Can you believe February is over already?

Things have really been moving along this month in Las Vegas and Henderson for Real Estate. We're noticing the inventory that's been overwhelming for over a year is finally starting to diminish. In fact just in the past week there were 1% fewer homes on the market than usual. This is primarily due to the bank owned properties coming onto the market at really low prices and quickly responding to offers so they go under contract much faster than in the past few months. Even though there will be a steady stream of new foreclosures coming on the market all this year, the pace of sales is definitely picking up. In fact, my prediction for us returning to a "normal" market is July 9, 2008. What I mean by normal market is approximately 18,000 listings.  The general rule of thumb for normal real estate activity is one percent of the city's population. That puts us around 18,000-19,000 homes on the market. The only difference between us and some markets like Houston, TX is that we have a larger than average number of speculators and vacant properties, so 18,000 might need to be more like 14,000 (because there are about 4,000 vacant homes on the market).

Things are getting better in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Henderson. We're still not out of the woods by any means, but most of the homes I'm writing offers on have 3-5 offers on them. The price of a single family home in Summerlin with 1700 sq.ft is now under $275,000. Can you believe that? We're seeing prices coming down to what they were in mid-2003. Remember, Las Vegas is a city unlike any other (except maybe Dubai). We have lots of job creation, major construction spending, no state income tax, and a climate that attracts lots of retirees. This won't change and will continue attracting people like it always has. If you have any questions about this market or real estate in general that's what I'm here for. If you're in a tough place financially and want to bounce some ideas off of me, feel free.

Tough markets create stressful situations at home and at work. We can get through this together.

Dana and Chris Whittaker
(702)285-1363