nevada: Las Vegas ought to learn from a past real estate fiasco in California - 10/11/08 12:25 PM
As the U.S. Treasury, according to the recently approved bailout plan, prepares to purchase distressed real estate assets to help the faltering financial and mortgage sectors get back on their feet, a real danger lurks in the shadows for Las Vegas. And other communities across the land. The example of what happened in California some 20 years ago will shed light on how the state's agony was prolonged for years.
That time the federal government's Resolution Trust Corporation was tasked with fixing the savings-and-loan meltdown, many still remember that, and it went ahead and executed an aggressive sales program of troubled … (10 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas resales are up while prices are down in September - 10/09/08 03:54 PM
Single-family houses continued selling well in Southern Nevada in September, as was reported by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, or GLVAR, that used the MLS for its statistics. All in all 2,783 single-family homes were closed, a nice increase from 2,545 done in August and a considerable improvement from a year ago when only 990 homes were sold. Sales numbers have steadily moved up all year, a hopeful sign of better days ahead.  
The main reason to the accelerating sales is declining price levels that in turn are largely influenced by the record number of foreclosures. Median values … (6 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas high-end real estate market inviting, explains The Robb Report - 09/30/08 02:02 PM
It is really nice to hear upbeat news for a change. The attention lately in Southern Nevada has been trained on the mortgage industry struggling with a load of foreclosures and the housing market trying hard to get its supply and demand in balance that would then stop prices from sliding any further. Those are generally the big issues of the day in the valley that people talk about.
But bring in The Robb Report Vacation Homes and change the topic, at least for a while. The magazine conducted hours of research on over 50 international destinations in an effort to … (10 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas set to benefit from HUD foreclosure program - 09/27/08 03:00 PM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has received a grant package that totals almost $4 billion to aid cities and states embroiled in mortgage foreclosures. These funds actually were put aside for this purpose in the recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
The effort has a fitting name, The Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and its aim is to let local and state governments use the available money under certain guidelines. They can tear down or restore abandoned homes and buy land temporarily to stabilize deteriorating areas and then promote redevelopment.
Possibly the more pro-active aspect of it is … (8 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas benefits from Nevada Energy Star Partners' efforts - 09/20/08 03:45 PM
Energy Star is a program put together by EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, to promote the use of energy-efficient products practically everywhere, from homes to work places and everything in between. It covers a lot of territory. Energy Star designation requirements have evolved over the years as technology has advanced. In the housing industry today, its specifications for instance entail the setup of high-efficiency A/C systems that are sized correctly, the installation of windows that at least meet, preferably go above, current Energy Star standards and the use of energy-efficient appliances and lighting fixtures.
Nevada Energy Star Partners is the driving force of … (0 comments)

nevada: Southern Nevada population growth on a solid footing - 09/18/08 04:50 PM
All the headlines nowadays scream about our financial system meltdown largely brought to you by unwise mortgage securities investments. So, maybe now is the right time to talk about something a little different. Or a lot different. Namely about the population increase in Clark County, also loosely considered Southern Nevada.
One way the growth is measured here is to tally up the driver's licenses turned in by arriving residents and that number is then modified to account for non-driving people and out-bound residents. For the last 12-month period ending in August 67,501 people moved into the county, averaging over 5,600 per month. … (4 comments)

nevada: Some mortgage loans still risky - 09/13/08 04:10 PM
Many areas in the nation are in the grip of a serious real estate price erosion and that presents all sorts of problems. Homeowners have seen their built-up equity being eaten up by it and in other cases it results in foreclosures when borrowers can't refinance out of their unattractive existing home loans because they have no equity. It also is rapidly becoming a challenge to lenders who have recently issued mortgages with low down payments.
Let's take a look at an example. Las Vegas single-family home prices have lost about 30% in the last twelve months, therefore averaging around 2.5% … (8 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas resales show staying power - 09/11/08 02:53 PM
The existing single-family house sales in Southern Nevada in August were 2,545 which is a slight drop from July at 2,592, reported GLVAR, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. This number actually breaks a string of increases dating back six or seven consecutive months. When a comparison is made to August of 2007 at a paltry 1,316, it represents, however, a serious leap higher, 93.4% in all that can be called a significant improvement. Resales, although still heavily flavored by foreclosures, do remain healthy and need to stay that way to help this weakened market turn around.
Another positive statistic … (6 comments)

nevada: High-rise condominium on the Strip branded St. Regis - 09/06/08 02:30 PM
The luxury condo tower currently under construction in front of the Venetian and Palazzo resorts was planned some years ago when the real estate market in Las Vegas was moving along very nicely. The market conditions, however, have changed quite a bit since then. The high-rise condo segment in Southern Nevada is overbuilt, demand is waning and prices predictably are softening up. The current mortgage industry woes make getting financing for purchases much harder, too.
Las Vegas Sands, developer of the condos, likely realized that going alone with the project in this less than desirable market environment was going to be … (6 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas developer earns Builder of the Year honors - 08/26/08 03:10 PM
The green housing movement appears to be making further gains as the consumer is becoming increasingly aware of how valuable its contributions are to the reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas generation. Concordia Homes, a Southern Nevada developer for years, was recently recognized by Las Vegas Business Press as the Developer of the Year in the green building category.Concordia has for a long time produced homes using Energy Star guidelines, but then it reached a point where it felt it needed to do better than that. Energy-savvy home buyers were looking for more and it wanted to respond, so when it … (4 comments)

nevada: Real estate appraisers continue to feel the heat - 08/23/08 04:07 PM
Very little appears to have changed with appraisers over the last several months when it comes to the value they establish on a home that's up for sale or refinance. Many of them feel pressured by someone involved in the transaction to come up with the right price, or hit the number, usually meaning it should be inflated to satisfy their needs, says the Appraisal Institute. It could be a mortgage originator doing it, a real estate agent or even the nice lady whose flower beds are immaculate. Or another source. Anyone who could benefit from a higher valuation.
Inflated appraisals … (16 comments)

nevada: Southern Nevada resales stellar, new home sales lacking - 08/21/08 03:14 PM
The Las Vegas real estate market has turned into a rather disjointed spectacle. As the July stats show, compiled by local housing specialist SalesTraq, existing home sales continued on its recent accelerating pace by recording 3,173 closed transactions in July, which is a nice 56.5% jump from July of last year. What's important to keep in mind, however, is that around 60% of these sales were foreclosure-related. Banks have been pricing their REOs, real estate owned, with passion just to get rid of the non-performing inventory and that is one large reason why resales are doing so well now.
On the other … (4 comments)

nevada: Foreign real estate buyers more prudent now - 08/16/08 02:37 PM
Now is a good time to buy residential real estate in the U.S. as prices are softening nicely in many regions and there is plenty of inventory to choose from. Mortgage money still remains affordable, although several loan products have been tossed and underwriting guidelines have become tougher. This development has been also noticed abroad and those aspiring to own property here have made a serious move to get something.
According to a NAR, or National Association of Realtors, study in which it surveyed 4,000 agents 26% of them had a minimum of one foreign customer and roughly a half of … (8 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas land prices soften up, except on resort corridor - 08/15/08 11:43 AM
The way the residential real estate market today is going in Southern Nevada it's no surprise that raw land values here are heading south. Demand for land is way down as the housing sector struggles with a large inventory of new and resale homes. Even if a builder wanted to purchase acreage for a project, getting financing now would be a challenge in this lending environment. The slowing economy doesn't help much either. 
In the second quarter median vacant land price stood at $570,279 per acre which turns out to be $148,232 less than at the same time last year, or a … (9 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas existing home sales continue to improve in July - 08/08/08 12:03 PM
For avid real estate market observers in Southern Nevada the recent news from GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, were for the most part positive. In the July statistics it just published two out of the three more important categories the figures are kind of easy on the eye. The numbers are derived from the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, which usually leaves out new homes sold by local builders.
The category that easily garners the most attention nowadays is the single-family house resales. In July 2,592 of them were closed, a nice jump from June's 2,226 which turns … (6 comments)

nevada: Summerlin home wins SNWA landscape award - 07/26/08 03:48 PM
Southern Nevada Water Authority, or SNWA, has a massive job on its hands. Years ago when Las Vegas was still a miniature from what it is today the Authority's task was simple. Snowmelt from the Rockies steadily supplied water to Lake Mead and that was plenty to keep the valley moving right along. In the last decade or two the city has grown by leaps and bounds and with that phenomenal expansion water has become a major issue.
Lately SNWA has been introducing a variety of different programs to encourage conservation and one of them is the Landscape Awards competition. Its … (3 comments)

nevada: Southern Nevada condo development adjusts to soft market - 07/22/08 04:46 PM
The Meridian Luxury Suites used to be an apartment complex within an easy walking distance to the Strip and then in 2005 all the units were converted into condominiums. Condo conversions were all the rage those days in Las Vegas. That's when the real estate market here was still doing pretty good and mortgage money was plentiful and available at almost every corner with flexible terms. But today's business environment is vastly different.
Meridian has 678 condominiums in all and only around 12 are owner-occupied, according to Clark County records. The rest are owned by investors, just about all of whom … (2 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas new home sales now follow a more stable pattern - 07/19/08 02:55 PM
Since last summer new home sales have been gradually declining in the valley and evidently reached the bottom of the cycle around January of this year. Since then the numbers have been pretty even, but by no means something to write home about. Yet, in the absence of losing any more ground for several months the market is obviously trying to turn this thing around and get going again.
According to Home Builders Research, a Southern Nevada industry expert, a low total of 777 spanking-new single-family houses were closed in June and when that is compared to the record 3,233 sold in … (6 comments)

nevada: Is an HOA for you? - 07/17/08 03:52 PM
Homeowner's associations, or HOAs, have at times been berated by angry residents who feel they've been wronged by the rules that are part of the deal in certain communities. Or perhaps not the rules themselves but how someone in the HOA management interprets them. Anyhow, it's important to know what the usual CCRs, or covenants, conditions and restrictions, mean before a purchase is made in an HOA neighborhood.
According to the Real Estate Division Nevada has about 3,000 associations that include some 450,000 condos, townhomes and single-family houses. Most of them are of course here in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
… (2 comments)

nevada: Las Vegas condos slow to close - 07/13/08 10:46 AM
Southern Nevada hardly had any condominium market just a few short years ago. Especially the high-rise component was pretty much non-existent, save the Regency at Las Vegas Country Club. Then the Turnberry Place was built and it proved hugely successful and things sort of got fired up from there. Over time Vegas had created a reputation that no matter how many new hotel rooms were built, they always got filled with eager visitors. Many of the developers who wanted to come to town and follow the Turnberry recipe, apparently bought into that same idea. Just keep putting them up, condos that … (6 comments)