I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and that you are all enjoying good health. While most of the country is experiencing extremely bad weather, it is 80 degrees in Indian Wells today and the great weather should remain for the next couple weeks. This will be ideal for the national television exposure during The Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament, which runs January 21st thru 25th.

With the imminent Presidential Inauguration, it appears that the economic problems in the country will take longer to resolve than most experts believed several months ago. The major banks are asking for more TARP money, home foreclosures continue to be a major problem, and it seems as if no sector of the economy is immune.

On the local level, the high end real estate market in the desert has not seen much improvement. As we get into the seasonal period over the next couple of weeks, we will be able to see if some of the buyers are ready to make a move. With the large number of homes for sale, this is definitely a ‘Buyer’s Market’, which makes this an excellent time to buy a home.

I expect to see the high-end and luxury home sale figures for 2009 to be in line with 2008. Although not as many sales as we saw in previous years, but there will definitely be many homes that sell. It will take a combination of price, seller motivation, buyer motivation and property quality and location.

Included this month are these items you might find interesting:

•	The 25 Most Expensive Homes sold in the Desert in 2008, according to the desert Area MLS. The top sale was at Bighorn, as were 7 of the top 10 and 12 of the entire list. The Reserve had 5 on the list, while Tradition had 3. The Vintage, The Hideaway and 3 residential homes all made the list.
•	How High-End and Luxury Home Sales in 2008 compared with the past 6 years: This will give you an overview of the market in the desert above $1 million since 2003.
•	A new restaurant, Jackalope Ranch, which cost $36 million to build, recently opened in west Indio. I was invited to a ‘soft opening’ dinner and was very impressed.
•	The Top 10 Things to expect in the Housing Market in 2009.
•	From Inman News, Craigslist founder sees light at the end of this economic downturn.
•	This article from the LA Times helped me to better understand the AIG story and credit-default swaps. It is a long read, but worth it.
•	Mortgage rates as of 1/15/08: Interest rates are low, but loans are taking longer and Buyers must be qualified.

If there are any real estate related needs or questions I can help you with, please give me a call, or send me an email at Bruce@BruceBlomgren.com.

Sincerely,
Bruce