I saw this picture on Flickr and it really grabbed my attention.  At first glance, you see the black arrows going in an upward direction and you think "Ok, it's a bunch of arrows going up."   Now look a little closer at the negative space of the photo and what do you see?  You see the shapes of white arrows going in a downward direction.  Everything we see in this picture is based on our mind's perception.

This correlation of  perception is the same with the Palm Springs Real Estate market.  If you listen to the local and national news, real estate is still in a downward spiral.  Ask a local Palm Springs Realtor (like me) and I will tell you that the city had a 20%  increase in home sales for June 2010 over last year.  Here are the stats from the Desert Area MLS:

• June 2010 Home Sales in Palm Springs: 87                 June 2009 Home Sales: 72
• Average Sales Price:  $457,002                                     Average Sales Price:  $406,279 
• Average Price per SF:  $192                                               Average Price per SF:  $158
• Average Square Ft.:  2215                                                   Average Square Ft.:  2046
• Days on Market:  91                                                               Days on Market:  116

As you can see by the numbers,  there were 15 more homes sold in June 2010 as compared to June 2009 and this equates to a 20% increase in sales.

There are a few other pieces of information that I found interesting as I was doing my research.  The 2010 average sales price increased by nearly 9% over 2009 due to the fact there were 9 homes in Palm Springs with a price tag of $1 million dollars or more had sold during the month of June. 

The average time a home stayed on the market for June 2010 was 91 days, compared to 116 days for June 2009.  I am seeing more owners continuing to be realistic in the pricing of their homes for sale.

Even though nearly 48% of the homes sold were distressed properties (bank-owned and short sales), the Palm Springs Real Estate market continues to move forward.  Don't forget:  All real estate is local.

Here's the bottom line:  You can either be negative (arrows down) and believe what you hear on the news, or be positive (arrows up) and take advantage of the wonderful buying opportunities that are available to you.

YOU DECIDE.