More updates and additions

Trying to keep up several sites at once gets old---fast. If you are a regular subscriber to several blogs, you've noticed blog burnout on at least one of them at some time or another. A friend of mine lives in Spanish Trail (not Spanish Trails) and were talking about foreclosures. Even in his neighborhood he is seeing a few, plus there are quite a few Spanish Trail townhomes up for sale as well, although I didn't notice if there were any short sales mentioned. Not surprising really, since there are quite a few townhomes available for sale right now. Beacon Hill in Mountain's Edge is a perfect example. Normally most large master planned communities include a few townhomes in the mix.

Home sales are slowly creeping back up again. I think some of that has to do with some of the unheard of deals being offered. For example, Flagstone Manor by Pulte has half acre lots and had the price dropped by 100k in some cases. Other developers are taking it even farther. Manhattan West is offering a couple of very interesting programs. If you are already a home owner and are worried about selling your home in order to buy a condo, the community Guaranteed Sale program guarantees to buy your qualifying existing home if it doesn’t sell within 180 days (of course there are qualifications). Another interesting program is the Downside Price Protection™, which lets you lock in today’s prices and interest rates while reducing the risk that your condo will drop in price. With Downside Price Protection, if the market is lower two years from when you buy your Manhattan West residence, you get a cash refund of the percentage the market is down, up to 10%. There is also a program for investors to cover the mortgage difference if the rent doesn't. In all, there are a total of six programs. I have to admit, it's pretty slick.

Providence Las Vegas

The newest master planned community in Las Vegas looks very promising. Providence Las Vegas is being developed by the focus group. Aside from the standard fare in master planned communities, Providence will feature over 4,000 trees----all set up in to maximize water savings and provide energy savings at the same time. Each neighborhood inside Providence will feature a different species of tree. The effect should be pretty spectacular in fall and spring. There are 17 builders participating in the project and Providence home buyers should be able to see a model later this year.