La Quinta Summer Golf Tour

Summer Golf Tour

Registration begins on Monday, May 6!

ONLY $69 per player to register and reasonable weekly green fees

Continues through August 25

The La Quinta Summer Golf Tour is back. This 13-week golf program allows participants to play at some of the finest courses in the Coachella Valley. Tour participants may pick and choose which courses they would like to play. Players may choose to play in either single or team divisions; plaques will be awarded to the top finalists in both divisions at the Golf Tour Banquet on August 24.

This very popular summer program is back for another year of fun in the sun! 

Advance, intermediate, and novice golfers are all welcome to enjoy playing on this 13-week golf tour. Every Saturday morning, participants have the opportunity to play at some of the finest courses in the Coachella Valley. Players may choose to play in either single or team divisions and will be divided into flights based upon their weekly handicap. Points are earned throughout the tour based upon net scores. On the final Saturday of play, an End of Tour Banquet is provided for all participants to enjoy.

• Shotgun starts
• Reasonable green fees
• Plaques and prizes awarded at End of Tour Banquet

Enjoy these Participating Golf Courses!

• Indian Canyons, North Course
• Terra Lago, South Course
• Escena Golf Club
• Tahquitz Creek, Resort Course
• Indian Springs Golf Club (includes lunch)
• Indian Wells Country Club, Cove Course
• Marriott Shadow Ridge
• Eagle Falls Golf Course
• SilverRock Resort
• Westin Mission Hills, Gary Player Course
• Monterey Country Club
• Classic Club at Palm Desert
• Desert Willow, Mountain View Course
• End of Tour Banquet
• Desert Willow Golf Resort

*Guests are welcome to participate for a fee of $15 per week.

Please contact The City of La Quinta for more Details and egister at www.la-quinta.org/communityservices

If it starts with one REALTOR(r), Start Out Right!

Desert Luxury Realty

There Really Is Something About Mary.

Mary is not your typical real estate broker in any small and growing community. She brings high energy, passion, non-stop enthusiasm and knowledge to each of her clients from the Permanent Home Buyer to the Sophisticated Investor.

Her 6th sense and ability to listen carefully, allows her to quickly zero in on your preferences, saving you precious time. She is focused to the needs of all her clients, no matter what their criteria may be.

She makes buying or selling property fun, enjoyable, and easy. You’ll find yourself calling her over and over again for valuable information is easy and something you can depend upon. Making her clients feel confident and happy, is job one!

Mary has been in the service industry all of her working career, with over 30 years of a highly successful track record in Sales and Marketing, primarily in finance and real estate.

So, Is There Really Something About Mary? Call Mary and experience first hand why her clients become friends, returning repeatedly for their real estate needs and confidently referring their friends.

So find out what all the talk is about. . . . Give Mary a Call. . . . . . Mary Williams, That is!

Jumbo Loans May Mean Super-Sized Requirements in the Desert

With jumbo loans making a come-back into the Desert area mortgage market, many a luxury buyers (and sellers) are rejoicing!

But before you dash out and get a loan, you may want to know; Jumbo loans are coming with jumbo buyer requirements.

Specifically – buyers across the luxury home market that are considering a jumbo loan should be aware that large cash reserves are often required for purchases over $417,000.

Some lenders require their borrowers to have a reserve of up to 12 months’ worth of mortgage payments in the bank or liquid assets for purchases from $417,000 to $2 million according to a recent article from the Wall Street Journal Online. For loans over $4 million the figure is more like 36 months’ worth of reserves.

Cash reserves aren’t the only thing super-sized. Down payments are larger on a jumbo loan too. Most lenders require at least a 20% down payment for jumbo loans with some going as high as 45%.

If you don’t quite meet some of those criteria exceptions can sometimes be made. This is especially true if you call on a lender that you’ve done a great deal of business with. Items like reserve amounts can sometimes be tweaked with the right relationship or for a buyer who is strong in other respects such as credit or down payment.

Why the big costs? Jumbo loans represent a larger investment and a larger risk to the lender. Many of these homes are customized, making them appealing to a smaller pool of specific buyers so if the loan goes belly-up the home will be more difficult than average for the lender to unload.

The bottom line: Jumbo loans may require more money in reserve and upfront, but if you’re a strong buyer the luxury market can yield a pretty amazing home!

Whether you’re looking for a luxury vacation, a second home in the Desert, or even miles away from us, I can assist you with your purchase in La Quinta and surrounding areas. Call 760-567-7282.

April 2013 Newsletter

April's Newsletter is Out!!

Follow this Link to Read More!

Vacation homes sales were up by 10.1% Nationally in 2012

 Mary Williams

In a recent news release, the National Association of Realtors® 2013 Investment and Vacation Buyers Survey reported Vacation homes sales were up by 10.1% Nationally in 2012. As nice as that sounds, it’s still not up to the numbers we saw before the downturn.

According to the news release, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, “favorable conditions are driving second-home sales.  We had a strong stock market recovery, which helps more people in the prime ages for buying vacation homes.  Attractively priced recreational property is also a big draw.”

Along with vacation home buyers, investors have been the major purchasers for the last two years in this market buying up the distressed properties and using cash to do so. Fifty percent of purchases made by investors were paid in cash. Those who did finance their investment properties made large down payments.

The 2013 Investment and Vacation Buyers Survey survey also detailed who were buying vacation homes:

• 80% will use the vacation home for vacations and retreats
• 27% will use the property as a future primary residence
• 23% will use it as a rental
• 23% saw the vacation home as a good investment
• 11% purchased the vacation home for another member of their family

NOW is the time to purchase your vacation or investment property in the Desert. If you’d like to have more details from NAR’s Vacation Home Survey, call me or follow me on Facebook!
Survey Report provided by the National Association of Realtors(r)

March Homes Sales in Riverside County, CA

Home inventory in La Quinta California

Mary Williams

According to a recent news release by the California Desert Association of REALTORS(r), "The Coachella Valley's real estate market forecast for 2013 is upbeat despite the dwindling inventory of available homes for sale in many valley cities."

The news release continued, " 'There is no question in my mind that if we get more people engaged in listing their homes, we're going to see a higher increase in sales in 2013,' Appleton-Young told the audience."
Pat Veling, owner of Real Data Strategie, noted that this year's real estate market is 180-degree turnaround from last year in terms of housing inventory and prices. He said inventory will rise as home values rise, especially among those who are "underwater" in their mortgages.

This mirrors the same sentiment of an article by a post today by "Keeping Current Matters" regarding reasons to sell your home. In their article, they also report inventory is key to the housing market moving forward and say sellers do have an advantage right now since the demand is high and inventory is low -- and homes prices are going up.

It's a great time to list your home in the Desert area. But time is getting tight - though homes are sold during the summer months, there are more prospects around now and until it starts getting hot.

If you're wondering if you should list now, call 760-767-7282 and I'll go over all the possibilities your home may have.
   

Surging Market Lifted 1.7 Million Homes above Water in 2012

[The number of homes in negative equity is on the decline, according to the real estate data firm CoreLogic. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the rate of underwater homes dropped to 21.5 percent, down from the previous year’s 25.2 percent. Rising home values have lifted 1.7 million households into positive equity in the past year.Underwater households are those which owe more on their mortgage than the home is actually worth. Currently, more than 10 million, or about one in five homes are considered “underwater.” CoreLogic predicts that home values will rise another five percent this year, lifting an additional 1.8 million out of negative equity.During the fourth quarter of last year alone, 200,000 households entered positive equity, according to CoreLogic. “The scourge of negative equity continues to recede across the country. There is certainly more to do but with fewer borrowers underwater, the fundamentals underpinning the housing market will continue to strengthen,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, in a statement. “The trend toward more homeowners moving back into positive equity territory should continue in 2013.”

Housing Market Improvements in Hardest-hit Cities

The drivers behind the reduced number of underwater homes are improved market conditions, rising home prices, and shrinking inventory. Economist for CoreLogic, Mark Fleming said in a statement, “Housing market improvements, particularly in the hardest hit states are the catalyst for households to regain equity and become participants in 2013’s housing market.” The states that tallied the most underwater mortgaged properties were Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan. Of those states, two Florida cities, Tampa and Miami, had the highest share of properties in negative equity. Atlanta followed closely, along with Southwestern cities Phoenix and Riverside, Calif. In each of these metro areas, the percentage of mortgage properties underwater exceeded 35 percent. Many of these households struggle to make monthly payments, and moving into positive equity comes as a huge relief. For some, rising home equity means they can finally sell to break even, if not at a net gain. Matthew Oropeza told the Wall Street Journal about his experience owning an underwater mortgage on his Phoenix home. Oropeza purchased his home for $96,000, but as the local market tanked, he realized his home was worth only $64,000. Oropeza held onto his home as long as he could, until his employer required him to relocate to Orange County, Calif. Fortunately for Oropeza, the Phoenix home price index jumped 23 percent last year. So when he contacted his real estate agent, he realized that the market had turned and he might even make some money off the sale. Oropeza now has an offer of more than $100,000 and expects to sell his home in the coming weeks. Call me today at 760-567-7282 to see how your area market is doing!