A recent article in the Las Vegas Review Journal  saying a national study puts Las Vegas near the bottom at 18.8% below market value. 

Housing economist are not surprised at the drop of property values in Las Vegas in 2008.  “it is common for markets that enjoyed steep rises in values as Las Vegas did in the third quarter of 2006 (30.8% in some areas) to see steep drops on the down side.”

I remember those days because I work mostly with buyers and you could set an appointment to see a home only to be called a few hours later to tell you that an offer had been accepted.  Once it happened when I was on the way to pick up my clients.  It was not a fun time to sell real estate in Las Vegas.

According to Richard DeKaser a cheif economist for National City, inflated prices bring out over building and speculative investments.  I can tell you the builders, all of them were holding lotteries at new communities and and new releases within a community.  People would wait in line for hours to get their names on the list.  Real Estate agents were standing in line for their out of state investors.  Bidding wars on resale homes were out of control.  It got to the point where listing agents were saying they would only accept contracts on certain dates at certain times and then it was closed.

A bright spot in this report is National Cities internal numbers tell them the devaluation of 2008 should slow way down in 2009.  The companies economists predict that Las Vegas will bottom out in early 2010.  These predictions conclude that only another drop of about 5% will take place over the next 15 months.  That on top of the 30% it has already dropped in 2007 and 2008.  Still that is almost pointing to the bottom.  That is good news for Las Vegas homeowners.

No matter what National Headlines say when it comes down to Real Estate it is all local.  Las Vegas has been very hard hit with Foreclosures.  One of the highest in the nation.  However there are so many fantastic buys right now.  There are programs forming for first time home buyers.  There are incredible bargains for investors.

Finding out an accurate read on property values right now is more of an art than science.  It is easier to establish value if you live in a development where all of the houses are similar to get a good reading on the current market.

If you have found a specific house you want to know the value of, a good Real Estate Professional could provide that information for you in the way of a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis).  The real estate and financial markets change so fast.

There was another article this week in the business section of the Las Vegas Review Journal.  The headlines read Analyst see Las Vegas home prices near bottom.  It goes on to say that Las Vegas may be among the first markets to emerge from the  housing slump.  You can read the whole Las Vegas Review Journal article.

If you are putting off investing in Las Vegas, waiting to see what is going to happen NOW is the time to jump on board.

When you first moved into your home and were getting unpacked all this mail started arriving that pointed to water softeners and other such stuff.  There were also a lot of flyer’s sent telling you to SIGN UP FOR YOUR HOMESTEAD Exemption BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

In today’s economic times a Homestead exemption is a very good thing to have.  It can prevent creditors for forcing the sale of you Primary residence.  It also protects up to $550,000 on your home that you live in full time.

There is some confusion on homestead.  It does not protect you from all types of bill collectors.  There is also no time limit on when you can file.  You also do not need anyone to do it for you.  It is a simple procedure and a one page document that you can file with Clark County yourself.

Homestead can not protect you from Foreclosure, Federal Tax Liens,mechanics liens for home improvements, child support or alimony, or monies owed to The US Department of Health and Human Services for medicare expenses.

For other medical expenses, credit card debts, business and personal loans or accident liabilities, a homestead could keep you in your home.

To File:

Get you property information:  You have to have you parcel number and that can be found on the assessors site under Real Property Record Search.

Get The Form: You can pick one up at the assessors office or you can download it from the assessors site.

Keep Your Copy Clean use black ink and stay inside the margins follow there rules or they could charge you an extra $25.00 on top of the $14.00 fee.  (aren’t you glad in first grade they taught you to stay within the lines?)

Get It Notorized

Submit the Paperwork You can take it down to the office at 500 So Grand Central Parkway.  You take it to the Clark County Recorders office.  They are located on the second floor and are open from 8-5 Monday-Friday.  Their phone number is (702) 455-4336.  I mailed mine in and it was fine it got recorded and sent back with confirmation.

Do It Again When anything changes on your title including a refinance.  Thats the one that people seem to forget and there was a whole lot of refinancing going on when the prices were going up.  You also need to refile if you add or drop a name, get married, get divorced, or change your name.

It is definitaly worth doing, just an added protection to homeownership and the American dream.

Wachovia Corp which is being acquired by Wells Fargo is suing 6 home builders for failed Nevada developments.  The builders being sued are KB Homes, Toll Brothers, Lennar Corp, Pulte, Meritage Homes and the Ryland Group.

Wachovia said, ” Focus Kyle land developers and eight home builders (2 of which were not sued) defaulted on guarantees to a develop a planned community in Las Vegas.”

The development which was to be called Kyle Canyon Gateway with 16,000 homes on 1,710 acres.  It was to include parks, a pedestrian plaza, with miles of trails, paths, and walkways.  This according to Commercial Property Magazine.

Focus Group has come under financial distress with other master-planned communities in Las Vegas, including Mountains Edge, Inspirada, and Providence.  Citing un-precedented market volatility and disruption in the financial system over the past 60 days and especially the last two weeks.

None of the homebuilders had comments or did not return phone calls.

Down payment assistance is still available to first time homebuyers.  When the Nehemaih program went way HUGS kicked in as of September.  HUGS started last Jan. and stands for Help Us Give To Our Schools.  It was a program set up for Clark County District Emplyee’s.  But as of Sep. it is open to all first time home buyers. 

Hugs will provide between $2,000 and $12,000 towards downpayments or closing costs.  The homebuyer must work with a HUGS foundation mortgage agent.  Combined income for families can not exceed $82,500 and $41,000 for singles.  They also can not have over $15,000 in liquid assets.  The buyer must also contribute at least 1% of their own funds and attend one of HUGS seminars.  They also must live in the home for at least three years.

For more information visit www.hugsfoundation.com

I read an article this morning from some real estate advisers.  They say that the confidence of the American people is in the toilet.  They say the 700 billion dollar bailout is positive and is not a quick fix, that it will take months and months.

  What I did object to them saying is ” The bailout is like a parent comforting his child after a bad dream.”  I don’t know how you feel but I do not look at the government as my parent.  WE are suppose to be the government.  I would call that incest.

Something they said I did like was ” Las Vegas needs to get back to the fundamentals that brought people to Las vegas in the first place.  Jobs and affordable housing.”  That I agree with, the out of control housing market of the 2004-2006 was awful.  Every time a first time home buyer was priced out of the market I hated it even more.

Let me know how you feel about the Las Vegas Market right now?  Are you thinking of buying but holding off till you are sure that prices are not going to fall anymore?  Are you looking for the bottom of the market and will jump on just as the upswing starts?

The luxury real estate market is usually immune to the woes of the economy.  That is changing somewhat in the Las Vegas market.  Luxury real estate is defined as $1million dollars or more.  Las vegas with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation right now has had 87 properties become bank owned this year.

Many high end buyers are locked out of the market because they are unable to get financing.  Buyers that would move up in to a more expensive home are out of the market because they can not sell their present homes.

Foreclosure experts say that bank owned properties comprise 32% of the Las Vegas market but also account for 2,200 pending sales.  Short term there is no doubt the forclosure outlook is grim but longer term there is promising news, “foreclosures tend to peak well after the housing market has bottomed out, which may be forming as we speak.”  This was from Alexis McGee of Foreclosure.com.

Bright news over this last weekend a luxury home sold for  $11.3 million an all cash deal.  Things are looking up.

Real Estate is Still the Best

I was watching the news the other night and they had some financial strategist on talking about wealth building.  The conclusion was real estate is still your best long term investment.  With all of the news about the economy and bad loans and foreclosures, I was glad to see this statement made on air.  The newscasters then had a mortgage broker on talking about getting loans.  There are still loans out there!  The old truths still apply, find your Realtor® (notice I said Realtor® because if an agent is allowed to use Realtor® they belong to The National Association of Realtors® and adhere to a strict code of ethic’s, it is good to ask your agent if they are a member.)  After finding that perfect agent you feel comfortable with, they will define with you your wants and needs.  Then you will go and see a mortgage  person and again shop around and get your best deal and someone you feel comfortable with.  They will work with you to get a pre-approval.  If you have a few problems that need to be cleared up or not quite enough money for closing costs and down payment the lender and the agent should be able to give you help with working out a plan and a time table.  So what if it takes 6 months to a year?  Any agent worth their salt will be right there every step of the way:)  If you are looking to buy in Las Vegas please give me a call.

Investors are another story, a friend of mine Sandy Wright wrote these tips and has given me permission to use them.  There are some good tips here:

Here are some interesting facts and tips on building wealth through Real Estate. Even in these uncertain economic times, real estate is STILL one of the best investments!
Real Estate 411 - TIPS
Can the average person really build wealth with real estate?
TIP: Utilize a long-term growth strategy
TIP: Buy then sell to make a quick profit
TIP: Hold properties over a long period of time
TIP: Never run out of money! Spend less and save more
There have been more millionaires made through real estate than through any other wealth building medium anywhere in the world. It is based on one simple premise. That premise is the cost of land which appreciates through time. You cannot build more of it because there is a finite amount of it. As the demand for the land increases, so does its value. The world population is growing by leaps and bounds and people need places to live. As cities grow, land gets developed; the infrastructure built around it raises the value of the land a great deal because of its increased utility. The location of plot of land and the building situated on it also increase in value due to the demand.
Can an average person do this? The answer is yes. What do you have to do?
1. You must work to have an income
2. You must keep that income
3. You must put savings program on cruise control, in other words,
make your money, make money
Some choose to utilize a long term growth strategy by buying single family and multi-unit properties, renting them out and letting them appreciate thru time.
Others prefer to buy and sell to make a quick profit and then repeat the process over again. This strategy works on the basis of finding properties below their market value and selling them at market value for a profit. A variation of this is to buy properties and make improvements on the building or land and then sell at a higher value. Or you can hold properties over a long period of time and watch your investment grow!

Las Vegas is Having A Real Estate Sale

From Oct. 10th- Oct 26th 2008 Las Vegas is going to be on sale for 5% less than list price.   Participating sellers will reduce the price on their home by 5%.
Homes throughout Southern Nevada will be discounted for this three week period.  It is an unprecedented sale in the history of selling Real Estate in Las Vegas.
How do you find these special homes?  You can check with your Realtor, there will be special Fall Spectacular Sale in the listing sign, also these houses will be advertised in the Las Vegas Review Journal.
This is a great time to buy Las Vegas Real Estate!  Happy House Hunting.