estate Agent, rather they need a consultant who understands the Valley here. And believe me there is a lot to know and it is paramount to keep up on the changes in the local market. Each city has its own dynamics, growth, way of living and within those cities are micro-communities. You can have whatever you want, its all here, but you need someone who knows the feel of these neighborhoods to attain that dream life you are looking for. You see there is quite a mix of potential properties from high-end 15,000 square foot and up super mansions to condominium communities. There are up-scale snowbird Motor Coach communitie...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
It is just amazing the number of well-known business personalities that live here in Palm Springs and La Quinta.It seems everyone you meet is someone, and with all the celebrity status around here and in Palm Springs just a few miles away, it is neat that everyone just treats everyone else like regular folks. We do not have the paparazzi out trying to get pictures of everyone or anything like that here. When the big PGA golf tournament is in town, there are more famous people out cruising around town than one can count.Still, it is just another day in Palm Springs - that is just the way things are around here. Folks are so very respectful, polite and the service is great, at all the businesses in town, as they never know who they might be waiting on. More Corporate Executives retire her...
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By Paul Kaplan, Mid Century/Modern homes in Palm Springs - www.Pau
(The Paul Kaplan Group, Inc)
Lease Land vs. Fee Simple Financial Benefits   The primary difference between buying land and leasing it is obvious; lease land reduces the cost of a home by 20 to 30% on average.  Once a structure is built the land beneath it can be of no other use to the homeowner.  So, by owning on leased land, the homeowner gets the use of the land without the capital outlay - and can afford a far more luxurious home for lease money.  futhermore, since no one actually owns a home until the loan is paid off, most so-called "land owners" don't really own their property for 30 years. Won't the value of my real estate climb faster if I own the land? While many things determine resale values, all available figures indicated that resales of homes on leased land have climbed in the exact proportion as othe...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
The real estate in Coachella Valley has some pretty well-known zip codes, but the one which is in the most demand is of course Palm Springs 92262. Amazingly, the market after a few hiccups is doing surprisingly well, although in reality, it should be all that surprising considering demand. Many real estate analysts cite Palm Springs as a great value during these turbulent times. The history of the Palm Springs Real Estate Market shows it is generally the last hit and the first to recover, and with the net gain in population out of shear demand for the bragging rights to say that one lives in Palm Springs, that trend is expected to continue. Speaking of bragging many real estate agents have bragged that they cannot keep inventory very long and once a home is listed; you can expect action...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
Defending The Desert's Vitality in the Real Estate Investment MarketIt is a platitude that the value of a home is not just its design, its building materials, its size or its landscape. It always must derive its value from its location, both very local, like its block or neighborhood and more regional, like its city or state. In my opinion, Palm Springs Real Estate- and I take a broad approach to the meaning of this term, a term I take to mean real estate encompassing the entirety of Coachella Valley- is very undervalued. And that's why sales from September to October have jumped so much- by 16.5% and that's why our sales have gone down by 10% less than the rest of the state during this challenging time for the Real Estate Market. OK, there are some critical drawbacks to the area, prima...
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 Over 150 celebrities of classic films & TV have descended upon Palm  Springs for the 1st annual Palm Springs Classic Film Festival & StarFair.  The event is playing at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Downtown Palm Springs.The Palm Springs Walk of Stars organization is hosting this weekend's film event, and the stars will be on hand to sign autographs.  The money that you pay for the stars' autographs & pictures will all go to charity.  The price for the event is $30 per day, or your can purchase a 3-day pass for $50.The celebrities that are scheduled to be available for the event:  Rhonda Fleming, Jane Russell, Tony Curtis, Lindsay Wagner, Richard Anderson, Cheetah the Chimp (from the Tarzan movies), Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed), Del Shores, Tippi Hedren (The Birds) and too man...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
-An Oz-like Visitation in the Colorado Desert During the Christmas Holidays- "Lions and tigers and bears," said Dorothy. "I won't  find any of these in this silly old desert- or anything else worth bothering about,' smiling as she drove her hybrid SUV into the wiles of Coachella Valley- and piled out with the Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow into the parking lot of the Living Desert. The Cowardly Lion heard there weren't any lions and was handling a Munchkin revolt in the North of Oz anyway. Toto held the fort back at the Esmeralda Renaissance Resort at Indian Wells. Dorothy had told him that she didn't expect to see any lions, but now she regretted it. She had thought the Desert only had a few lizards and scorpions. But when Dorothy saw all the Living Desert animals on display in exhibits t...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
 -Palm Springs Real Estate Statistics Continue to Reveal Unique Investment Opportunities- The new run of statistics from the California Association of Realtors show an interesting upturn in monthly home purchases in Coachella Valley but the overall national and downturn in sales is still significant since last year. But, to be honest, we realtors in Palm Springs Real Estate and the rest of Coachella Valley are not crying. We see vista after vista of opportunity for us and for our clients now and in the near future.And, why not? There is a certain style of life here in the Desert that is fulfilling way beyond the vacillations of price of a house. It is so many perfect days, punctuated of course by a blazing, hot summer that drives many away. It is spectacular nights, speckled with stars;...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
The Children's Discovery Museum, during many holidays, provides an amazing service for busy parents who would just love to have some free time but don't want to sacrifice their kids' enjoyment. Holiday Discovery Day Camp gives parents a large measure of freedom during the day and some wondrous Holiday activities for children. And why not? For years, The Children's Discovery Museum has been showing kids how they can learn and play at the same time. During the winter holidays, when your child is out of school and you have wonderful, but time-consuming activities and tasks to take care of - some with, and some without your brood following along, the Children's Discovery Museum, located in Rancho Mirage, provides an unbelievable solution at a highly affordable cost. Camp tuition is $30 per ...
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The Christmas songs are blaring on the radio, the holiday parties are in full swing, and the malls are packed with Holiday shoppers.The holidays have arrived in Palm Springs, and everyone is getting into the spirit of the Season.  Last Saturday, was the Festival of Lights Parade and this weekend is the Palm Springs Classic Film Festival.   There is plenty to do here in our fine city.  If you a contemplating a move to Palm Springs, here are the lastest figures for this months Palm Springs Home Sales Report for Nov. 2007.  Use this as your guide to your decision to buying a home in Palm Springs:74 homes and condos were sold in Palm Springs during the month of November 2007.  The average median price was $534,452, and the average time on the market was 137 days.Condos Sold=36   Average Med...
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By Elaine Stewart, RE/MAX All-Pro
(Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 )
  - A Fabulous Film Festival Magnificently Slouches Towards Palm Springs in January- Glamorous stars, creative directors and Hollywood moguls congregate in luscious Palm Springs sunshine at the 19thannual Palm Springs International Film Festival. They come here to accept their awards, meet their fans and celebrate their notoriety. But there's also another reason for their presence here. Since the 1930's and the golden days of the Palms Springs Racquet Club, stars have been attracted to the Desert like fireflies to a porch light on a balmy, summer day.  Why is that? Forget the films, the panels, the chance to meet the stars- while you're in the middle of all that, stand outside a little apart from the crowd and look up. You will see and feel the natural opulence, the breathtaking presen...
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By Harold Watts, Palm Springs Real Estate Blog
(Teles Properties)
Even though winter does not arrive to the desert until December 21st, it sure felt like winter last night at the 16th annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade.  Thousands of people weathered the low temperatures to claim a spot on Palm Canyon Dr. to view the parade.Every year, the staff of Scott Lyle Realtors always gets into the holiday spirit in anticipation of the parade.  Our office, a small Spanish hacienda, is located at 483 N. Palm Canyon Dr., right in the heart of Downtown Palm Springs.   Earlier this week, we decorated our front yard with hundreds of lights. This year, there were 89 entries in the parade.  Every entry, whether its a float or a marching band, has to be illuminated in Christmas lights.  The lights usually must be white. This year, multi-colored lights made t...
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