Keller Williams Donates To Haiti Relief Efforts

Keller Williams is much more than a Real Estate Company. The company continually strives to educate and help both agents and consumers. Giving back to the communities they serve through unique programs like Red Day (May 13, 2010 ) Beyond that they also operate a Charity called KW Cares. While this charity primarily helps Keller Williams agents in times of crisis special grants are also made outside of the Keller Williams family. In February 2010, KW Cares donated $229,000 to the Salvation Army for relief efforts in Haiti.

Donations come mainly from Keller Williams agents who donate each time they close a sale or participate in one of the many KW Cares events held throughout the year.

A generosity of spirit that makes Keller Williams a very special place to be.

Hiking Trails in the Palm Springs / Palm Desert Area

One of the Best ways to enjy all the natural beauty in the Coachella Valley is to take a hike.  It has always been a little difficult for visitors and people new to the valley to find a source for all the trail heads and other information. That is not the case anymore with the Friends of the Mountain and Desert Website.  Great information, iking tips and suggestions for excursions are just a few clicks away.

Best of all in their online store - for under ten bucks - there is a comprehensive map that you can order. 

So get outside and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us!!

March - Main Event - BPN - Paribas Open tennis Tournament

[caption id="attachment_302" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Indian Wells "][/caption]

March 8-21, 2010 The city of Indian Wells will play host to one of the worlds best attended Tennis Events. It is estimated that some 325,000 plus people attended last years events. The top tennis players in the world will compete in this world class Tennis event. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden was opened in 2000 and is the second largest tennis stadium in the world and has hosted major names in Music when not being used for tennis.

A world class event for the Coachella Valley.

The Tipping Point

The low levels of inventory is really starting to be felt across the valley. I have several buyers now and we are having a hard time finding properties to consider. The number of properties going into escrow is growing. If you are seriously looking or considering purchasing property now is the time to get your cards on the table. We went through something like this back in 04/05 as things started to climb all of a sudden everyone wanted homes in the under 300K category and there was nothing left. Shifts in the market are usually six months in the making. By the time the media reports this it will already be too late.

Additionally the short sale market is changing. These homes are going to start selling faster as the banks get fully up to speed on how to process them. Already they are asking for more money on these properties and the banks have a plan to raise the value of the foreclosed homes as well. I will write more on that in the coming week.

If you are not ready to buy there is nothing here for you. However, if you are close to a decision now is the time to get in the game as the inventory keeps dropping and it is going to be much harder to get homes in the lower price ranges soon.

January Sales and Inventory levels

January of 2010 ushered in a new two year low for months supply of inventory and the second highest number of homes going under contract in the same two year period.  Months Supply of Inventory refers to how long it would take to the absorb the current supply of homes if demand remained the same and inventory did not change.

Month	MSI	#Homes For Sale	Homes Under Contract
Jan 2010	5.9	5808	978
Dec 2009	7.2	5787	805
Jan 2009	11.3	7715	685
Dec 2008	13.8	7617	553

Activity is very brisk and demand is high for single family homes priced under $250,000.  Condos are holding steady and more expensive homes are starting to see some increased activity.  The sub $150,000 market is red hot in single family homes and very brisk in condos.

At this writing reports are coming in that foreclosure filings have dropped significantly.  Industry experts are predicting that the balance of 2010 will be about short sales and loan modifications for homeowners in trouble. This will further slow the inventory growth and should lead to some modest price gains by year end.

For more details on specific neighborhoods in Palm Springs please see my neighborhood pages  on my website or contact me for a report about your neighborhood sales activity.

This Week In Palm Springs

It has been a busy and quite beautiful week in Palm Springs with temps in the high 70's and low 80's. At last our Desert weather has returned and I for one could not be happier.

The Riverside County Fair continues through Sunday as does the Palm Springs Modernism week with events, films, home tours and shows ongoing. I heard there is also a car show at the Tennis Gardens in Indian Wells but I don't have any information about that. Several of the Casinos have live shows you could catch and with this weather don't forget the Indian Canyons and the many other trails in the Palm Springs area for a nice hike.

Market Stats are in for January and I will have a post about that as soon as tomorrow. I can already tell you that for the month of February activity is very high. I am seeing many properties go into escrow and the phone keeps ringing.

We are starting to be told that the big banks are going to be rolling out major changes in how they handle short sales in the middle of March. The main expectation is that they will move much faster. I'll keep you posted on that as well. 2010 is suppose to be the year of the short sale and from what I can see I would agree. If they made the process move a little faster that would certainly help.

For more about short sales see the short sale page on my website.