Indio, California - The City of Fesitvals

I love the desert. Well, not so much in the summer. I lived in Los Angeles and the Bay Area for 20+ years. People from anywhere else think the desert is perfect. It’s not. LA, OC and San Diego are perfect. Especially, if you are lucky enough to live near the coast. They are also expensive. The Bay Area has its perfect spots, but it is even more expensive. The desert is perfect 9 months of the year and it is still affordable. So for all of you from somewhere else, this is as close to perfect as it gets. So that being said, I wanted to talk about another desert city, Indio.

I wrote another blog on Activerain about Sun City Shadow Hills. You can read it at:

http://activerain.com/blogs/jibey1

I decided to divide up this blog. Sun City Shadow Hills is a 55+ golf community. It is a topic unto itself. This blog is about the rest of Indio. I recently sold a condo at Quail Ridge Racquet Club. It is a tennis community with a meandering lake that all of the patios back up to. Check my website. It will be up on my website as a vacation rental soon. They are completing the kitchen renovation. New kitchen, new cabinets, new appliances. Nice. I have a number of great vacation rentals. Check out the website.

Indio is the largest city in the Coachella Valley. Lately, I have been impressed with what is going on in Indio. It started with the new median strips on Highway 111 near Jackalope Ranch (now all over the city). That is the new destination restaurant. It was built by the owner of Babe’s in Rancho Mirage. He was also the founder of Marie Calendars’. Passed away recently. Anyway his dream was taken up by another restaurateur in the valley. Kaiser restaurants are running Jackalope Ranch. I have had lunch there a couple times. Earlier in the year, Jim and I had lunch outside. Near the water feature. Very nice. We had lunch in the bar last week. Love the place. Nice environment. The food is ok. Great destination restaurant.

Indio is the city of festivals. Probably the biggest is Coachella. This is a music festival. This past year headliners included Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure. Amy Winehouse was supposed to appear, wonder what happened. Check out my website for more information at

http://www.alvingreenwalt.com/Information.html

The Coachella web site includes virtual tours of this year and previous year’s festivals. If you are not a rock fan, there is the Stagecoach Festival. 2009 featured Kenney Chesney, Brad Paisley, Reba and Kid Rock. There are virtual tours of 2009 and previous year’s festivals. Both events occur annually at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.

The Riverside County Fairground hosts the county fair and National Date Festival. The Coachella Valley produces 95% of the nations date crop. Take a look at the link to Shields Date Farm on my web site. Couldn’t find a link to the movie that they feature at their store, The Romance and Sex Life of the Date. I guess you will just have to visit. The county fair and National Date Festival has been occurring in February every year since 1947.

Indio hosts the Tamale Festival. This year’s festival occurs on December 5th and 6th in downtown Indio. Dave Hernandez came up with this idea back in 1992. Food Network TV ranked this in the top 10 food festivals in the country last year. Something that you don’t want to miss.

Another big festival here is the Indian Powwow. In my opinion, one of the most interesting festivals in Indio. Hosted by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, this is a true American experience. This one takes place on the Cabazon Reservation in Indio. View tribal dancing, taste Native American cuisine and enjoy the arts. Did I mention that Fantasy Springs Casino is the venue? One of the best places for shows. Crosby, Stills and Nash are coming, so is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hey, my other post was about Sun City Shadow Hills – remember I mentioned Amy Winehouse. But as of March 2010, I can move into Sun City. We all get there eventually.

Now, I know that I said that I would be writing about real estate deals in Indio. I got carried away with the festivals. Check back for the real estate deals.

Alvin Greenwalt

CA DRE License # 01715823

Resident's Golf Programs in the Palm Springs Area

Think of Palm Springs and what comes to mind, sun, movie stars, vacation - true enough, but for many it's just golf. I saw an example of this yesterday at about 2 PM in Sun City Shadow Hills. I was showing a client new and resale homes. We were in the golf cart viewing new homes - unbelievable deals on the current inventory. Equally unbelievable, we had to stop for a golf cart with two golfers. It was 108 in the shade.



There are more than 100 golf courses in the Coachella Valley. Many are private country clubs. At least two are attached to private estates and privately owned. There are numerous public and semi private courses scattered throughout the valley. Several cities here have resident golf programs. They can be the reason that you buy your home or condo within a particular city limits.



I wrote my first blog about a last minute showing in Indian Wells. I picked up two golfers at the Indian Wells Golf Resort. They only wanted to look at a couple condos in Indian Wells. Their purpose was to get a resident's card so they could play for $35 a round anytime. And better yet it is free to Indian Wells homeowners. Check out the links button to find links to the original blog link and the Indian Wells Property Owners ID card. I recently played the Celebrity Course. It is beautiful, my game not so much. I posted some photos on my facebook page in the mobile uploads album. There are numerous other benefits to the card, including discounts on food and merchandise, also discounts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It is, in my opinion, the best golf program in the desert. Indian Wells is home to the Indian Wells County Club, Eldorado Country Club, The Vintage, The Reserve, and Toscana Country Club.

I live in Rancho Mirage. Beautiful city - fantastic place to live. Home to two of the oldest private country clubs in the valley, Thunderbird Country Club and Tamarisk County Club. Tamarisk is one of the few areas of the city that is not behind gates. Great area with wonderful examples of mid century modern and current contemporary architecture. Another example of this architecture is Magnesia Falls - also not behind gates. Rancho Mirage is home to Mission Hills Country Club, home of the Kraft Nabisco Tournament and the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. My favorite LPGA event. Check out my facebook page for photos of this year's tournament in the mobile uploads album. Rancho Mirage has a great resident's program. It allows owners and renters to benefit. Register with the city and pay the $75 annual fee. Then play the Pete Dye Resort Course or the Gary Player Signature Course at Mission Hills Country Club. The fees range from $35 to $55 depending on the time of year. There are discounted fees for your guests. Another option for a great deal on golf is Rancho Mirage Country Club. Check out the links button for more information. Rancho Mirage is also home to The Springs Country Club, Morningside Country Club, Sunrise Country Club and Rancho Las Palmas Country Club.



Desert Willow Golf Resort is the home of the Palm Desert Resident's Golf Program. Proof of residency is required and an $8 annual processing fee. There are two courses. Desert Willow Firecliff and Mountain View. Check out the links button to find more information on the course. Residents pay $45 per round. Guests pay the published fees, ranging from $70 to $175 depending on the time of year. Palm Desert is home to many country clubs. In south Palm Desert, there is Bighorn Golf Club, Ironwood Country Club, Marrakesh Country Club, Stone Eagle Golf Club and Shadow Mountain Golf Club. East Palm Desert is home to Avondale Country Club, Desert Falls Country Club, Indian Ridge Country Club, Oasis Country Club, Palm Desert Country Club, Palm Valley Country Club, The Lakes Country Club and Woodhaven Country Club. North Palm Desert includes Chaparral Country Club, Desert Springs, Monterey Country Club, Portola Country Club and Suncrest Country Club. I am sure that I have missed some.



La Quinta's resident's golf program requires proof of residency and a $15 fee for three years. In reading the rules of the program, I found it interesting that La Quinta doesn't seem to recognize California's Registered Domestic Partners. If you are using a utility bill as a second form of identification and it happens to be in your partner's name and it is not the same as yours, you are required to provide a marriage certificate. Either La Quinta is lobbying for change, looking for a law suit or way behind the times. Anyway, back to the golf program. Residents can play at SilverRock Resort. Current fees for a round are $30. They seemed to be having server problems, so I can't provide any more rate information. Click on the links button to find more information about SilverRock Resort and the resident's program. La Quinta is home to Andalusia at Coral Mountain, La Quinta Country Club, Mountain View Country Club, PGA West including the Greg Norman course, the Legends course, the Nicklaus Private and Tournament courses, the Palmer Private course, the Stadium course and the Weiskopf course, Rancho La Quinta Country Club, The Citrus, The Hideaway, The Madison, The Palms, The Quarry, The Tradition and Trilogy.

Check back later for municipal course information in other desert cities. Just a quick update - I sold one of the new homes in Sun City Shadow Hills today to the client that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog!

The Link Button

Alvin Greenwalt

CA DRE License # 01715823

Mesquite Ridge in Rancho Mirage

I have had several listings and sales in Mesquite Ridge in Rancho Mirage over the past few years. It is a small gated community of 12 homes between Peterson Road and Mirage Cove Drive. The homes range in size from 3074 sq. ft. to 4025 sq. ft. There are three floor plans. Several have detached casitas with full baths and walk in closets. Some have gated front yards.

The community has close up mountain views and convenient central location. It is within walking distance of Las Casulas Nuevas, Bankok 5 and Oceans 111 Restaurants. If that isn’t enough, you are a few minutes’ drive from The River where you will find more restaurants, shopping and theaters.

Mesquite Ridge is a few blocks away from Thunderbird Country Club. As they put it, “one of the most mature 18-hole golf courses in the Coachella Valley.” The community is also a golf cart ride away from Morningside Country Club and The Springs Country Club. The city of Rancho Mirage has a resident’s golf program. For $75.00 per year, qualified residents can play the Gary Player Signature Course or the Pete Dye Resort Course at Mission Hills for a nominal fee. Another option for golf without a membership is Rancho Mirage Country Club. Other private clubs in the city include Mission Hills Country Club, Tamarisk Country Club, Sunrise Country Club and Rancho Las Palmas Country Club. Many of the private clubs offer social and tennis memberships, if you are not a golfer.

If you are into hiking, there are five official hiking trails in Rancho Mirage. The unofficial trail is the Bump and Grind, claimed by both Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert. The entrance is actually in Palm Desert off Painter’s Path. Older entrances that are no longer accessible were in Rancho Mirage. At any rate, it is highly recommended.

For shopping, I mentioned The River – you will find a link on my website. Rancho Mirage has several large consignment stores. J & J Consignment is my favorite and it is only a block away from Mesquite Ridge. If you are a hard core shopper, you will find those 10 minutes away in Palm Desert. First there is the College of the Desert Street Fair on the weekends year round. Next, the mall – Westfield/Palm Desert featuring Macy's. Finally, El Paseo Shopping District with Saks, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Bahama, etc. It's our version of Rodeo Drive or Union Square.

Rancho Mirage is home to the Agua Caliente Casino Resort and Spa. There are a wide variety of gaming options, including slots, gaming tables, poker room and high limit gaming area. There are six restaurants and a cabaret lounge. The casino is also home to "The Show," a premier concert hall. It hosts concerts and boxing events. Upcoming shows include Bradley vs. Campbell WBO junior welterweight championship, Huey Lewis and the News and Diana Krall.

My listing is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath Tuscan style home. The gourmet kitchen is equipped with Viking Professional appliances and slab granite. The master suite features unobstructed mountain views. It has a fireplace and French doors that lead to the 40 pebble tech pool and spa. The luxurious master bath has dual vanities, a soaking tub with views, and a separate shower with two shower heads. The large walk in closet is cedar lined. The home is 3,074 square feet with a 14,810 square foot yard. It was just reduced to $849,900.

Mesquite Ridge is a mix of Tuscan and Desert Contemporary architecture. Great community. Fantastic value. Check it out at:
http://www.CallAlvin.com/11RidgelineWay.html

Rancho Las Palmas Country Club Listing

Rancho Las Palmas Country Club

I have a new listing in Rancho Las Palmas. So needless to say, I have learned quite a bit about Rancho Las Palmas Country Club and the new Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. Believe it or not, I have other interests than the locations of my listings; I just don’t write about them. Except on Facebook.

First, I will say that I learned my lesson on a previous blog, I won’t be giving you a lot of links to other sites for information. I got flagged as possible spam, because of the number of links that I had on Rancho Mirage Real Estate Recap – I think. Hence the lack of postings. I checked out – not a spammer. Oh well, I will limit myself to a couple of links – you can be sure that there will be lots of links on those sites.

I have to admit, that I was not a fan of Rancho Las Palmas prior to this listing. Well, all it takes is a little education and opinions change. The benefits of living here are fantastic. The clubhouse is fantastic. Golf membership is available. Big benefit – the new Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. Homeowners enjoy discounts and special benefits. Check out the link on my website.

Now, my listing – It is a pristine three bedroom, two bath 300 plan. It is turn-key furnished. The location is prime. First of all, Rancho Las Palmas is across Bob Hope Drive from The River in Rancho Mirage. Great location. Check my website for a link to The River. This particular condo is near the Monterey gate. What does this mean? Well, a lot. You are a few minutes from College of the Desert and the week end mart. Not a fan of that, I am in the minority. You are also minutes away from El Paseo. I am a fan of that. That’s the Rodeo Drive, 5th Avenue, Worth Avenue, Michigan Avenue or Union Square of the desert. If I missed your shopping area, email me. I promise that I will check it out. One of the best things about Rancho Mirage is its location. It is in the middle of the desert cities. You can go out in Palm Springs or go to the new Jackalope Ranch in Indio and they are both about 11 miles away. Check out my website for information about the history of Rancho Mirage – originally Eleven Mile Ranch. It is really interesting. There are a lot of interesting things in Rancho Mirage – Sunnylands, Porcupine Creek – a 9 hole private golf course and an 18 hole private golf course. I don’t mean country club – I mean owned by a private party. It is a little bit different out here. If myth is correct, we are the home to the country club that the Thunderbird automobile was named after. I don’t know if that one is true, but some things are best left to the imagination. Rancho Mirage – home of the presidents – not countries – corporations.

But back to me, my listing. It is furnished, in great condition, in a great location and has a great rental history. What more do you want? Offered for $369,000. Take a look at it at www.CallAlvin.com/20PalomasDrive.html. I only represent cool desert homes!

Desert Hot Springs Modern

I have clients coming into town tomorrow. They are interested in my listing at 12240 Skyline Drive in Desert Hot Springs. I get lots of calls from my print advertising, from the television show, email ads and all of the web advertising. These clients worked with another agent out here, but were unhappy with their experience. The agent didn’t appear to have enough time for them. They saw the ad in Lifestyle Properties, called me and we’ll see it tomorrow.

It is interesting, I get lots of showings. People love the house. They don’t like Desert Hot Springs, or the perception of DHS. Anyway, my client asked me to find other contemporary homes in the valley up to $800,000, so they could see some comparable properties. I have emailed him quite a few. We ruled out mid century early on. So we are left with homes built since 2004, or there abouts. I was really surprised at what a challenge this was.

I showed the Skyline Drive property before I had the listing. The clients loved the property, even though it was 110 degrees and we saw it without air-conditioning. The home is air conditioned, but the showing agent wouldn’t turn it on. I called the listing agent and we came back to see it that evening with AC that evening. Much nicer! There have been several listing agents on this property. I ended up selling these clients a 1958 contemporary in Palm Desert by architect Walter White. Spectacular home and it lead me to my listing at Skyline Drive.

Skyline Drive is a unique house with incredible views. I haven’t seen a home on either side of the valley with better views. The home is a clean line contemporary with Metal Corporation doors and windows. It has Bryce Parker glass garage doors. Lots of straight, clean angles and a pool side pavilion with a fireplace, brought together by Los Angeles designer, Vance Lorenzini. Impressive career, google him.

Here is the news. DHS is cleaning up its act. The streets are being repaved. Skyline Drive just got repaved. Other actions are cleaning up the issues in DHS.
Here is what I have found that might meet the clients requirements. 48 at Arenas, Barristo, Desert Park Estates, Ted Jarvis’ and my listing at Dunes Court (more about this contemporary later), Murano ( a favorite of mine), Biltimore Colony, PS Colony, Enclave at Sunrise (maybe), another favorite – Pamilla and the Palm Springs Modern listing in Rancho Mirage. I went through 300 homes on the MLS to try to find something that would work. Not much out there if you want to stay under $800,000 and fairly new. Now if you want to go over that figure, or look at mid century call me.

Central Palm Springs, Ruth Hardy Park in Particular

There are currently 177 homes on the market in central Palm Springs. This area includes the communities of Ruth Hardy Park, Sunrise Park, Sun Villas, El Rancho Vista Estates, Movie Colony, Old Las Palmas, Vista Las Palmas, Las Palmas Heights, Little Tuscany, Colony El Mirador and the Tennis Club. Please excuse me if I have missed a neighborhood. Prices range from a 2/1 (bedrooms/baths) Ruth Hardy Park 1245 sq. ft. home offer for $215,000 to an 8/13.5 (bedrooms/baths) Old Las Palmas 15,000 sq. ft. estate offered for $13,500,000. There are 31 homes currently in escrow in central Palm Springs. There have been 57 sales in the past six months ranging from $125,000 bank owned property to a stunning James Schmidt contemporary in Las Palmas Heights that sold for $2,450,000.

That is a lot of diverse real estate. For the purposes of this blog, I want to focus on Ruth Hardy Park. Yes, I do have a motive – to be reveled later. There are 44, soon to be 45, homes on the market in this community. The range goes from $215,000 (bank owned) to Twin Palms at $3,250,000. Twin Palms was the original desert home of Frank Sinatra. It was designed by E. Stewart Williams, AIA. It is listed by my friend, Allen Miller and Stephen Skuris. Allen knows architecture.

If you include all listings in Ruth Hardy Park, the average per square foot listing price is $328.77. This is bogus. You have to comp homes with similar homes. I have been trying to explain this to clients recently. You can’t take comps for condos, manufactured homes and single family homes and come up with an average that will work. I have been stuck on comps for the past few blogs. For this blog, let’s talk about homes. There are three similar homes to the one that I am listing in Ruth Hardy Park. I am sure that you are surprised. The first is about the same size as my new listing. It is 1522 sq. ft. It looks great. It is listed for $339,000. The bad news – it is a short sale. I am over short sales. The price, in some cases, has no connection with what the bank will accept. The process to get a bank approval is tedious. No one, the agents, the buyers or the seller knows what the final price will be or how the costs will be divided. If I never see a short sale again, I will be a happy camper. The next listing is 1537 sq. ft. Also looks great. It is listed for $357,000. Also a short sale. The last is listed at $469,500. It is 1467 sq. ft. Nice home, looks great and the good news – not a short sale.

Now let’s talk about my new listing. Give me a break! It is a charming home on Calle Rolph. Great location, with convenient access to Palm Canyon Drive, the airport and the other desert cities. The home has been modified to include a huge master suite and brand new master bath with a huge shower. The owner is still in the process of finishing parts of the bath, so please bear with the construction. The guest bedroom has a contemporary closet system with glass doors and built-ins. The living room/dining room features a vintage fireplace with a contemporary flair. It has vents (original) at the bottom and the top that send heated air into the room. The kitchen and attached family room include the original hand built cabinetry and a vintage stove. You are going to love it. Hope you like blue. Then we come to the two surprises. The square pebble tech pool and spa, secluded from peering eyes by a mature fichus hedge. The other surprise is the casita, studio, pool house, office or third bedroom. Use your imagination. This home is offered at $389,000. It will be open Saturday from 1 to 4 PM and Sunday from Noon to 3 PM.

I will have this one on my web site tomorrow. Check it out on the desert area MLS. The id is 21364257. Thanks for looking.

Rancho Mirage Real Estate Recap

There are 758 properties on the market in Rancho Mirage today. 458 of those are single family homes ranging in price from $230,000 in Magnesia Falls Cove to $9,500,000 in Tamarisk Country Club. There are 292 condos on the market. Their prices go from $118,000 in Chalet Palms to Ted Jarvis’ penthouse listing in Desert Island for $2,750,000.

Lots are available from $347,500 on Morningspring Road to $5,200,000 on Vista del Sol.
69 properties are in escrow.

There have been 188 sales in the last 6 months. They range in price from $104,900 for a bank owned condo in Rancho Mirage Resort to a Mirada Estates Guy Dreier designed custom home at $4,500,000. The average size of single family homes sold is 3014 selling at $233.89 per square foot. There have been 68 condos sold in the last six months with an average size of 1,948 square feet at $175.20 per square foot. Two lots have sold in the last 6 months. One is in Mission Hills Country Club selling at $375,000 and the other is in Tamarisk Ridge selling at $410,000.

A note about price per square foot as a guide in making an offer or determining value of a property, all properties are not equal. Price per square foot averages are a useful guide in most cases. You can’t expect the price per square foot in Magnesia Falls to be a guide for Sterling Estates. You still have to consider the homes amenities and the views.

Magnesia Falls has 17 properties on the market. They range from an 1800 sq. ft. 3/3 short sale on a 10,454 sq. ft. lot with a nice pool to a 3223 sq. ft. 3/2.75 regular sale on a 23,958 sq. ft. lot. Prices range from $230,000 to $899,500. The average price per square foot of the active listings is $257.56. The price per square foot of the least expensive Magnesia Falls listing is $127.78 and the most expensive is 279.09 per square foot. Fairly close to the average and it is upgraded.

A look at Sterling Estates shows the least expensive listing is $389.58 per square foot. The most expensive is $552.89 per square foot. In my opinion, one of the best buys in Sterling Estates is 8 Summer Sky Way. It was a former model, upgraded to the max. It comes furnished, incredible views at $436.99 per square foot.

So what is the point? First, you have to look at the property to determine the value. Second, you have to consider the neighborhood. Third, you can make any price make sense, if you only look at the statistics. Value is selling. Value is subjective. Not everything on the market is a fire sale. Do some research, before you make an offer. Not every listing is expecting or will accept a ridiculous offer. I have lost out on a couple short sales lately, because they were priced under market. My clients insisted on a 20% below asking. The homes sold for over asking price. They had multiple offers. I think the market is changing.

Here are links to my current listings in Rancho Mirage.

http://www.alvingreenwalt.com/10RidgelineWay.html

http://www.alvingreenwalt.com/11RidgelineWay.html

Check back to take a new look at 34800 Mission Hills Drive next week.
http://www.alvingreenwalt.com/34800MHD.html

http://www.alvingreenwalt.com/118LakefrontWay.html

Call me if you would like to schedule a private showing of any of these properties.

Keep in mind that the data in this blog is from the Desert Area MLS and is timely. Things change and so do the statistics. Do not rely on this article. Do your own research, or call me and I will be happy to help.