The Media is having a great time blasting Vegas for having the nation's highest foreclosure rates.  This sounds like a great opportunity for buyers, right?  Not necessarily!  It depends on the willingness of the investors, who put up the funds for the original mortgage, to take a loss.

When an investor is trying to mitigate the damages, his strategy is TIME.  By waiting, he hopes to recapture more of his investment.  So, although a property may look great on the Multiple Listing Service, it may not result in a sale at list price.  WHY?  Because the investors will wait. . . wait to see if prices rise. . . wait to see if a cash buyer will come along (cash is finally king!) . . . wait to see if they can get more offers. . . wait to counter any offers they do get and try to get everyone to send in their "highest and best."

When you're out looking for a property to purchase, keep in mind that you are not alone.  The media has informed everyone that there are great deals in Vegas.  So, there are many buyers out there, looking for the same great deal that you are.  The end result is, multiple offers and higher prices.  Not so many great deals!

I have heard that people are getting deals of 5% to 20% below market.  To buy a house at 5% under market value is fine, but in my book, it is not a killer deal.  20% would be a killer deal, but frankly, in my analysis of recent sales, that has only happened twice, and both times it was to a cash buyer.  The "deal" that you will get is dependent on the willingness of the seller to "give" you a deal, as well as how many other buyers are writing offers on your "deal".  If you find a property you like, make an offer and be prepared to wait for a response.

There are many variables for the seller to consider when looking at offers, so it pays to use an agent who is aware of those variables and knows how to write a "clean" offer.  I won't give away my secrets!!  Only my clients will learn the tricks from me.  The rest of you can learn the hard way (like I did).  Sorry!

increase after a long decline signaling market bottom has been reached (in terms of demand). Positive changes

in the level of sale pendings indicate that both Percent Selling and the Absorb Rate will be on the rise in the

near future (slowly). However, prices have not bottomed especially for SFR and will continue their current

negative trend led by distressed sale situations. Condo is less clear and appears to be demonstrating more

resiliency. Confirm this by reviewing (on the MCR) that pending-contingent price for SFR lies below current

closing price, but not so for Condo.

The market is currently in a contraction cycle of unknown duration. Some areas are "hotter" than others in

terms of transactions. Some price ranges in hot areas turn out to be cold. The above areas and price ranges are

both hot in terms of area and price range. A listing in the areas and price ranges indicated will have greater

expected value than those not in these areas and price ranges (SFR ONLY). "

For those of you wanting to read Bob's reports, which are sponsored by Equity Title, please send me an email and I will forward them to you.  As I learned in statistics class at Cal-State, you can prove anything with statistics.  Luckily, Bob is not trying to prove anything; he is only trying to help us understand current market conditions.  We are always in "balance", according to Bob.  The buyers and sellers strike a balance in each transaction.  The basic "supply and demand" theory that we learned in Econ 101 still applies, notwithstanding the media.

The good news is, there is still a lot of inventory in Vegas.  You will be able to find the home you want.  Will it be cheap?  Doubtful.  Will it be representative of the current market demand?  Yes.  Is it a good time to buy? YES!