By the middle of August, almost all of the desert residents are ready for summer to be over! We often refer to this as ‘Awful August’ because in addition to the high temperatures, there are also a few thunderstorms, which add humidity to the weather. At least September will be a little cooler!

The summer real estate activity in the luxury market is usually difficult to gauge because there really are not many high-end home Buyers this time of year. There are always some homes sold, but most Sellers understand that the majority of high end sales are made in the seasonal months.

There is a growing uncertainty in the housing market overall, due to the combination of the housing slow down, the sub-prime loan problem and the elevated number of foreclosures. While the perception of these problems seems to be larger than the reality, the perception is what the market reacts to. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out over the next several months, and how it will affect the seasonal market in the desert.

This month I have included these articles, which I hope you will find interesting:

•	Residence International Magazine: Featuring luxury homes across the U.S. and the World! Below is a link to the Digital Format of the Fall Issue of Residence International Magazine. Find the homes I represent on pages 234 & 235.
•	2nd Quarter Sales Statistics: From the Desert Area Multiple Listing Service, the link below will show how the desert market has fared over the past year.
•	A $25 million home currently for sale in Beverly Hills.
•	The 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold in the Desert in July 2007: Toscana CC has the top closing. Mirada, Bighorn & Tradition make the list, as well as Indian Ridge. 2 of these 10 homes were my listings!

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or send an email.

Sincerely,
Bruce