The middle of February has brought warmer days to the desert, reaching into the low 80’s. This follows several weeks of heavy rains, which brought much needed fresh snow to the surrounding mountains. The views are incredible. Even though the rain impacted the first 2 rounds of The Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament, the last 3 days were great and the national TV audience saw Chamber of Commerce weather.

The past 30 days has seen a pickup in showing activity in the high-end market, and some of that has translated into an increase in sales. While these sales are still mostly driven by low prices, there seems to be an increase in buyer confidence. I have 5 homes in escrow priced between $1M -$3M, which is a dramatic increase.

Here are some of the things I am hearing: The Canadian dollar has started to drop in value, and more Canadians are thinking this is a good time to buy US real estate at these lower prices: More people are again looking at the lifestyle benefits of having a home in the desert: And, there are more people thinking of upgrading to a larger home in the desert.

While the inventory of homes for sale remains high, and there are more Sellers than Buyers, prices remain very soft. It might take another year or two to balance the demand in the desert, and this will remain a Buyer’s market.

And, I have started to see more seller financing and trades become a part of sales transactions. Owner financing can help bring a Buyer in some cases, and taking another property in trade can also help a buyer who doesn’t want to hold 2 properties, to buy a more expensive home.

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

•	California’s Divided Fortunes: This article from The Wall Street Journal discusses how the California economy is showing signs of recovery on the coast, but not yet in the inland areas. This could be good news, because during my 28 years in the desert, our market has tended to follow the coastal market by 12-18 months, both up and down.
•	Ahead of the Tape: Another Wall Street Journal article discusses more signs of the housing market recovery.
•	The Evolution of Clubhouses: This article addresses the transformation taking place at Golf and Country Clubs across the country.  With the slowing of the golf industry, what is needed now is a more family-friendly environment at the clubs. If club members and club managers understood this, there would be a much bigger interest in club memberships.
•	Bank Owned Homes For Sale Above $1M in the Desert Area MLS: This list continues to drop, from 13 to 10, and now just 5 bank owned homes priced above $1M! There is 1 at The Hideaway and 1 at Andalucia in La Quinta, 1 at Indian Ridge CC in Palm Desert, 1 home in Indian Wells and 1 home in Rancho Mirage. The decrease in the market segment is another sign of recovery under way.
•	The 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold in the Desert in January 2010, according to the Desert Area MLS. Selling prices ranged from $1.4M for a home at PGA West, to the high of $8M for a home at Bighorn. This list includes 2 homes at Toscana CC, 2 at PGA West, 2 in Palm Springs and 1 each at The Reserve, Bighorn, Andalucia, and Rancho La Quinta.
•	Mortgage Rates as of 2/15/10.

I always hope you enjoy the information in my newsletter. Please feel free to forward to your friends or to send me email addresses to add to my distribution list.

Sincerely,
Bruce