LAS VEGAS - Signs of hope are emerging in the country's real estate market. For the first time in three years, the number of people who are behind on their house payments went down. That drop means the number of people losing their homes may start to fall.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors says a turnaround may already be underway in Southern Nevada. GLVAR reports Southern Nevada had, on average, about 8,500 foreclosures on the market in the first quarter of 2009. For the first quarter of this year, that number fell to about 1,800.
Bell says the reason is that investors are buying foreclosed properties in great numbers. "Beginning last March, we had an upsurge in the number of buyers for foreclosure properties. Many were investors paying cash," he said. "The foreclosures, when coming on the market, typically get multiple offers. It's very competitive."
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Could this be true? I don't know yet but I will say something is definitely going on. Our inventory is running very very thin. There are definitely more buyers than homes right now. Our notice of default rate is still fairly high with a hundred to two hundred being filed daily. Are these homeowners strategically defaulting on their mortgages in order to apply for a loan modification? I suspect many are however we are still dealing with many folks that are out of work with mortgages resetting and having negative equity having no choice but to default on their mortgages.
And what about this "shadow inventory" that is floating out there. As much as 50,000 homes in Las Vegas who are somewhere in the process of being late on their payments to actually being foreclosed. It is still a mystery.
One thing is for certain, we are dealing with bidding wars and for folks to think purchasing a home is a snap are in for a surprise. It is best to associate with a Realtor who is familiar with the market and really analyze our advise. I recently had a person call me wanting to look at homes in Summerlin (our most popular suburb) and did not want to spend more than $80,000 on a 3 bedroom 2 bath home. I had to tell them, I am sorry but there are no homes in that area for that price. They did not believe me. The point is, we agents who are working this market, a good portion of us know what is available and isn't. And when we suggest be prepared; bring your checkbook, proof of funds etc., we are not kidding. We say this to you because if you truly are serious about buying a home you must be ready.
Our inventory is shrinking, don't pass up the opporutunity to buy now.
Alma Gomez
Owner/Realtor
Casa Latino Las Vegas Realty
702-875-1756 Direct
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