Alvin Greenwalt

Over the holidays, I listed two more properties in Palm Springs. The first is a condo in Mesquite Greens. It is a two bedroom, two bath, with a great room, eat-in kitchen at 1,646 sq. ft. Fantastic mountain views and a large green belt separating the properties. The development includes community pools and tennis courts. The property is offered for $324,900.

The second is a single family home in Parc Andreas. This is a contemporary by architect Wendell Veith. It is a four bedroom, five and a half bath, with a formal living and dining room, breakfast room, family room with wet bar and entertainment center, two master suites, one with two baths, a music room and two other guest suites. The home is approximately 5,546 sq. ft. The yard is 19,166 sq. ft. with a salt water pool and spa and over 600 sq. ft of covered patio. Community amenities include tennis. The property is offered for $1,250,000. These two great listings and the launch of the Palm Springs International Film Festival got me thinking about all the activities Palm Springs has to offer.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival started on January 5^th and goes through January 18^th. The festival includes award galas, screenings and star sightings all over town. This year's honorees include: Jeff Bridges, T Bone Burnett, Mariah Carey, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Anna Kendrick, Helen Mirren, Jason Reitman, Jeremy Renner and Quentin Tarantino. The screenings take place at The Camelot Theatres, The Annenberg Auditorium, Palm Springs High School and Palm Springs Regal 9. There is even a Gay!la event at Toucan's Tiki Lounge. In addition, later in the year are the Shortfest and the Film Noir Festival. Check out my website for links to the film festivals.

On-going activities include the fabulous Palm Springs Follies and the Palm Springs VillageFest. The Follies is a Palm Springs institution. It is a three hour vaudeville style song and dance show. The catch is that the performers are between 59 and 84 years young. It is a must see. The Palm Springs VillageFest transforms Palm Canyon drive into a treasure trove of artists and vendors every Thursday night. It is dog friendly. Another monthly activity is on the first Wednesday of the month, the Art Walk at the Backstreet Art District. Great contemporary art.

The Wexler weekend is coming up from January 22nd to 24^th. This weekend event pays tribute to one of the desert's leading architects. Did I mention that there is a home tour?

The Desert Arts Festival occurs on January 31^st in Frances Stevens Park on Palm Canyon Drive. This one is free.

The fifth annual Modernism Week happens from February 12^th through 21^st. This years event includes a tribute to Albert Frey, another contemporary architect with many ties to Palm Springs.

McCormick's Classic Car Show and Auction will be held at the Spa Resort and Casino, a destination by itself, from February 26^th to 28^th. What goes better with a mid century home, than a mid century car?

The White Party is back from April 9^th through the 12^th. This is preceded by the Dinah Shore Week - aka the Palm Springs Women's Weekend from March 31^st to April 4^th. These two venues bring thousands of gays and lesbians to the Coachella Valley. Lots of A list parties, sun and fun.

There is always something going on here. If it is gray, gloomy, cold and snowy where you are, you should visit Palm Springs - and maybe buy a house. It was in the 70's here today. Take a look at the links for more information on the activities and my listings.

I recently sold another home at Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio. Fantastic deal. My clients bought a standing inventory home. Pulte, the builder, is offering incentives to buyers. They are serious about moving these homes. I was told that Sun City Shadow Hills is the most successful new home development in California. Don't know if it is true, but it would not surprise me.

Sun City is located north of the 10, between Jefferson and Monroe. It is a 55+ golf course community with two clubhouses (one is soon to be under construction, the other is up and running) and a golf course clubhouse. Their web site says that homes start at $228,000 for a two bedroom home with over 1200 sq. ft. When I did a web search, I found one for $191,000. No doubt, one of their standing inventory homes.

I just sold a condo in Quail Lakes Racquet Club, also in Indio. Check out my web site. Once the renovations on the condo are complete, this will be available as a vacation rental. Great tennis community with a meandering lake that the patios back up to. I was in Indio today to pick up a lock box. Had lunch the other day at the new Jackalope Ranch. So with all this Indio activity, I decided to divide up my blog about this desert city. This one will be about Sun City Shadow Hills. My other blog, http://www.callalvin.blogspot.com, will be about the festivals (It is the city of festivals), the amenities, and other great real estate deals.

Sun City Shadow Hills Indio

Sun City Shadow Hills has 12 model homes. They range in size from 1,257 to 2,971 sq. ft. two and three bedroom homes. There are homes on and off the golf course. The golf course is open to the public, so you don't pay for it. You do get discounts as a resident. I have played there. Loved it. It is an 18 hole par 71 course. The newest section of the development will feature a second course. I have seen the signature hole, magnificent. Fees on the 18 hole course range from $114 in season, down to $39 when it is hot. Residents pay $59 down to $29. There are more deals available to residents.

The 35,000 sq. ft. Montecito Club House contains a premier fitness facility, indoor and outdoor pools, a restaurant, community rooms and loads of classes and clubs. The classes include Challenge Step, Total Body on Ball, Sun Style 73, Aqua (Arthritis), Balance the Brain, Aqua, Fitness, Core Conditioning, Cardio, Beginners T'ai Chi, Interval Step and Weight Watchers.

The clubs include the following:

Afternoon Social Bridge Women's 18-hole Golf Women's 18-hole

Billiards Club Opera Club Bridge Club

Pan Club Community Singers Pet Club

Computer Club Performing Arts Concerts 4 U

Couples Golf Readers Ink RV Club

Creative Arts Shall We all Dance Desert Life

Solos Games Plus Stitch in time

Happy Tappers Table Tennis Tennis

Kings and Queens Card Club Lady Putters That's Entertainment

Ladies 9-Hole Golf Topical Discussion Lively Liners

Tutta Bella Vino Ukulele Mah Jongg

Strummers Men's Golf Veterans Club

Oke-dokey Karaoke

In addition to all this, there are organized day trips to locations in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Lots to do.

Right now there are quick move in homes. My clients were able to close on their home within a couple weeks. The standing inventory includes several Granadas (1,099 sq. ft.), several Canteras (1,257 sq. ft), a couple Cordobas (1,294 sq. ft.), three Valencias (1,652 sq. ft.), five Avalinos (1,763 sq. ft.), five Maderas (1, 854 sq. ft.), two Del Oros (1,880 sq. ft.), three Santiagos (2,076 sq. ft.), a Sorrano (2,115 sq. ft.), four Castellanos (2,230 sq. ft.), three Meridas (2,370 sq. ft.), a Dorado (2,446 sq. ft.) and three La Paz (2,971 sq. ft.). Prices start under $200,000. The largest plan on the golf course is listed on Del Webs web site at $584,400. Availability and pricing are subject to change and prior sale.

There are some great resale deals in Sun City Shadow Hills. The lowest price is a San Ysidro (1,463 sq. ft.) asking $175,000. This is a short sale. All in all, there are 97 resales on the market. Thirty-Seven of the listings are under $300,000. Some of the benefits to resales include, window treatments, completed back yards and some have pools and/or spas. I looked at resales listed around what my client's paid for their new home. They could have bought a San Benito (2,147 sq. ft.) with a pool and spa or a Madera (1854 sq. ft.) with a firepit on the golf course. Instead they purchased a Dorado (2,446 sq. ft.) at a substantial discount from the listed price.

It is the perfect time to buy a home in Sun City Shadow Hills. The interest rates are low. The builder's incentives are very attractive. There are great deals on resales. Give me a call for more information.

I just updated the foreclosure page on my website. There are some great deals out there, but fewer than I expected. I came across a few that I particularly like. Also, in the past week, while showing property, I came across a couple regular sales that I liked.

I found the first due to my contemporary listing at 12240 Skyline Drive in Desert Hot Springs. I have clients that are very interested in that property, but wanted to see what they could get across the valley. I took them to see the newly reopened Escena. I really like these homes, but they aren't hard edged contemporary. They have that developer feel. They have great views and good prices. I haven't seen views that top the Skyline property, but Escena's are pretty good. I registered my clients and left them at Escena. They were there for four hours.

While they were there, I took other clients to see a couple foreclosures and regular sales.
The first one was a bust for these clients, but I loved it. I remember seeing it when they were new. It is located at Royal Desert Palms Court in Palm Springs. Listed for $717,750. It sold for $1,670,000 in July of 2006. Now I have to admit, I thought they were overpriced. But I see opportunity at the $717,750 price. Who knows in this market, but I see upside. I see that there are two offers on the property already.

Our second property was another contemporary, a little bit dated, but great bones. Normal sale, I think. The property is located on Rim Road in Palm Springs. This is in Araby. It is located down the hill from Bob Hope's famous house. This one is another circular home. Designed by noted Palm Springs architect, James Cioffi . The kitchen is the center of this home. Big piece of property. Offered for $859,000. Really interesting home. Another bust with my clients, but not as big as the first.

They ending up offering on a Tuscan style in a development in the south Palm Canyon area called Monte Sereno. It's a short sale. I'll write another blog about short sales later. This house is spectacular. Great views. Wonderful outdoor kitchen. Fantastic pool, spa and water feature. I like any architecture with a point of view. This home has it. The risk is a development with 1/3 of the homes up or partially up. Who knows what the future holds?

Back to my first set of clients, I met them at the home on Royal Desert Palms Court. They loved it, but it is above their price range. Made the DHS house look like a deal. We will see where that leads.

Another contemporary that I came across while updating my website was on Birkdale Circle in Stone Ridge Estates, Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. I love this street. Huge green space in the middle of the street with putting greens. Contemporary homes on a golf course. Big mountain views. I just pulled it up on Zillow.com. Huge price drops in this neighborhood. Last time I showed there - $1,000,000 and up. Hard to find one valued over a million now. You should look at this neighborhood.

I took a look at my foreclosure lists and couldn't find a Pamilla listing in La Quinta. Well the problem was I was looking too high in price. This is my favorite development in the desert. The style is desert contemporary. Before I became a realtor and lived in Thousand Oaks, my partner and I came out a dozen times to look at this development. The market was hot, the staff there was not. If they had returned our calls, responded to our registration, we would have bought one. Alas they did not. Oh well, I guess that was to our advantage, there is a bank owned property there for $564,900. That's a lower price than when we were looking there 4 years ago. Take a look at the links. Bottom line, there are deals out there. They all seem to be getting multiple offers, the market is changing. Don't miss this opportunity. I have a number of doom and gloom clients, I think the market is passing you by.

Alvin Greenwalt Ca DRE License 01715823

Think of Palm Springs and what comes to mind, sun, movie stars, vacation - true enough, but for many it's just golf. I saw an example of this yesterday at about 2 PM in Sun City Shadow Hills. I was showing a client new and resale homes. We were in the golf cart viewing new homes - unbelievable deals on the current inventory. Equally unbelievable, we had to stop for a golf cart with two golfers. It was 108 in the shade.

There are more than 100 golf courses in the Coachella Valley. Many are private country clubs. At least two are attached to private estates and privately owned. There are numerous public and semi private courses scattered throughout the valley. Several cities here have resident golf programs. They can be the reason that you buy your home or condo within a particular city limits.

I wrote my first blog about a last minute showing in Indian Wells. I picked up two golfers at the Indian Wells Golf Resort. They only wanted to look at a couple condos in Indian Wells. Their purpose was to get a resident's card so they could play for $35 a round anytime. And better yet it is free to Indian Wells homeowners. Check out the links button to find links to the original blog link and the Indian Wells Property Owners ID card. I recently played the Celebrity Course. It is beautiful, my game not so much. I posted some photos on my facebook page in the mobile uploads album. There are numerous other benefits to the card, including discounts on food and merchandise, also discounts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It is, in my opinion, the best golf program in the desert. Indian Wells is home to the Indian Wells County Club, Eldorado Country Club, The Vintage, The Reserve, and Toscana Country Club.

I live in Rancho Mirage. Beautiful city - fantastic place to live. Home to two of the oldest private country clubs in the valley, Thunderbird Country Club and Tamarisk County Club. Tamarisk is one of the few areas of the city that is not behind gates. Great area with wonderful examples of mid century modern and current contemporary architecture. Another example of this architecture is Magnesia Falls - also not behind gates. Rancho Mirage is home to Mission Hills Country Club, home of the Kraft Nabisco Tournament and the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. My favorite LPGA event. Check out my facebook page for photos of this year's tournament in the mobile uploads album. Rancho Mirage has a great resident's program. It allows owners and renters to benefit. Register with the city and pay the $75 annual fee. Then play the Pete Dye Resort Course or the Gary Player Signature Course at Mission Hills Country Club. The fees range from $35 to $55 depending on the time of year. There are discounted fees for your guests. Another option for a great deal on golf is Rancho Mirage Country Club. Check out the links button for more information. Rancho Mirage is also home to The Springs Country Club, Morningside Country Club, Sunrise Country Club and Rancho Las Palmas Country Club.

Desert Willow Golf Resort is the home of the Palm Desert Resident's Golf Program. Proof of residency is required and an $8 annual processing fee. There are two courses. Desert Willow Firecliff and Mountain View. Check out the links button to find more information on the course. Residents pay $45 per round. Guests pay the published fees, ranging from $70 to $175 depending on the time of year. Palm Desert is home to many country clubs. In south Palm Desert, there is Bighorn Golf Club, Ironwood Country Club, Marrakesh Country Club, Stone Eagle Golf Club and Shadow Mountain Golf Club. East Palm Desert is home to Avondale Country Club, Desert Falls Country Club, Indian Ridge Country Club, Oasis Country Club, Palm Desert Country Club, Palm Valley Country Club, The Lakes Country Club and Woodhaven Country Club. North Palm Desert includes Chaparral Country Club, Desert Springs, Monterey Country Club, Portola Country Club and Suncrest Country Club. I am sure that I have missed some.

La Quinta's resident's golf program requires proof of residency and a $15 fee for three years. In reading the rules of the program, I found it interesting that La Quinta doesn't seem to recognize California's Registered Domestic Partners. If you are using a utility bill as a second form of identification and it happens to be in your partner's name and it is not the same as yours, you are required to provide a marriage certificate. Either La Quinta is lobbying for change, looking for a law suit or way behind the times. Anyway, back to the golf program. Residents can play at SilverRock Resort. Current fees for a round are $30. They seemed to be having server problems, so I can't provide any more rate information. Click on the links button to find more information about SilverRock Resort and the resident's program. La Quinta is home to Andalusia at Coral Mountain, La Quinta Country Club, Mountain View Country Club, PGA West including the Greg Norman course, the Legends course, the Nicklaus Private and Tournament courses, the Palmer Private course, the Stadium course and the Weiskopf course, Rancho La Quinta Country Club, The Citrus, The Hideaway, The Madison, The Palms, The Quarry, The Tradition and Trilogy.

Check back later for municipal course information in other desert cities. Just a quick update - I sold one of the new homes in Sun City Shadow Hills today to the client that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog!

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Alvin Greenwalt

CA DRE License # 01715823