So I sat open houses this week end and buyers are out there , a little shy because afraid of being taken for “suckers” (in buying still over a price that might come down more) but all in all . Buyers out there want to buy and just need a little trust in their realtor which duty it is to get them “the best possible price for the property they wish to buy” Yes we see the Canadians buyers coming on in force (I mean in number) but they are also hearing the rumors..starting now back in Canada before they even start looking locally.The US buyers still look forward to buy property in Palm Springs and the area and I am finding out they all have the money or they simply can qualify for loans even in this conjuncture. We need a boost ..I mean a moral boost….you can see the statistics on my website and really see what is happening…HOMES ARE SELLING!.�

Well I am hearing from my fellows realtors in the Desert and from what is happening with me (I sold two properties in two weeks!!) that it is not all that bad and that we just have to stop paying attention to the media.I really do not understand why the media are keeping on creating this bad “ambiance” and pulling down the moral of all the potential buyers out there.There is a whole part of the America that wants and needs to buy a home (whether it is a primary residence or a second home) and the wrong information is being given. Yes there is a problem in real estate but relating only to part of the home owners out there.Not everybody is in trouble and not everybody is going towards foreclosure.I can tell you that people are still looking at properties that they can buy cash and because of false information the media are giving …they ask us realtors to write very low offers which of course are not accepted because not all the sellers are in despair. We need to see the people get out of the panic and the stopping from  spending money, put back money in the system and slowly get the economy rolling again. Do you think the same out there?

So I keep on being contacted by our dear Canadians , all looking for deals….all saying I am only  a few hours away, let me know on a deal and I will be there….

And I keep on telling you very dear future clients (Dear because you are dear to me.,..I want you to contact me and I love explaining to you what is going on here) that the deal is when you write the offer. Each offer we write could be the deal of the year, because it is all a question of timing: we never know how the seller is going to be when we present a low offer and we cannot predict how he will react. But we have to try and sometimes it works, but most of the time us agents we can read between the lines what is written and how desperate a seller is.

And it is always about the same …the rumors; people talk and talk too much. Somebody knows a friend who got a sensational deal “a great condo in Palm Springs for $200K…’ Well I can tell you and bet that yes you can buy a condo for 200K but not a great one and not in a great area and nothing you want to brag about…Sometimes people carry around rumors..oh yes a friend of a friend was here last month…and bought…”

I offer on my website: you can go back there by clicking on the back arrow or www.claudinereal.com ; the possibility of seeing all the properties available in each of the country clubs in our area with pictures and details and I suggest you go there and see what really is on the market and at what price.

So my dear future clients from Canada keep on contacting and I will take you around and educate you on our area, (because I love it and know it so well). But please stay away from rumors!

So another week end is going by and another week end of showing properties and open houses.

For what we are seeing in our area, the prices are “holding” yes offers are being accepted but prices are not “broken”.

The sellers understand that they have to grab the opportunity: it is season and our “snow birds” are here getting away from awful weather nationwide.

This is something that nobody or nothing can take away from us: our wonderful climate, golf, restaurants and the total resort feeling in the whole valley.

So once again our micro market is doing it, we are seeing escrows closings and offers being accepted. It is encouraging, and boy are we happy because the news are drawing us down again and again.

I don’t know what about the media who want to make a sensation by alarming..It is only going to put the potential buyers (who have the means to buy)in a position of skepticism and fear of moving forward.

Our government should counter all those bad news (yes this is how the government should fight this phenomenon): instead of spending millions in introducing money on the market by very inefficient laws, the government should create a campaign of calming people’s fears and show as I am trying to do here to show that it is not ALL BLACK.

This is a snow ball…buyers confidence goes down, the sales go down, the production goes down, the building stops, the money does not circulate , people loose jobs, cannot pay their bills and there we are…recession….

That is where the money should be spent to bring back buyers’ confidence…..

My thoughts go there because 80% of the deals happening in our area are cash deals!!!! People have money they are just afraid to buy and loose on the value within a year. and the market stops……

So “THEY” are saying that we have not seen that many foreclosures in a long time!!! THEY should verify their numbers – yes nationwide and if we look a the average, prices dropped by a lot ..And foreclosures are the new “talk around the town”, but we need to look at each area as a market by itself and what are the numbers.

I am in the Palm Springs area and even if I am two hours away from San Diego or Los Angeles, the markets are different and the numbers are different.

This why on my website: www.claudinereal.com I have a page bringing up on a monthly basis the real estate numbers for the Desert Cities, and this is what you should look at and compare whether you are interested in buying or in selling. Let’s compare apples to apples!

Of course there are deals to be made, of course prices came down from two years ago, of course we see some foreclosures but it is not as bad as THEY make sound (THEY of course is the media)

So set your goals:

• Your budget
• Your timeframe
• Your needs
• Are you buying because it is a deal or because it is time for you to buy (for retirement, for a second home, for relocation purposes or more other reasons)?

I love Real Estate and I love speaking about Real Estate, I know Real Estate and I am informed. It is always “a good time” to talk to me and my blog is making this much easier now…

So I am waiting for your comments….

The Canadians are coming!!!!

Wherever you go…whoever you speak to ….the Canadians are around…and we love them for that!!.

We certainly, in this market need a little cheering up!! And speaking to clients excited to buy is quite refreshing from all the bad news the media is pouring on us (only partly true)

The Canadians understand that their loony can buy them 30% more of a house than it did any time before. It is a window of opportunity they want and should take advantage of. It certainly will not last ….

So thank you, thank you for being here and looking at our beautiful properties.

Of course our potential buyers hear  at home (Canada),  the “rumors’ that say that you can buy great properties for bargain prices…..Well….not really true.

The prices have come down, and when we bring an offer to a seller (we I mean the realtors), we make sure to explain that the seller should consider him/herself very lucky to see an offer and should “work” with it even if it is a low offer and negotiate to bring it to a price that could be acceptable.

So let’s admit that both buyers and sellers need to be brought up to date with what the market today is about.

IT IS NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS!  It is just much slower than 2 years ago.

We are living in a very micro economy in our Desert, this is a resort area and most of the people who bought in the past few years, can afford to wait for a better market to sell. So yes there are foreclosures but in a much lower number than the numbers announced by the media who take a nationwide look at real estate.

So Yes it is time to look and buy