Las Vegas Home Prices Plummet to Lowest Level Since Fall 2001

The good news is that demand for Las Vegas homes jumped in March, but the bad news is that prices dropped to the lowest level since fall 2001. Bad news for sellers.

In March, 2,980 homes sold, a 30 percent increase over February and 102 percent jump over March 2008, according to the group. Bank sales accounted for three out of every four sales.

In March, $515 million worth of homes sold, a 22 percent increase over February and 14 percent increase over March 2008.

Foreclosures account for roughly 80 percent of homes sales in Las Vegas as investors have returned to the market to snap up deals.

With the high number of foreclosures plus the dropping cost of homes has created a buyer's market with bidding wars especially in homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000. It is not uncommon to see 10,15 or even 20 offers on a single bank owned home.

What this chart shows is that the banks are listing homes at prices to sell. With an $8000.00 tax credit for first time home buyers & interest rates between 4.59%-5.00% just adds rocket fuel the home buying fire.

If the house is upgraded with wood floors, granite counters, new carpet & paint, pool, large lot or gated community, it is receiving multiple offers and off the market in less than 30 DAYS!!!

Contact Stuart Shienfeld to discuss how you can take advantage of this GREAT BUYERS MARKET!!!

Las Vegas Bank Owned Homes

The government recently approved a First Time Buyer Tax Credit, up to $8000, that does not require repayment if the borrower resides in and maintains ownership of the property for at least three years. This will help pave the way for the housing market recovery in Las Vegas says, realtor Stuart Shienfeld.

President Barack Obama’s plan calls for $75 billion to help up to 4 million at-risk homeowners. Companies that collect mortgages will be paid $1,000 for every interest rate cut to make the payment no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s income. The government will split the cost of lowering payments to 31 percent and both lenders and borrowers will be paid $1,000 a year for keeping loans current.

Mortgage Rates Drop Below 5%
Freddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.98 percent during the week ended March 19 from 5.03 percent the prior year, marking the lowest rate since 4.96 percent in mid-January.

Experts say rates could fall further in response to the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will add $1.2 trillion to the economy to alleviate the credit crisis.

A total of 6,388 new movers came to Nevada in January. Existing home sales experienced a 72% increase in January over the prior year with 2,737 resales, while new home closings were off 66% at 284. Resale inventory hit its lowest level since September with 20,673 properties listed, or an 8.6 month supply.

Las Vegas home sales more than doubled in February from the same month a year ago, although median home prices continue to sink as foreclosures dominate the market

With bank-owned properties accounting for about 75% of sales, foreclosures are still forcing home prices to fall, Stuart Shienfeld says

Buyers Gobble up Las Vegas REO’s

The Las Vegas housing market is chewing through excess inventory of foreclosures, which now account for about 80 percent of resale homes.
The inventory of single-family home listings dropped sharply from 23,803 in January to 20,623 in August. The average Days on the Market went from 93 to 62 days during the same time frame.
The population of Clark County is still growing at a furious pace. In 2007, the population was at a cool 2,000,000, now it is estimated at 2,075,000 that is an increase of 6,250 people a month moving to the valley. Stuart Sheinfeld, Realtor in Las Vegas noted “With bank owned homes going for as little as $50/sq ft this makes a great time for 1st time homeowners and investors to get back in the market.” Especially when there is so much lending uncertainty on the horizon
The estimated current housing supply is at 7.3 months
When buying a REO or bank owned home here are a few things to know:
1. Property is being conveyed “AS IS/WHERE IS” condition. There will be no warranties, expressed or implied as to the condition of the property. Seller’s limits of liability to make any repairs to the property will be zero ($0). Seller will most likely not complete or compensate for any repairs.
2. Since Seller(s) do not have the means to provide HOA Association documentation, Buyer(s) are responsible for ordering & paying for the HOA documents; should a fee exist, to satisfy any and all due diligences per the CCR’s requirements to purchase a property in an association.
3. The actual selling price of this transaction will be determined upon getting an acceptable “net proceeds” required notification from the Seller’s Lender(s) and adding the Lenders acceptable costs to that bottom line.
4. The Lenders provided closing date is firm. There will be a monetary increase placed on the Buyers to compensate for additional interest or fees incurred by the Lender(s) for closing after the required date. REO’s are time sensitive and agents must understand that extensions are usually not honored by loss mitigation departments.
5. The Lender(s) may decide not to pay for Buyer’s Appraisal, Home Warranty or other “Buyers Closing Costs.”
6. Any required upfront payments will be paid for by the Buyer(s).
Most of all the list price is not always the price the bank is willing to accept. If the home is turn-key then you can bet there will be multiple offers and most likely be bought for as much as 120% of list price.
More info go to http://www.elitevegasrealestate.com

Short Sale Frustration

Purchasing a short sale property which requires the seller’s lender approval is very complex situation. Even if you are working with the seller, however, the lender must approve the final numbers. We are asking them to accept less than what may be currently owed to them on the property.

If you submit an offer on a short sale property they usually should be submitted to the bank as they come in. This is not always the case since some real estate agents wait to submit groups of offers at once. This can delay an offer for at least a week to 10 days. Once it is submitted, it will take at a minimum 30-90 days to get a response, all depending on the institution that holds the note. Hopefully the seller has received approval for the short sale. If not, this process will take at least 45 days longer. You will need patience with this process!!!

Short sales, may change in the negotiation process in getting a final approval for the sale. The buyer will most likely have to pay for any reports, inspections &/or repair items. The buyer may be responsible for ordering & paying for the HOA documents; should a fee exist, to satisfy any and all due diligences per the CCR’s requirements to purchase a property in an association.

The lenders provided closing date is firm. The actual selling price of this transaction will be determined upon getting an acceptable “net proceeds” required notification from the seller’s lender and adding the lenders acceptable costs to that bottom line.

Short sales are time sensitive and agents must understand that extensions are usually not honored by loss mitigation departments; especially if there is a bank sale date scheduled.

Short sales can be a very frustrating transaction for most buyers. You may fall in love with a property and submit a generous offer on it compared to the comps in the area and still not get it. The worst part is not knowing for months if your offer was accepted or not and not even getting a chance to submit a counter-offer.

I always explain this scenario to my clients. With the numbers showing that foreclosures have doubled in Las Vegas from a year ago and the next wave of adjustable-rate mortgage resets could deepen the misery for an already severely depressed housing market. Almost 1.5 million loans, representing more than 40% of the outstanding loans of subprime ARMs, are scheduled to reset this year, according to the Federal Reserve.

For more information on short sales, foreclosures, reo’s, & Las Vegas real estate contact Stuart Sheinfeld at www.elitevegasrealestate.com

Las Vegas Housing Market. Bottom Yet?

I am Stuart Sheinfeld a realtor in Las Vegas. With the increase of short sales, foreclosures, oil prices, unemployment and the decreasing of the US dollar; when will we start to see a turn in this slumping economy?

New-home sales in Las Vegas have been consistently low over the past six months and appear to have possibly reached the bottom of this dreaded bear market.

There were 922 recorded escrow closings for new homes in June, bringing the total for the first half of the year to 5,747, a 45.1 percent decrease from a year ago.

Taking out 114 high-rise and mid-rise condos and 31 apartment conversions, sales of traditional single-family detached homes totaled 777, the sixth straight month under 1,000. The high mark of 3,233 came in June 2006.

Is this flat trend in new-home closing going to continue through 2009?

The median price of all new-home products sold in June was $269,900, a decline of $54,000, or 16.7 percent, from the same month a year ago. ".

New-home permits increased for the fourth straight month to 884 in June, but the year-to-date total is down 61 percent to 5,653.

Resale activity is picking up, topping 2,000 for the third consecutive month and increasing for the sixth straight month to 2,731 in June. The 12,500 existing-home sales through the first six months is down 15.9 percent from a year ago.

About 65 percent of resale closings in June were real estate-owned or bank-owned homes, according to data from the Multiple Listing Service.

About 26 percent of available inventory in Las Vegas, or 5,800 units, are listed as short sales. Short sales must be approved by the bank; they can take up to six months to close escrow. Sellers must prove financial hardship from unforeseen circumstances such as divorce, illness or loss of employment.

The median resale price in June was $218,000, a decline of $62,000, or 22.2 percent, from a year ago.

With 15 stalled or canceled commercial projects littering the Vegas valley, this takes a lot of unnecessary inventory off the market. Can this help our slumping market?

For more information on the Las Vegas real estate mark please contact Stuart Sheinfeld at www.elitevegasrealestate.com

SLOW CLOSINGS ON HI-RISES IN LAS VEGAS

Selling high-rise condominiums in Las Vegas and closing escrow on them are separate challenges in today’s economy.

Of 2,558 units that opened escrow this year in projects of 50 or more units, 77 percent are still in escrow. Of 3,095 units in this category that opened escrow in 2007, a third are still in escrow.

Trump International has effectively sold out because almost all units are held with deposits by prospective owners, brokers say. There are fewer than 20 percent closed of the 1,282 units since the escrow process began in February

Turnberry Towers, which began closing units in July 2007, has closed escrow on roughly 84 percent of units. The second tower, where closings began in April, has closed on about 17 percent of units. 100 of the 599 condo-hotel units at Palms Place were purchased outright with cash.

Mortgage lenders nationwide are requiring larger down payments, which could mean forking over an extra $50,000 or $100,000. And nervous banks are attempting to reconcile appraisals lower than what the properties were worth earlier appraisals, when the buyers signed their pre-slump sales contracts.

The slowdown in real estate sales has been magnified in Las Vegas, where condo-building hype and official reports suggested a far greater boom than what occurred.

As the condo-building craze started when 90,000 condo units were announced — and most never moved beyond news releases and Web sites. Some developers opened sales offices and sold units to try to secure financing. Most that received financing were canceled when banks tightened credit requirements.

The Las Vegas Valley has roughly 10,000 condo and condo-hotel units in projects with more than 50 units. An additional 8,100 are under construction or nearly complete, with more than 6,200 of those units destined for the Strip.

There will be a decline in new high-rise construction on or near the Strip because land, labor and construction prices continue to rise during this slump. Of the 15 existing and under-construction high-rise residential towers on the Strip in the next few years, Turnberry will have built nine.

For more information on the Las Vegas condo market contact Stuart Sheinfeld www.elitevegasrealestate.com

Its a Buyers Market in Las Vegas

It is nearly impossible to have a real estate bust in a city of 1.8 million people and in which 60,000 jobs will be created this year.

Don't expect Las Vegas to be hit hard by the real estate downturn, especially with 7,000 new arrivals a month.

Las Vegas has the fifth-largest school district in the country and the most active new-business industry in the nation. For the thousands of people who arrive here every month, it's a place to start or to start over. And they'll all need a roof over their heads.

Las Vegas offers great job opportunities, affordable housing from single family residential to luxury highrise condos, investment opportunities, the finest five-star restaurants and great schools.

Las Vegas is one of those places that always seem to be expanding — and usually with plenty of fanfare. In the last couple of years a number of high-rise condominium projects have been announced for the Strip and up and a revitalized Downtown

Home Size in Las Vegas has increased in the last six years.

Year	Single-family home average square feet	Town home-condominium average square feet
2000	2,079	1,247
2001	2,151	1,275
2002	2,171	1,313
2003	2,158	1,321
2004	2,131	1,228
2005	2,143	1,243
2006	2,249	1,328

Las Vegas struggled a bit in 2006 after a couple years of 40 percent and 50 percent appreciation. The national median home price is $221,000, and Las Vegas is at $328,000

If you think Las Vegas' housing construction is in the dumps you need to look around, there are approximately 550 active subdivisions in the valley.

TOP 10-SELLING SUBDIVISIONS Subdivision Sales Average price

MGM Grand Residences 979 $593,192 Sun City Anthem 856 $401,224 Solera 492 $277,208 Bella Vita 474 $167,156 Sun City Aliante 407 $292,045 Residences at Canyon Gate 388 $195,086 Manhattan 295 $333,189 Flamingo Palms Villas 294 $337,604 Solera at Stallion Mountain 289 $264,874 Meridian 279 $522,776 SOURCE: SalesTraq

In my opinion we saw the market shift into a healthier and more stable market. The market is yielding more consistent home values. Since the growth fundamentals have not shifted and population growth continues in Las Vegas, I am still very bullish on the future outlook of the Las Vegas real estate market.

Although several projects have been canceled or delayed, the high-rise market remains strong with units ranging from $400 - $1200 a sqft.

This is a great time to purchase a home in Las Vegas. Sellers are adjusting to our market conditions and prices are adjusting in the buyers favor. For buyers that want a new home, the builders are offering great incentives. Such as 20K-50K in designer upgrades, no HOA dues for 1-2 yrs, and amazingly no mortgage payments for up to 2 yrs.

Las Vegas has strong growth and a great job market. Compared to most highly desirable areas in the country you can purchase a home in a wonderful area for a reasonable price.

We can assure you that if you're a buyer, it's a fantastic opportunity to buy at a low price. And, the Las Vegas economy is still booming.

If you are a long term investor, Las Vegas has more homes in foreclosure than any other market in the US. There are 2,100 homes in a phase of foreclosure at any given time.

For more updated information on the Las Vegas Real Estate Market go to: www.elitevegasrealestate.com