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RELEASE DATE:
October 27, 2006

CONTACT: Greg Berkemer
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(Media Only) John Hussar
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Real Estate Experts Upbeat About 'Normal' 2007 Market

CATHEDRAL CITY (Calif.) - The message at the 7th Annual State of Real Estate symposium sponsored by the California Desert Association of REALTORS® was clear: The sky is not falling.

Home price appreciation will continue to rise while sales are expected to slow in 2007 in what real estate experts say is a return to a "normal" market.

About 400 real estate agents and industry professionals attended the symposium, nicked named "I Survived 2007" at the Doral Palm Springs Resort.

"Our experts really painted a very accurate picture of the Coachella Valley's real estate market to give Realtors and the buyers and sellers they represent a realistic snapshot of our situation now and in 2007," said Desiree' Otero, president of the California Desert Association of REALTORS®.

"We are seeing a return to what is more of a normal market of appreciation rising in single digit percentages while home sales are down from a frantic pace in 2004-2005," she said. "Sellers need to be realistic about the current market to sell their homes at the right price."

The expert panel included: Bill Powers, president of Pacific Western Bank; Pat Veling, president of Real Data Strategies Inc.; Doug Balog, Realtor with Keller Williams Realty; Robert Perryman, Desert Division president of Ashbrook Communities; Ernie Vincent, vice president, Palm Springs Modern Homes. The moderator was Fred Bell, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Desert Chapter.

The expert panel agreed that many homebuyers are confused about current real estate market. Slumping home sales, a large inventory of homes on the market and smaller appreciation increases have added to the confusion.

Veling said there really is no "housing bubble" burst although annual home price appreciation is expected to be between 2 and 4 percent in 2007, down from as high as 37 percent in 2004.

Some other key indicators:

• Some 11,700 homes sold in 2005 across the valley, but only about 7,200 have sold so far this year.
• More than 8,200 homes were listed for sale in the Coachella Valley this week, compared with 4,700 during the same period last year.
• As median home prices have tripled from $119,000 to $380,000 over the past decade, only 15 percent of valley workers are able to afford a median-priced home.
• New home builders are offering buyer upgrades of amentias and other incentives to stimulate sales.

Otero also noted that the Coachella Valley is still one of the best valued home markets in California.

Sponsors of State of Real Estate are the California Desert Association of REALTORS®, The Desert Sun newspaper, Best, Best & Krieger, attorneys at law, and Pacific Western Bank.

The California Desert Association of REALTORS®, The Voice for Real Estate¨ for the Coachella Valley, represents more than 4,000 real estate professionals from Palm Springs to Coachella.