real estate: Las Vegas near top of list for bargain properties - 04/14/09 02:25 PM
It's not easy but Sin City is doing all it can to turn the tide on the bad hand it has been dealt over the past few years regarding the housing market. It has steadily occupied high rankings on many mortgage- and real estate-related lists that no one really wants to be on. But now Vegas is on one that is going make it look a little better. And give everyone in the valley real hope as far as the future of the housing market goes.
The Top 10 Bargain Markets list is out and Las Vegas is third on it. FHFA, … (10 comments)

real estate: LV existing home sales increase in March - 04/09/09 11:48 AM
The spring real estate season kicked off nicely last month, with resales again showing strong numbers. That has been the direction of this segment of the market for a good stretch now.  
All in all, 2,980 single-family houses were closed then that translates to a serious jump of 30% from February, as was reported by Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, or GLVAR. The figure is double of that from March of 2008. As has been the pattern recently, distressed sales dominated the statistics and most of them were in the lower end of the market where first-time buyers and … (4 comments)

real estate: Mortgage industry reform plans skirting the real issues - 04/07/09 01:24 PM
There is no question that the home loan industry needs a fresh look and some adjustments have to be made to prevent in the future what just happened to it. Easy underwriting requirements were part of the reason the real estate market ultimately tanked and dragged the entire economy into a filthy gutter. But those, the underwriting criteria, really were poor business decisions and can't be regulated.
Anyway, Congress is working on all sorts of angles now to find the right reform solutions. The House just introduced an act that has a long name and lots of ideas, some reasonable and … (20 comments)

real estate: FHA struggling with climbing mortgage defaults - 04/05/09 05:49 AM
FHA, or the Federal Housing Administration, almost vanished from the home loan scene a few years ago when conventional mortgage lenders came up with their own attractive loan programs for subprime borrowers. In 2006 FHA's market share was a paltry 2%. Then the real estate market imploded, mauling the mortgage industry in the process into a bloody pulp. As a result banks were reluctant to make home loans unless they had a government insurance against possible defaults and all of a sudden FHA was back in the saddle, becoming for many the favorite go-to-guy. In the fourth quarter of 2008 FHA's … (19 comments)

real estate: BPOs stoke controversy within the real estate industry - 04/03/09 06:28 AM
BPO, or broker price opinion, is a vehicle used by real estate agents to assess home values. Over the years it has become sort of a competitor to an official appraisal that mortgage lenders still rely on when underwriting loans. BPO can be a dependable gauge although it is less scientific than an appraisal. And it is much cheaper, costing around $50 each while a standard appraisal runs into the hundreds.  
With foreclosures and short sales playing now a large role in the housing market BPOs have become widely used. Mortgage lenders like them in these situations because they can … (15 comments)

real estate: Jumbo mortgage making a meaningful comeback - 04/01/09 09:16 AM
The current home loan landscape has been largely very unkind to those who were out to purchase a house using a jumbo vehicle or to homeowners who wanted to refinance an expensive property. In simple terms, when the loan amount goes above the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming limit it becomes a jumbo because the mandate of the above two agencies bans them from buying these high-priced loans on the secondary market. Generally the limit varies between $417,000, for areas considered general, and goes all the way up to $729,750 for high-cost regions. Las Vegas cut-off point today is $417,000.
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real estate: Canadians drawn to Las Vegas real estate - 03/30/09 01:07 AM
Southern Nevada housing market has recently been through plenty of agony. Despite low mortgage interest rates sales of single-family houses, condominiums and townhomes have been slow, especially in the middle and upper ends of the price scale. Sinking values have attracted first-time buyers and real estate investors to rummage through the bulging inventory in the lower end of the marketplace and grab property, often foreclosures, at huge discounts. Sin City's housing supply is still way too high and needs to come down further to give the market a chance for recovery.
One group that has been moderately active in the past … (6 comments)

real estate: Improving housing demand should remain top priority - 03/22/09 10:45 PM
Many different initiatives have been introduced over the past several months to revive the still-reeling real estate market, a key ingredient to our economy's well-being. Mortgage rates are near record lows thanks largely to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the government continuing to buy mortgage-backed securities on the secondary market. Home prices have come down to match those we had before the recent boom got going. But obviously more is needed.
One sector that would have a nice favorable impact on the demand side, without costing the taxpayer a dime, is the immigrants. For instance, every year 85,000 H1B visas are … (4 comments)

real estate: Mortgage approval hinges on an acceptable appraisal more than ever - 03/14/09 11:43 AM
As if there already weren't enough roadblocks to qualify for a home loan. Most of the past mortgage programs have vanished into thin air in the aftermath of this still percolating real estate meltdown. Besides, down payment requirements have increased, FICO score standards are higher, PMI firms are pulling out of markets and so it goes.
Then there is the all-important appraisal. It's hard to get an accurate one when there are very few, if any, comparables in the immediate neighborhood to use. Homes are just not selling like they once were and this is the most reliable yardstick appraisers have … (6 comments)

real estate: Cosmopolitan Las Vegas back in the spotlight - 03/12/09 02:40 PM
Just a week or so ago Cosmopolitan was the focus of discussions between Deutsche Bank, the current owner of the troubled resort, and MGM Mirage over the Las Vegas casino developer's potential involvement in managing it, possibly even becoming a part owner. These talks collapsed, though. But it didn't take long for a new party to emerge with a genuine interest in the project.  
Hilton Hotels Corp. is currently busy at work on plans to launch a new hotel brand called Denizen Hotels. The product is going to be conveniently modern with global appeal that is complimented with a local … (3 comments)

real estate: LV resales a bright spot in February housing update - 03/10/09 10:20 AM
Despite the traditionally slow stretch of the real estate season Southern Nevada existing homes sales showed the same workmanlike consistency they have been doing for months. Namely that the statistics are way better from the same month one year ago, as was reported by GLVAR, or the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.2,288 homes were sold last month, which adds up to a 108% leap from February of 2008. And to stay on the positive track, it amounts to a 2.9% increase from January. These are the types of numbers that eventually will lift the housing market here in Las Vegas up from the dark … (4 comments)

real estate: Real estate market perking up in troubled areas - 03/07/09 02:26 PM
Anyone can live with these types of headlines. The other kind - like those about mortgage approvals being hard to get, price declines, foreclosures - have been dominant for too long. Yes, the positive ones give consumers a dose of optimism that the housing market isn't dead after all. That it has the capacity to work thorough its imbalances and eventually start on the road to recovery.  
Let's throw in some interesting stats. First American CoreLogic put together a bunch of numbers on home sales at ZIP codes in metropolitan areas with at least 10,000 households. Each city only got one … (4 comments)

real estate: Homeownership again making financial sense over renting - 02/26/09 11:13 AM
The recent real estate boom created quite a few imbalances in several marketplaces. One of them was the owning vs. renting question. When property values kept soaring to new heights, many would-be buyers simply couldn't qualify for a mortgage any more or just didn't want to pay for it even if they had the means. Renting had become so much less damaging to the budget that people chose to do that instead.
The red-hot housing market reached its peak around 2006 when after-tax home loan payments could go as high as 66% more than what rents were then, as was reported … (14 comments)

real estate: Las Vegas real estate market ready for a recovery? - 02/24/09 01:03 PM
That would be nice. But will it actually happen any time soon? Hard to say.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association for Realtors, or NAR, thinks it is just around the corner. In his opinion it could kick off in the latter half of this year. He was in town to speak to the group's Rocky Mountain Regional Conference and said that Southern Nevada will be in the forefront of the upcoming turnaround.
Prices here have plunged to levels that make home buying very affordable again, like it was early in the decade. Mortgage interest rates remain low, … (4 comments)

real estate: Fannie Mae update to boost housing demand - 02/21/09 01:35 PM
That's good news. One of the main barriers to getting the residential real estate market to change direction is the lack of demand. Well, there is some demand, it's true, thanks to very low mortgage interest rates and affordable prices. But they alone won't cut it because the underwriting guidelines remain rather strict and keep many qualified borrowers from getting a home loan. And then there is the poor economy.
But help is on the way. A revised Fannie Mae policy is going to give the demand function a nice shot in the arm. The change involves how many mortgages the … (13 comments)

real estate: Las Vegas headline prompts a second look - 02/14/09 12:14 PM
Can it be true? In this reeling housing market that makes mortgage approvals a major mental and physical exercise and closed real estate transactions an endurance test it was hard to believe what the Review-Journal headline actually said. But there it was, loud and clear. "Foreclosures in Las Vegas drop in January."
Southern Nevada residents are nowadays used to reading headlines that talk about how they are climbing, or surging, not dropping. Anything that suggests upward movement. The statement is accurate, though. Foreclosures.com is behind the statistic disclosing that LV numbers decreased about 20% in January from December, or from 3,283 … (5 comments)

real estate: Zillow study reveals a more realistic homeowner - 02/12/09 01:15 PM
It has been long time coming. The present housing and mortgage convulsion has been tough on everybody, spare none. Mortgage borrowers find it hard to get approved, thanks to ever-tightening underwriting guidelines. Tenants living in rental homes are being evicted when the landlord gets foreclosed on. The most drama, though, has been endured by homeowners who have been watching helplessly as their property values are on a steady slide south. Some areas, like Las Vegas, numerous California communities and much of Florida, have been hammered while others have suffered smaller declines.
During the recent past many home sellers have been slow … (8 comments)

real estate: Southern Nevada existing home sales still strong in January - 02/10/09 09:58 AM
The same pattern keeps more or less repeating itself when it comes to monthly Las Vegas real estate numbers. In essence, there are some good news and then some less than good news. One way of putting is that the market is simply trying to find its bearings.
As usual, GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, is providing a detailed look at what happened in January in the local housing sector. Altogether 2,224 single-family houses were closed, amounting to a stellar 126% leap from the year ago figure. That trend has been evident for quite some time now and … (6 comments)

real estate: Housing market needs more demand - 02/07/09 02:38 PM
It's pretty much basic economics that troubles the current real estate market. Too many homes for sale and not enough buyers approved for a mortgage chasing the inventory. Supply and demand are simply out of sync.
The still increasing weight of foreclosures is a big contributor to this imbalance. That is especially acute in states that have absorbed the heaviest damage from mortgages in default, namely Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. All in all, it is now a nationwide phenomenon.
There are two distinct reasons to that. Banks, the term includes home loan servicers and investors who own mortgage-backed securities, have … (18 comments)

real estate: Buyers concerned about many challenges - 02/05/09 02:49 PM
The real estate market is still in a deep sleep, by many accounts. Yes, it's true that there are pockets across the land where severely-reduced home prices are attracting brave buyers and well-heeled investors to venture out to make purchase offers. That is encouraging and Las Vegas happens to be one of them. Overall, though, a solid turnaround appears to be at least a few more months away.
A January study by the National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, tells us that the main reason prospective buyers shy away from the marketplace today is because they can't sell their existing … (12 comments)