When you think of Palm Springs, what comes to mind? Palm trees, large estates, swimming pools, movie stars? Oh wait, that's the Beverly Hillbillies!! Jethro and Ellie Mae would have been right at home here in Palm Springs. Ever wonder about what these luxury homes in Palm Springs are selling for?
Here's some information about the most expensive home sales in Palm Springs for October 2009. All information was obtained through the Desert Area MLS.
Overall, there were 3 Palm Springs home sales topping $1 million during the month of October 2009, out- pacing the 2 homes sold in September and the 2 home sales in August 2009.
Currently, there are 98 homes on the market in Palm Springs with list prices topping $1 million. Despite all the activity of the lower priced homes in town, the luxury real estate market in Palm Springs is starting to gain some momentum.
Search for Homes in Palm Springs
Here are the 3 homes that sold for over $1M dollars in Palm Springs in October 2009:
3223 E. Bogert Trail- $1,500,000- 3 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 5000sf Desert Contemporary home sitting on 1/2 acre of land in the Andreas Hills neighborhood of S. Palm Springs. This home closed escrow on 10/13/09.
855 Via Las Palmas- $1,049,000- This 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 2800sf Mid-Century home is one of 15 "Swiss Miss" homes that were built in the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood. High ceilings, walls of glass, and views to die for are some of the features of the special home. Closed escrow on 10/30/09.
898 N. Avenida Palmas- $1,020,000- 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3257sf home on a 1/3 acre lot in the Movie Colony district of Palm Springs. Home was built in 1999 and is within walking distance of Downtown Palm Springs.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
About the Author:
Harold Watts of Scott Lyle Realtors has been a REALTOR in Palm Springs since 1999. Focusing on the 2nd & Vacation home market, Harold has been helping Real Estate Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. If you want to know what is happening with the Palm Springs Real Estate market, give Harold Watts a call at 760-218-8209 or email him at Harold.ScottLyleRealtors@gmail.com
Yesterday, it was officially announced the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit of $8000 for first-home buyers has been extended past its expiration date of November 30, 2009.
Based on the information that is available, homebuyers have until April 30, 2010 to purchase a home and it must close escrow no later than June 30, 2010.
This is good news for the real estate community and for the many people who have been "sitting on the fence" and waiting for the perfect deal.
I have preaching to everyone since January 2009 that the time to buy real estate in Palm Springs is NOW.
Foreclosed homes have been driving the Palm Springs real estate market since the beginning of the year and the prices here "bottomed" out in August. Does this mean you have missed your chance on buying a home? No, it just means that the prices of homes has leveled out. Here is a look at the homes sales for the month of November in Palm Springs:
November 2009 Home Sales: 68 Foreclosures Sold= 34 Short Sales (Pre-Foreclosures)= 6
Avg. List Price: $381,814 Avg. Sold Price: $362,337 Avg. Price Per Sq. Foot: $171 DOM= 100
November 2009 Condo Sales: 50 Foreclosures Sold= 11 Short Sales (Pre-Foreclosures)= 2
Avg. List Price: $184,296 Avg. Sold Price: $171,215 Avg. Price Per Sq. Foot: $136 DOM= 82
As you can see, 50% of the homes purchased in the month of November were foreclosures and sold for 95% of the listing price.
Now is the time to take advantage of the extension of the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit and buy the home of your dreams in Palm Springs.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
About the Author:
Harold Watts of Scott Lyle Realtors has been a REALTOR in Palm Springs since 1999. Focusing on the 2nd & Vacation home market, Harold has been helping Real Estate Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. If you want to know what is happening with the Palm Springs Real Estate market, give Harold Watts a call at 760-218-8209 or email him at Harold.ScottLyleRealtors@gmail.com
The fun and festivities of Halloween have come to a close in the city of Palm Springs. Last night, Downtown was packed with many people celebrating the one night they can be who they want to be & forget about the problems in their life and the world. I saw people dressed as pirates, drag queens, the Colorado "Balloon Boy", and a multitude of Hollywood celebrities.
Now that the revelry has died down and people still trying to tak off their makeup, it is the time to start going through my recipes and start planning the annual Diebley-Watts Thanksgiving bash.
We usually will have 12-16people come over and enjoy good food, good conversation, and being grateful for all the good things in our lives.
Life in Palm Springs is not all about dinners and parties during the holidays, it is about getting out and participating in all the activities that this town has to offer.
Here is just a sample of what's happening in Palm Springs during the month of November 2009:
Nov 2nd- Palm Springs Follies- The 19th season of the Follies opens with “Let The Good Times Roll”
For performance schedule & tickets, go to psfollies.com
Nov 3rd- Palm Springs Local Elections- Go and cast your vote at the many polling
stations throughout the city. For locations of the different polling stations, go
to the Registrar of Voters website and search by zip code & street name.
Nov 5th- Palm Springs VillageFest- Every Thursday night 6-10pm in Downtown Palm
Springs. For more information, go to the website at palmspringsvillagefest.com
Nov 6-7th- Palm Springs Gay Pride Festival- The annual Palm Springs Gay Pride
Festival is being held at the Sunrise Park Stadium. For more information,
go to the Pride Festival website at pspride.org
Nov 7th- Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade- The parade starts at 10am. The route starts at
Alejo Rd., and ends at Ramon Rd. For more information, go to the Pride Parade
website at pspride.org
Nov 11th – Annenburg Theatre- Rita Moreno, Academy Award winning actress, per-
forms her one-woman show at the Annenburg Theatre starting at 6pm. For tickets
and information, go to the website at psmuseum.org
Nov 11-14th- Palm Springs Air Museum- Veterans Celebration & 13th Anniversary. Join the Palm Springs Air
Musuem as they honor America's veterans. In addition to the T-34 air shows, they will be having
demonstrations of their P-63 and T-33 throughout the weekend, along with reenactments, activities for the
kids, and plenty of food vendors. For more information, go to the website at
Nov 11th- Veteran’s Day Parade- Palm Springs celebrates Veteran’s Day with a parade.
The parade starts at 3:30pm, on Palm Canyon Dr. in Downtown Palm Springs.
Nov 20th-22nd- McCormick’s Classic Car Auction- Drool over you favorite cars from the
50’s, 60’s, & 70’s. The auction is being held at the Spa Resort Hotel. For
more information, go to the website at classic-carauction.com
Nov 26th- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Nov 27th-29th- Desert Arts Festival- See over 100 artists exhibit their work at Frances Stevens
Park. The park is located at the corner of Alejo Rd. & N. Palm Canyon Dr.
The hours of the festival are 10am-4pm.
About the Author:
Harold Watts of Scott Lyle Realtors has been a REALTOR in Palm Springs since 1999. Focusing on the 2nd & Vacation home market, Harold has been helping Real Estate Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. If you want to know what is happening with the Palm Springs Real Estate market, give Harold Watts a call at 760-218-8209 or email him at Harold.ScottLyleRealtors@gmail.com
To get into the spirit of the Halloween Weekend that is upon us, I wanted to re-tell my own "haunted house" story that I wrote about a 1 1/2 years ago here on ActiveRain. It's not exactly "The Amityville Horror" scary, but it is an experience I will never forget. Let me set up the story for you. I was reading a featured article written by Shirley Byrd-Solem of Roseburg, OR, and the title was "And Someone Was Murdered in my Garage"
Her story was about a home she had sold to her buyers and the call she gets 1 year later. The buyers inform Shirley that the neighbors told them that there was a murder committed in the home.
Nothing was in the original disclosures, Shirley calls the listing agent, who contacts the previous owners, and they don't know anything about a murder. The police are called, and they tell Shirley that there was not a crime committed at that address. The buyers are informed, and everything is fine.
A few months later, Shirley gets another call from her buyers. They inform her that they have been "hearing things at night", sleep disturbances occurring, and the family has been sick. Another call is made to the police department about the house, and it turns out that there was a murder in the home 5 years prior to them moving in.
This story got me thinking about one of my first listings that I procured nearly 10 years ago. It was a golf course condo in 
Palm Springs, and the estate was being handled by the attorney. The owner of the home was named Betty, and she recently passed away from lung cancer. Her husband had passed away several years before.
One of the first questions I asked, "Did either of the owners die in the home?" The attorney answered no, and I received the keys to the condo.
I opened the door and I understand why Betty died of lung cancer. The smell of stale cigarettes is overpowering.
I stepped into the condo and rush of cold air enveloped me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and a chill went down my spine. The next thought that pops into my head is "I have to clean the patio" I grab a broom and I start sweeping.
After leaving the condo, I'm walking to my car and I run into one of the neighbors. I introduce myself as the Realtor, and the neighbor starts talking about Betty.
She tells me how nice Betty and her husband were, how long they lived there, and that Betty was a neat freak. She also informed me that her favorite spot of her was the patio. She kept it immaculate. I just cleaned the patio.
Now I start hearing the Twilight Zone song playing in my head.
Normally, I don't believe in the paranormal but strange things started happening. When potential buyers would come into the home, they also felt "the cold". Doors would slam shut when there was not any wind. And on several occasions, people were nearly hit with golf balls while standing on Betty's patio.
The condo was not selling after 2 months, and I was in a quandary.
I was talking to a friend about what was happening at the condo, and he told me about a woman he knows, who is "in tune with the spirits". I agreed to meet with her at Betty's condo to give me a "spiritual evaluation"
She immediately felt Betty's presence upon entering the condo. The "medium" informed me that Betty didn't "like" any of the people who were looking at her home, and that she couldn't let go. A ritual smudging needed to be performed.
The ritual of smudging can be defined as "spiritual house cleaning." In theory, the smoke attaches itself to negative energy and as the smoke clears it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it into another space where it will be regenerated into positive energy.
We wrap together pieces of lavender and sage, light it with a match, and we go through every room to cleanse & purify the home. The ritual of smudging and chanting lasts for about 45 minutes.
2 days later, I show the home to a lovely couple from the East Coast. They immediately fall in love with the condo, especially the view from the patio. I silently "speak" to Betty and tell her that these people love & will take care of your home.
I told the couple about Betty, the smudging, everything. Later that day, a contract was signed & escrow was opened. Betty had chosen the owners of her home.
The moral of my ramblings: Whether you bury a St. Joseph's statue in the yard, perform a smudging or exorcism, we Realtors do what we have to do to get a home sold. Happy Halloween!!!
Pictures are compliments of Flickr
About the Author:
Harold Watts of Scott Lyle Realtors has been a REALTOR in Palm Springs since 1999. Focusing on the 2nd & Vacation home market, Harold has been helping Real Estate Buyers and Sellers achieve their real estate goals. If you want to know what is happening with the Palm Springs Real Estate market, give Harold Watts a call at 760-218-8209 or email him at Harold.ScottLyleRealtors@gmail.com
The holidays are a time of reflection for me. It is a time to think of where I've been, and where I want to go in the future. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's a time to give thanks for everything I have, no matter how much or how little. It's a time to celebrate and share your life with the people most important to you. I call this my Season of Gratitude.
I celebrate all the wonderful things in my life: friends, family, and health. I am very grateful for everything I have in my life. It's not about how many "toys' I have or how much money has been made, but the peace & serenity that has taken me most of my life to find.
Given the current economic climate, it has been difficult for me sometimes to look at the positive side of life. But I have to remember to that there are others who are suffering much more than I am.
My friend Sean, and his partner Jason, plan the entire Thanksgiving menu, while Jeff (my partner) and I supply our home for the festivities. There's turkey, ham, oyster dressing, and my world famous Roasted butternut squash soup. We invite all of our friends, and people who may not have anywhere to go during the holidays.
Last year, we had 16 people at our home, and but this year I anticipate a smaller crowd as people are staying closer to home. Its all about food and good times with the ones I love.
Creating balance with work and my life during the holidays can be a challenge, but not impossible. Time management skills are imperative, and sometimes saying "No" to people is a must. We can't be everything to everyone.
Here are some of my ways I will maintain my Holiday Balance (or sanity):
So during this holiday season, remember what's important in your life. Grab your wife, husband, your kids, your life partner, and give them great big hug and tell them how much you love them. Find the balance in your life during the holidays, and just remember how blessed you are. The economy will turn around and our businesses will flourish once again. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!
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Focusing on the 2nd & Vacation home market in Palm Springs, Harold Watts of Scott Lyle Realtors has been helping Real Estate Buyers and Sellers achieve their goals since 1999. Call him at 760-218-8209
I jumped out of an airplane for the first time in December of 2004 at the Perris Skydiving School. I did the jump with my friend Sean, who was celebrating his 40th birthday. I did this because one, nobody else would else would do it, and two, I needed to "step out of my comfort zone" The skydive was one of this exhilerating experiences of my life!!! I have done several jumps since then. As I look at my life, I have been out of my comfort zone many times, and I didn't have to jump out of airplane!!!
I moved to Palm Springs in January 1999, by way of San Francisco. I studied marketing at Sonoma State University, and worked for such companies as Macy's San Franciso & Williams-Sonoma. I had been working in the sales business for the last 15 years, but was looking for something more. I wanted to be my own boss, but I didn't know how to go about it. That's when it hit me: Real Estate. I had been buying & selling my own properties for the past 10 years, why not do it for a living? But it took me 2 years before I made my leap of faith, and took a chance on a dream.
Palm Springs has been a living paradise for me. I can do all the things I love to do: bicycling, running, and hiking. I have a sense of community here with all the people I meet. Small town feel with big city amenties.
I don't do much skydiving anymore, but I still look at that picture and I how I felt that day. It constantly reminds me that every now & then, we all need take a risk and to step out of our comfort zone.
There are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent real estate professional - integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills and a high-quality professional network, all of which are hallmarks of how I work.
That said, in my experience as a Palm Springs real estate professional, I've also found that providing the very best service is essentially about putting my clients first. This means keeping myself accessible, being a good listener as well as a good communicator, and responding quickly to your needs.
This "client first" philosophy has always been my approach and it requires me to continually improve my skills and ways of doing business. In addition, I've found that the latest technologies are enabling me to do everything I've always done, only much more quickly and efficiently. They've also helped me to extend the range of services I provide to my clients.
Tooting My Own Horn
This is the section where I get to tell you what I do and how wonderful I am. There really is not much tell. I am just going to give you the basics.
Look Who's Talking about Harold
There are many things I can say about the high quality of service I provide to my home seller and buyer clients, but probably none would be as credible as testimonials from some of my past clients themselves.
So please take a moment to read the following testimonials. I hope they indicate my experience and integrity, as well as make it clear how much I enjoy helping people with their real estate needs
Dear Harold,
As you may be aware we have just arrived back home from our recent vacation cruise out of San Diego and our first return to our new home at the Desert Princess Country Club.
We were really excited to finally be able to spend some time and enjoy our home. I must say that everything was in perfect condition and just as we remember it when you took us there in March.
I have to say that purchasing a property so far away and really having very little knowledge of the area and the real estate market was a bit intimidating.
However, with your help not only on a professional level but also your attention to detail and your personal concern in regard to understanding our unique situation eliminated all of our anxiety.
Although we did not purchase a million dollar property, you made us feel like we did.
We're trying to convince some of friends and relatives to consider a property in the Palm Springs area as well and if so we would certainly recommend that they chose you to assist them.
Once again thank you for all your help,
Victor and Kathryn Glowik, Peabody MA
"I am writing to make you aware of our great satisfaction with the work of Harold Watts in the purchase of our new home in Palm Springs. Harold was extremely diligent in dealing with all matters of this purchase and he was so helpful and responsible in communicating with us and following through on all of the details......We will certainly recommend highly Harold and your agency to our other home buying & selling friends in the future."
John Hoffman & Tony Leondis, Los Angeles, CA
"Harold, Jim and I want to thank you for all you've don to make this condo sale go through painlessly for us. We found you to be very conscientious and someone we could trust. We will always be ready to recommend you to friends who may desire property in the Desert."
Jim & Kay Chabot, Long Beach, WA
"Harold, we were very pleased to have you help us in buying a house in Palm Springs. The referral could not have worked out any better. You were very informative & always willing to drop everything to help us. We will be more than happy to pass your name on to our friends"
Steve Johnson & Dana Benoit, Palm Springs, CA
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