We’ve all heard lots of news in the past year about the desert southwest being among the hardest hit markets in the housing crash. One of the most referenced is Las Vegas-the boom and bust town that was the fastest growing- in population and housing prices- through 2007.

So, now that the dust has settled a bit and there are some small green buds coming through some housing markets, we wondered: how is Las Vegas faring? Is it perhaps a good opportunity now to pick up some affordable real estate?

To help answer this, we went to see for ourselves- check out our latest webisode, “Vegas, baby!” to see a tour and discussion of the City Center project on the Las Vegas strip. The answer we found is-it’s very mixed.

Suburban Las Vegas does appear to be emerging with a housing market recovery, with 13 months of incremental home sales, though the trend of declining prices continued in April of this year (according to the Las Vegas Review Journal, http://www.lvrj.com/business/44634067.html. Realtors sold 3,198 single-family homes in April, a 78.3 percent increase from the same month a year ago. Sales have more than doubled for the first four months of the year. However, the median price dropped 39.9 percent as bank-owned properties dominate the market, accounting for about 80 percent of all sales and driving prices down.

The story, however, seems very different on the Strip- that high stakes, high profile urban playground. Condo’s in that project are being sold as “high in demand, not at a discount”, meaning that they aren’t bargaining on price. A 620 sf studio on the 5th floor (no view) is listed at $650,000, with $800/month HOA dues. For investors looking to own daily/weekly rental units, there’s also a $250/month advertising assessment and $65.00/day housekeeping service per occupied day.

However, the project is not close to being sold out, and has had some financing troubles (See WSJ article), so the fluctuations of the market and credit lending problems are not completely off the table yet. Investors need to weigh this, along with the cash flows given the asking prices and potential rents in the current environment.

Inside the House Welcome to a new and entertaining look at the world of property management! Inside the House is our webisode and blog series on the goings on at RD House Property Management, our affiliates and our vendors. http://www.youtube.com/RDHOUSEREPM It's sometimes hilarious, sometimes dramatic, but always topical and informative. What are the strangest maintenance requests that tenants have? What happens when a tenant stops paying rent and just disappears? What can go wrong when we're showing a property to a potential tenant? Follow our Broker, Ricky D, and others as they navigate the drama, humor and challenges of keeping our properties running in top shape!

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