Back from my Sojourn

So its been a very long while since I've been back to post. Lot of things going on that took time away, most recently my baby sister getting married to a great guy (about time!) in California.

Downtown Las Vegas

Things here in Las Vegas have been changing as well. The spark of recovery is gradually gaining momentum. Tourism is still up again and the strip has been putting people back to work. A few notable projects have been finished over the last year and a half, the biggest two being the Cosmopolitan and the state's largest green project, CityCenter.

Despite a lot of road blocks with financing and some construction issues (with CityCenter), both projects were finally completed and open for business. Several other smaller projects around town have been bought up and are back under construction. The Summerlin village of the Mesa has brand new homes available now by three builders in the Amado community. With the completion of this community, the build out in the Mesa village will near completion, at least for the immediate future. Like the adjoining neighborhood of Ladera Terrace, all of the homes are built to meet/exceed Energy Star standards for energy efficiency.

On the other side of the valley, Mountain's Edge is still finishing its build out. The community of Talavera offers brand new homes by KB Homes. KB Homes has two other neighborhoods in Mountain's Edge, Chaco Canyon and Sterling Ridge. A few other master planned communities are still plodding along as well in other parts of the valley.

Meanwhile in the resale market, things are moving at a brisk pace. With the addition of the new law, foreclosures have slowed down considerably and investors have been very busy snapping up bargains. As a result, prices have been climbing back up again.

Hopefully construction in the valley will continue to improve. There are new projects ongoing but overall it isn't near what it should be. Thanks for stopping by.

Las Vegas Real Estate Market Hits Bottom

For those of you that have been sitting on the fence, waiting for the Las Vegas real estate market to hit "bottom", that moment has finally come. Unfortunately, if you were waiting for it to buy a home in Las Vegas or Henderson, good luck getting one.

Over the last 18 months or so, investors have been buying up discounted properties all over the valley. Why? Because the cost of the property versus renting that same property made it a good, sound business investment that would turn an immediate profit on the investment. In other words, it would be cheaper to buy a home than it would be to rent that same home.

Of course, that isn't true in every part of the Las Vegas valley. For example, a good friend of mine bought a house in Centennial Hills last year. His mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance costs him a little over $900 a month. Originally, when he decided to move from his condo in Boulder City to be closer to his job in North Las Vegas, he was going to rent a house. He found the same model home he ended up buying available for rent, for $1,150 per month.

Now you won't find the same thing in some of the luxury communities, like Lake Las Vegas real estate for example. While prices for condos and homes in Lake Las Vegas are heavily discounted like other areas of the valley, the HOA fees have not gone down at all. So even though you can get a Lake Las Vegas condo for $150,000 that originally sold for over $400,000 new, the HOA dues are still several hundred dollars a month.

Going back to the title of this post, the reason why I feel the market has bottomed out is a result of the above mentioned investor frenzy over the last year and a half, and the new law that was passed regarding foreclosures. Nevada passed a law restricting banks from foreclosing on property without all of the necessary documents in order. They must prove the hold the note among other things, which has slowed down foreclosures significantly.

The end result is now it is common place to have multiple offers placed a property...not unlike the boom years of 2005 and 2006. Prices are creeping back up and we are on our way back to a normal market in a few years. Thanks for stopping by my Las Vegas real estate blog and check out our other site for the latest Vegas real estate news.

Andy Rooney

TV legend Andy Rooney has passed away. Best known for his role on 60 minutes as a commentator, Andy won four emmys, one of them for a piece he did about Mrs. Smith's pies. The best thing about him was you never knew what he was going to say.

Today, we lost one of the true originals. RIP, Andy.

Earthquake in Nevada

An earthquake here in Nevada is something you don't hear about everyday. However, we did have one in Western Nevada near Reno. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 4.6 quake struck earlier today. It was centered about 6 miles southeast of the sleepy little town of Schurz (population around 700) and had a depth of 10 kilometers.

No injuries or damage has been reported as of yet. I'm sure the local news will be reporting throughout the day. The quake was far enough away that homes in Las Vegas didn't feel anything.

Check out our other blog for news about Las Vegas real estate or to search Las Vegas homes for sale. Thanks for stopping by my Las Vegas real estate blog.

Allure closing out units

Allure Las Vegas is closing out its remaining condos for sale. Originally slated as a two tower project, completed tower one still has brand new condos available for sale. Located just footsteps off of the strip on Sahara, Allure's tower is 41 stories offering views of the world famous Las Vegas strip and the city. Residents are within walking distance of the strip and everything it has to offer.

Allure is one of just a handful of Las Vegas high rise condos in the strip area. Currently Sky Las Vegas and CityCenter are the only properties located on the actual strip. Allure is as close as you can get without having to pay strip prices.

Remaining new units are expected to be sold by the end of summer. If you looking for a brand new high rise condo with strip views, Allure should be at the top of your list. Call 702-493-8033 for more information. Thanks for visiting our Las Vegas real estate blog.

Las Vegas Real Estate Market

According to the latest report from RealtyTrac, 53% of all the homes sold in Nevada are in some stage of foreclosure. So what does that mean for the market aside from that it is a great time to be a home buyer?

One of the pillars for the national economy is real estate. For Nevada, it does effect the state economy but for the Las Vegas area, tourism also has a huge impact. Over the last six months, more and more people are coming back to Las Vegas for vacations. Don't believe it? Try renting a car on the weekend from any national chain. You may not get one if you don't reserve it ahead of time. Prices for luxury homes in Las Vegas have fallen drastically like most of the rest of the market.

These bank owned properties are frequently referred to as REOs still make up the bulk of the listings in Las Vegas and other areas of the country. Because of this Las Vegas new home builders are slowing down production but that isn't the case in some areas of the country. New home builders in Columbus Georgia are still building homes and production is speeding up. That isn't the norm in markets with high foreclosure rates like Nevada, Arizona and California.

RealtyTrac estimates that there is a three year supply of foreclosures in the Las Vegas real estate market. As to the impact REOs have on pricing, according to RealtyTrac you can expect a 35% price difference. This may have been the case initially, but with so many foreclosures in the valley you'll see the same pricing across the board.

Thank you for visiting my Las Vegas real estate blog. Check out our other news site for Las Vegas real estate news and other tidbits.

Summerlin Real Estate Update

As you may (or may not) have heard, Engle Homes went belly up some time ago. They left several communities around the Las Vegas valley partially finished. While it was certainly bad news for original home buyers then, it was good news for others. Harmony Homes stepped in and bought some of their partially finished communities and are in the process of completing these communities.

New Summerlin Homes

New home buyers now have some choices. New Summerlin homes were becoming scarce over the last year due to the real estate crash. Home builders either went bankrupt or they stopped construction. Recently that has changed as Harmony Homes is offering new homes in Ladera Terrace, located in the Mesa village of Summerlin. Prices start in the mid 200's and are Energy Star certified. Also in the Mesa Pulte Homes and Richmond American are collaborating on another new neighborhood, Amado. New Amado homes are available in four different collections with prices starting the low 200's. Both communities offer their own resident only amenities as well.

Summerlin Luxury Homes

With prices finally stabilizing, it is not only investors that are looking for a bargain. The luxury real estate market has been hard hit, with prices dropping to levels not seen in the valley since the 90's. Luxury Summerlin real estate is available for a fraction of its original price. Summerlin has several luxury neighorhoods to choose from. For golf afficiandos, Tournament Hills homes are right on the TPC Summerlin golf course. There is also a similar community of homes, Eagle Hills. Eagle Hills real estate is also comprised of custom built homes in the Hills South village. The Ridges village offers nothing but luxury homes and one community of luxury townhomes by Toll Brothers. Fairway Hills townhomes are the only luxury town home community in Summerlin currently.

Prices are starting to creep back up slowly in the nicer areas of the valley. Thanks for stopping our Las Vegas real estate blog.

Bin Laden Dead

Today justice was done. President Obama held to a campaign promise and US forces killed Osama Bin Laden. Granted this is not a political blog, nor one that advocates violence....but I have to say WELL DONE.