Independent filmmakers come from all over the world to show their works and discuss techniques at this festival. This annual event held in September showcases more than 150 films including features, shorts and documentaries. Movie lovers will be able to interact with filmmakers, writers and producers at several workshops. Prices start at USD14. The festival takes place at Regal's Village Square Cinema.Independent film directors screen their latest documentaries and short features in late September at Nevada's largest film festival, at Regal's Village Square Cinemas. Call (702) 737-3313 for more information 07/15/2007

The festival is an opportunity for Holy Trinity parishioners to share age-old traditions and demonstrate their warm, exuberant hospitality. Towards the end of September, Greek cuisine and culture is celebrated on the grounds of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Churh with folk dancing, live music and a bazaar. Call (702) 248-3896 for more information. There will be cooking and folk dancing demonstrations, church tours, a children's area, cultural exhibits, live entertainment and, of course, that exquisite food. 07/15/2007

El Grito every 16th of September is the Mexican Fiesta par excellence! On this day Mexicans all over the world celebrate Mexico's independence from Spanish rule. A number of venues in Las Vegas host live music, food and craft booths, most notably a fair and picnic at Freedom Park sponsored by the Mexican Patriotic Committee as a fundraiser for student scholarships. Call (702) 649-1198 for more information. 07/15/2007

The Alexis Park Hotel and Resort hosts a convention of the largest number of computer hackers in one place, where you can learn state of the art security techniques and how to defend yourself from those who know best, in the first week of August. Call (800) 453-8000 for more information. 07/15/2007

I want to address today's report from RealtyTrac on the monthly foreclosure activity data.U.S. home foreclosures fell in June after jumping to a 30-month peak in May, but default rates will escalate as a horde of mortgages resets at higher loan rates.Foreclosure filings fell 7% in June to 164,644 after jumping 19% in May, but they remain 87% above last June's pace, with one filing for every 704 households, RealtyTrac said in a monthly report.Nevada's foreclosure rate, with one filing in June for every 175 households, topped the list for the sixth straight month and was more than four times the national average. The state's foreclosure filings dropped by 10% from May but remained three times the year-earlier level.Las Vegas's foreclosure rate of one filing for every 138 households put it... 07/14/2007

Nevada Cancer Institute will host a three-day conference on the effects of radiation on normal tissue. Conference presenters will focus on issues of: * Low dose radaition *High dose radiaiton *Recovery, remediation of normal tissue colleteral damageLocation:J.W. Marriott in Summerlin221 N. Rampart Blvd.Las Vegas, NV 89145 Phone: Fax: (702) 869-7777 (702) 869-7339 07/14/2007

Jazz vocalists and instrumentalists--agges middle school to senior citizens--are invited to attend. The camp is hosted by the CCSN Performing Arts Department and is one of only a few held in the U.S. Students should have a minimum of one year of study on their instrument. Attendees will work individually or in a group to improve their "improv" skills and have the opportunity to learn from, study with, play with and listen to jazz musicians of the highest caliber. Faculty will stage daily performances. Registration is underway for the unique five-day camp, which concludes with choir and combo performances by camp participants at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 20, in the June Whitley Student Lounge. This grand finale is free and open to the public. The fee for Jazz Combo Camp is $150, which inclu... 07/14/2007

It was a week or so ago when the federal mortgage market regulators distributed a new set of rules for the subprime home loan segment. It was good news, proving that the government is taking the issue seriously. But we have to remember one thing, it was only for the federally regulated lenders. They only originate about 35% of all mortgages. What about the rest? The vast majority of action is handled by mortgage brokers and non-regulated lenders. Excluding them left a large void in the rather complex system.Well, now we have the answer to that. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced just yesterday that it will release new guidance next week for mortgage lenders not regulated by the federal government. The new rules are expected to emulate the federal ones. For detailed discu... 07/14/2007

The green housing concept is still trying to make a widely-accepted mark on the residential real estate industry. It has so far managed to carve itself a reasonable niche, which is encouraging, but to widen it is going to take more public education, countless hours of research in product development, of course funding for the research and then just plenty of time. The novel idea appears easier to sell to the building industry than to the public at large, despite Al Gore's movie and recent media coverage. When you, an eco-friendly homeowner, install a water-saving yard irrigation system, most neighbors usually are quite supportive of such a move. They even wander on over to take a look at your state-of-the-art timer, and everything else you might have done to reduce water waste. Could be... 07/14/2007

I know in our Las Vegas market there seems to be a lot of confusion between the two types of management. Here is a link to information about an upcoming CE class in the Vegas area in the next couple of weeks. If you are in any type of property management, I think you should check it out! You even get breakfast, what a deal! 07/14/2007

 Summerlin Las Vegas Nevada Offers Many Summerlin NV Homes   summerlin home - summerlin nv - summerlin las vegas nevada  http://www.las-vegas-homes.biz   Summerlin Las Vegas Nevada offers over 100 new home plans by 13 summerlin home builders in six villages in the community of Summerlin NV. Current Summerlin home neighborhoods currently under new home Summerlin construction include The Canyons, The Mesa, The Paseos, The Vistas, Summerlin Centre and The Ridges villages. Summerlin homes Las Vegas homes styles include townhomes, condos, single family homes, urban-style homes , lofts, semi-custom and custom homes built in Summerlin Las Vegas. Homes for sale in Summerlin Las Vegas range from 644 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft. prices range from the $200,00s to more than $2 Million. The new homes i... 07/14/2007

Indian Wells, like the rest of Las Vegas, has come to a virtual standstill, although it is starting a 'slow crawl' back.  There are currently 10 condos available.  3 have closed in the last 7 months.  All have been listed for 2 to 9 months.  The range of prices within the community is so WIDE being $177,500 to $224,000 for an identical unit.   Why such a difference in price?1. The seller may have purchased the property a year or two ago when the prices had peaked and needs to sell with higher to be able to close without having to bring money to the table to pay off the loan.2. The seller could be unrealistic and say, "well my neighbor sold theirs a year ago for this amount, I should be able to get that much now."3. The seller may feel he/she have 'prime location' (close to the pool, clo... 07/14/2007

Important Information Do Not ReadIf you aren't opened Minded Usually I write my post about the Real Estate market or High rise Condo's here in Las Vegas, but today i want to get off topic and talk a little about what i feel is a very important topic. I have ran into people who don't believe in a God, have a bad attitude , and have a real negative outlook on things. I am sure you have ran into somebody in your life that matches the description and if not your very lucky. Every time this unfortunate situation happens i wonder why? Well one day i took a step back and thought why do people like this come around me at all because i am the complete opposite of them I believe very strongly in God, I'm as positive as i can be through out my day and i have a very good outlook on life and were I... 07/13/2007

The real estate market is soft in many areas around the country. Some predictions say that it may get even softer in the coming months in select cities, while other places show signs of the market leveling out. Anyhow, it's a bona fide buyer's heaven in the adversely affected regions, including Las Vegas. They can make offers below the list price, they can request closing cost help from the seller or ask for some other creative incentives and not get laughed at. That is the nature of the residential real estate arena today.A soft market typically causes bank repo counts to increase, as well. That is when a bank takes possession of a foreclosed home. Another thing that becomes more acceptable to lenders is the short sale. It means that before the foreclosure becomes final, the lender wil... 07/13/2007

Yes ... I know I've been "MIA" for a bit, which I apologize.  But hey ... I now come to you with my "Crystal Ball" - or should I say that of Housing Intelligence.  Just this last month, they put out a report of various Real Estate Market Statistics taking us to 2010.  So "What do they say??" you ask? ... here's the low down:The good news is the total number of households here in the Las Vegas Valley is going up.  Maybe that 5,000 people moving Las Vegas every month is legit after all!  The number of permits for new builds are going to drop a bit more towards the end of this year and then level out for the duration - YEAH!  That should increase resales of Homes, Condos, etc..So what about price right??  According to Housing Intelligence ... we'll be coming down just a little bit more tha... 07/13/2007

Several changes have recently be made to the Las Vegas real estate agent code: NRS 645. One of these changes was an actual definition of "agency": a relationship between a principal and an agent arising out of a brokerage agreement whereby the agent is engaged to do certain acts on behalf of the principal in dealings with a third party. Other changes have also been made for clarification, etc.Another change, of several, was that a client can waive the duty to present all offers with informed, written consent. That will cut out the presentation of low ball or rediculous offers if so waived.Las Vegas Realtors should become aware of such changes and understand their impacts as they represent their clients. 07/13/2007

 Can you imagine that maybe there are too many choices for potential buyers in the Las Vegas area? Well maybe in a city of abundance and overindulgence it isn't such a new concept. The Las Vegas valley including Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson has dozens of choices of "master planned" communities. Most clients of mine are wondering which one is best for them. While that is a question only they can answer, my job is to help them by educating on the features and amenities that each one has to offer. From brand new communities such as Providence and Inspirada to more established communities such as Green Valley and Desert Shores, there is a community that fits just about everyone. A few major factors in choosing a community is to identify a few things.Do the homes in the community... 07/12/2007

Demo Day with Pinnacle Las Vegas Yesterday July 11 2007 was an amazing day for the High rise Condo development Pinnacle. What a spectacular site to see and the excitement from knowing that this wonderful development is one more day closer to being completed with progress showing in the physical form. The Pinnacle's twin towers will be the very first of it's kind in North America and defiantly a truly standard setting structure. Pinnacle is one of Las Vegas most successful High rise Condo developments and also one of Las Vegas most profitable investment opportunity. Pinnacle has everything a person who wants the Best could ask for with their 10' ceilings, Large Spacious balcony's, All Upgraded amenities in each residence, State of the Art exercise Facility's, and a 3 acer outside Amenit... 07/12/2007

Every month I get the UNLV CBER (University of Las Vegas Center for Economic Research) Indices report which contains information on trends, historical data and forecasting on Southern Nevadas economy as well as comaprisons with Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada and national economic growth.There was a comment in one of the reports that said:The CBER Clark County Business-Activity Index has slowed from a strong pace to a more moderate rate of late. In April, the rate was up 0.42 percent from March and only 1.62 percent from the same month a year ago. We attribute continued growth to strong construction along the Strip and near-capacity tourism volume. The recent more modest pace of activity is attributed to the drag in residential construction.In my experience, Las Vegas has always been at... 07/12/2007

There are 7 homes currently for sale in Braewood Heritage, not too bad for a 400+ home community.  This community has always stayed fairly stable in the turn around.  There are not a lot of investment properties in the complex (thus fewer renters) because of the 5% cap on rentals that was voted on a couple of years ago. Go to the Braewood Heritage official website for information on the complex including monthly newsletter, calendar, CCR's, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, Minutes from the last meeting and more.  Be sure to come back to my blog here for updated information on listings and sales in Braewood Heritage!  Make it easy on yourself by going to "Favorites" in the toolbar above and clicking on "Add to Favorites"....you will always be able to find the current stats then!Have additi... 07/11/2007