Sun City Palm Desert-Sept. stats

From Sept. 1 unitl today, Sept. 30

At present there are 157 active listings from $249,000 for a Maui (1010 sq.') to a Tuscany on the golf course (3399sq.')

There have been 2 contingent sales--List price $279,000 and $399,000.
There have been 4 pending sales--3 from $349,000-$399,000(list prices)
There have been 8 homes that have closed escrow this month-- One at $275,000 for a Hummel on the greenbelt; 5 from $327,000-$390,000; One at $415,000 for a Sonora (2102 sq.') and One at $592,000 for a Victoria (2473 sq') on the golf course.
Of particular interest to me was the the sales price vs the last list price was not too much lower. One home sold at 9% less than asking, the others were 2-7% lower. So, our prices are holding up pretty well.

Hi All

I met with a "Reverse Mortgage" Broker and found some information that might help you or someone you know.

If one is 62 years or older you may qualify for a reverse mortgage. The amount you could receive depends on the value of your home the amount of built-up equity and the interest rates at the time of origination..

This may help someone who is behind in their house payments or someone who wishes to use a reverse mortgage to buy a retirement home or to move to a larger home.

Here is an illustration of how someone might use a reverse mortgage :From a Mtg. Broker--

Proceeds from sale of old house $500,000
Purchase price of retirement home $400,000
Down payment on new home $200,000
Reverse Mtg. on new home $200,000
Payments on new home $ 0
Available for investment $300,000

I am not an expert on loans and do not make any recommendations as to any type of loan.

For more information about reverse mortgages call Mel Smoke @ 760-408-3033

Now that Stater Brothers is open they will have a magazine called "Movies, Sports and More" that will be near the real estate magazines. Be sure to pick one up each week --full of interesting information. Let me know what you think.

Sad

I was sorry to hear that Main Street Bar and Grill closed last week due to financial difficulties.

We always enjoyed and food and the atmosphere. I hope they find another good one.

Latest SCPD statistics

As of 9/17/07:

144 Active listings--from $249,000 for 1010 sq. ft to $996,000 for a Tuscany(3399 sq. ft) on the golf course.

Since August 1:

1 contingent on sale @$289,000 (1157 sq.ft)
5 Pending sales from$349,900 for a Tangier (1764 sq. ft) to $459,000 (2323sq. ft)
10 Closed Escrows from $289,000 for a Calif. Casual (1157 sq. ft) to $592,000 for a Victoria (2473 sq. ft

Beat the Crowds

Stage Shows Intl is producing 3 shows at Sun City Palm Desert as follows:
1/19/08---Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna
2/2/08----Always Patsy Kline with Misty Moore
3/22/08---Doo Wop with the Platters, Drifters, and Coasters

Tickets are $120.00 for all 3 shows or can be bought individually. For more info call 360-9986 or send your chedk to: Stage Shows Intl.
78206 Varner Rd. #D131
Palm Desert, CA 92211

Show times are 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM

Thought for the day

From George Burns: "By the time you're 80 years old, you've learned everything. You only have to remember it"

Stater Brothers---At last

Did you know that the new Stater Brothers at the Marketplace is opeining on Sept. 19th? A guard at the market said Sun City residents could visit the site at 5:30 PM on Tues the 18th--but NO shopping.

Real Estate Taxes

Don't forget real estate taxes are due Nov. 1

What customers want in homes today

I was surprised when I read the new statistics from NAR's survey of homebuyers.

Home buyers in increasing numbers want larger garages. Among buyers who purchased homes without this feature, 56% of them said they would have paid more for an oversize garage.

Other priorities include Central Air ( virtually all homes in the desert already have it), a walk-in closed in the master bedroom, hardwood or tile floors and granite counter tops.

According to the survey, nearly 6 our of 10 recent home buyers took on remodeling of kitchen or bathrooms within 3 months of purchasing their home. The fact that a majority of home buyers quickly remodel key areas of their homes ties into the fact that their home is a good long-term investment. According to Paul Bishop, NAR manager of real estate research "Regardles of market conditions in the short term, when purchased for the log term, housing is one of the safest investments consumers can make.

Energy efficiency was more important to new home buyers than buyers of existing homes. Older buyers placed a higher priority on energy efficiency than did younger buyers.

La Quinta Happenings

New restaurants and stores coming to La Quinta in the near future: Applebee's near the Homewood Suites; New Java Coffee near Trader Joes; Cost Plus World Market near Steinmart,; LaQuinta's Chipotle Mesican Grill near Best Buy; Panera Bread near Best Buy,; JCPenney near Wal-Mart; Fatburger and Wienerschnitzel near Home Depot,; Souplantation near Costco; Mimi's Cafe also near Costco.
We will have lots more options as well as more traffic.