The New Year has started with incredible weather in the desert, especially when compared to the rest of the country. Although we are sure to see some rain and lower temperatures this winter, the warm days so far have been great!

Next week is the start of The Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament, which will bring many professional and amateur golfers together for 5 days of great golf, and national television exposure for the area. This event is the Coachella Valley’s largest fund raiser of the year, benefiting many worthwhile causes.

Now that we are getting into the best part of our real estate season, the showing activity for the higher priced homes has started to pick up. This should carry over into an increase in sales activity over the next 30-90 days, as long as Buyers decide that prices are attractive enough. With interest rates possibly heading higher in the 2nd quarter, there may be some urgency to take advantage of the low rates currently available. And, as inflation starts to take hold, hard assets (real estate is one) will become more attractive.

Local business notes: The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Rancho Mirage appears to be back on track for completion. Stone Eagle Golf Club has gone through foreclosure and the members there are working on a plan to purchase it from the lender. The Sam’s Club in La Quinta is closing, while the Homewood Suites in La Quinta is scheduled to re-open soon.

This month I have included the following items you might find interesting:

•	The Desert Sun highights Steve Forbes visit the Valley to speak at an investment conference, he says recovery is coming, look out for higher interest rates and inflation.
•	Higher-End Homes Face Price Pressure: This Wall Street Journal article says that the worst of the subprime mortgage defaults has likely passed, but that the higher-end homes may still see softer prices.
•	America’s Best and Worst Banks: Forbes.com looks at the 100 largest banks and thrifts. Bank of Hawaii tops the list as the best, and Flagstar Bancorp is number 100.
•	Lender Forecloses Stone Eagle Golf Club: The Desert Sun reported that the members at Stone Eagle Golf Club are negotiating with the lender to buy it out of foreclosure.
•	Bank Owned Homes For Sale Above $1 Million in the Desert Area MLS. The list has dropped from 13 to 10 bank owned homes priced $1 million and above. The home at Bighorn priced at $5.85M still tops the list. There is 1 at The Hideaway, 1 at The Quarry, 1 at Andalusia and 5 others that are not in country clubs.
•	The 10 Most Expensive Homes sold in the Desert in 2009, according to the Desert Area MLS. With selling prices ranging from $3.8M to $11M, 5 of the top 10 were at Bighorn Golf Club, 2 were at Tradition, 1 at Toscana, 1 at Mirada and 1 was a 3-acre estate on Clancy Lane.
•	Mortgage Rates as of 1/15/10.

As always, if you have any comments or input regarding this newsletter, or the real estate market in general, please feel free to call me at 760.779.1653 or send an email to Bruce@BruceBlomgren.com.

Sincerely,
Bruce