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Las Vegas home sales soar
Reduction in prices sends up sales for single-family homes, condos and townhomes
Friday, May 8, 2009 | 9:58 a.m.
Sun Coverage
Driven by a whopping 40 percent reduction in prices, home sales soared in April in the Las Vegas area, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported today.
The Realtors said single-family home sales in April totaled 3,198 -- up 7.3 percent from 2,980 in March and up 78.3 percent from 1,794 sales in April 2008.
Condominium and townhome sales totaled 727. That’s up 20.4 percent from 604 such sales in March and up 242.9 percent from 212 one year ago.
The median price of a single-family home sold in the Las Vegas area decreased by 4.9 percent during the month, from $149,000 in March to $141,720 in April. This current median price is down 39.9 percent compared to $235,875 in April 2008.
"This is becoming a familiar refrain as we continue to track trends in the local housing market," GLVAR President Sue Naumann said in a statement. "With home prices dropping, more people are seeing this as a great time to buy a home here in Southern Nevada. As a result, our inventory of homes listed for sale is generally stable or declining, as it did in April."
Whether this news is good or not depends on your point of view, she added.
"Sellers obviously don’t want to see prices keep falling," Naumann said. "But buyers are taking advantage of historic bargains, with mortgage interest rates at an all-time low, and home prices now more affordable than they’ve been in a generation."
Naumann added that bank-owned (or so-called REO) properties are still dominating the market and driving down prices, accounting for about 80 percent of all existing home sales in Southern Nevada. She said this prompted GLVAR to create an REO work group to deal with this issue.
"Part of the solution to the problems that come with buying a foreclosed property is education – both for the public and for the members of GLVAR," she said. "We want to educate the public about what can be expected in an REO real estate transaction. Our top REO agents are helping us put together a brochure and other materials about the issues they face on a daily basis."
The association distributes such statistics each month based on data collected through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which does not necessarily account for new homes sold by local builders or for sale by owners.
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The good news is the government has made housing more affordable. The bad news is that it's your home that's more affordable.
Question for the editor. Must we endure the comments from neiman1? Certainly there must be a way to control his nonsense.
while i don't agree with some of his views, what is wrong with his comment? it is true, housing is more affordable, but at our expense. home values plummeted, helping buyers out while sellers are stuck
I disagree with meiman's silly little rants most of the time,but when we actually agree on something(very rarely) I get a kick out of it. Leave the little guy alone. This is probably his only outlet and contact with the outside world.
I do not like anyone assuming a fellow commentator (like neiman) to be a little fella, and or homebound, stuck to his keyboard, and ordering out daily for his food supply. Don't like it one bit.
Its good that the homes are selling. An ending to a sad story. I bought one last month myself. It will be interesting to see how loan modifications will effect the foreclosure rate.
jaesun - As usual neiman1 is in his standard monotone. Everything is the Democrats fault, in his mind. His comment is another extension of that opinion. Given his posting history, it is clearly implied.
Frankly, regardless of ones political beliefs, I will listen to what they have to say. neiman1 on the other hand, has no value whatsoever. I would not be surprised if LV4LIFE is correct.
Public spending was essential to creating jobs in the Great Depression. Look at these hundreds of billions now pouring in to everything. This economy will be turning around within months IMO -- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
I find it amusing that the GLVAR is putting together a brochure to help buyers of REOs. From firsthand experience in looking for and buying one, the GLVAR's time would be better spent overseeing the obvious lack of ethics and professionalism of the listing agents of the REOs.
Listing agents are the ones in TOTAL control of the whole process and are doing the most underhanded things regarding the REOs they represent. These agents are making money hand-over-fist, causing extreme amounts of work for prospective buyers, buyers' agents, and others as they laugh all the way to the bank.
A thorough investigation should be done. They are taking advantage of people, and believe me, more homes would be sold a lot faster if these agents and their brokers were regulated.
The Asset Manager of the bank-owned home I am buying is OUTRAGED at the behavior of the listing agent on the property...not to mention my agent's and my frustration regarding his time-wasting antics.
REO Buyer Beware: Listing Agents are the ones controlling the whole process ~ including who gets to see a new listing and when and then whose offer gets submitted to the bank and when!
Home prices are going continue to fall and RE agents and all other commission people are going screw you the buyer. Do your homework and contact the lender. I did just that and have purchased 4 places for 30 to 40 percent less than RE asking pricing and the over inflated appraisal provided on the homes listed. Arlington Ranch 300k condo 80k paid, Mirador 630k home paid 260k, Arlington Manor 420k home paid 165k, and Summerlin 1.4 mil home paid 410k.
Consumers keep in mind, if you're buying a tract home don't pay more than $80.00 square foot if new, foreclosed more like $55.00 to $65.00 square foot. Semi-Custom home which are Pardee larger homes, Toll Bothers, and a few others, no more than $110.00 square foot. You need to keep in mind that people who are paid commissions are always going to drive the price up higher, it is a conflict of interest and they're in the business to make money at any expense. It is about making money, limit their commission to fixed flat fee regardless of the price, fraud will go away.
If you are buying a home to rent, your rent needs to be one percent or more of the purchase price to break even or make money. I rent 3 of the four out and each one pencils for the pricing I paid, the original buyers, can't fix stupid.
Hi its2hot,
How do you go about to find out who's the lender? and who internally to contact? can one bypass the agent and deal directly with the bank?
I think renting at 1% or higher than the purchasing price is quite hard to achieve with all the investors out there bidding it up. However, if you discounted the 20%+ for downpayment, it's quite manageable. Here's what I meant. if you purchase the home for $150K, and down 30K, your rental income of 1100 would be a bit over all your expenses (PITI). It's almost impossible to rent out a $150K home for 1500/mo with all the gluts of rental properties out there, and now competing with lower apartment rents.
thanks in advance for your comment
Hi llking,
Signup on the bank websites and look for their foreclosures. Yes you can bypass the RE agent and deal directly with lender as I have and will continue to do so.
Go to:
http://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Ore...
http://bankofamerica.reo.com/search/prop...
Many more exists in the marketplace. By pass the RE and make the deal with the lender. If you use RE then pay them on the savings not sale price, they don't like this but who cares. I did make offers based cash sales with pre-arranged financing before I made any deal. I realized the savings and made the best deal for me as where the agents were telling me it would never occur. They have no desire t get the best deal; they're paid on revenue not savings. Use your local or whoever you choose and get pre-approved for an amount and enjoy the shopping, many deals exist and more to come with the moratorium being lifted and the free loaders are now getting booted.
Keep in mind that commission sales are just that, they're paid on total value, change the mindset of what you think and work in your best interest. Pay them on how much they save you, not what they cost you in their inflated revenues. For many years the industry has trained the consumer and lenders that the consumer pays on revenue, pay what it is worth to you, $50 SF, $60 SF and no more than that with the foreclosures heading upwards in the near distant future.
The lenders want these toxic assists off their books, they're in the business to make money not holding assets that cost money. It is the Brokers who are selling their services to the lenders that we'll get top dollar for the assets thus you're paying more. This is how the problem started and these very people have no desire to change their mindset, we are the consumer and we're doing being suckered by the very people that did this to America.
THAT toxic asset they are carrying on their books,,becomes alot more appealing when starting bid is low to create the hype,,then bank dismisses offers until starting bid of 174,900 becomes 201,900
ALSO buying a house at 50.00-60.00 a square foot like some are implying is a good deal,,if you purchase a 2000 sq ft home at 100,000 Are you kidding me,,these properties have no appliances,carpet,electrical generally not up to code,,infestations,etc. That 100,000 investment turns out to be 150-175,000 realistically,,which in turn makes the sq ft 75-80.00 estimate BUYER BEWARE w/ FIXER UPPERS
Buyer beware is correct. Don't be fooled with the RE agents, Appraisers, and Mortgage lenders. The cost per SF is a real number; keep in mind the original cost to build the house in the 1st place. The original selling price has no bearing on the value of the home or what the home value should be. I don't care what the neighbor paid and I don't care what a real estate appraiser says, they are just as guilty as the rest of the market that caused this financial disaster in the first place.
The industry has trained the consumer to work with appraisers who use comparables of recent sales to determine the value of the house being purchased. The appraisers and lenders then loan an amount based on the appraised value that uses comparables, this is where the problem begins and greed overtakes the system. The second the house is built the actual structure depreciates and the land appreciates. Buyers are trained to work with this system, show the depreciation of the house and then show the appreciation of the land. None of these houses in LV have appreciated in value at all, quite different, the houses are dropping because the system was broken and the industry got caught lying to us for years. Remeber TARP, why are banks broke and Wall Street broke? Cheating, Liars, and Crooks.
I've built two homes from the ground up, developed the lot, subcontracted out the structure and decorating and these cost less than $120.00 a square foot for The Street of Dreams homes as seen in Sunset Magazine. It is how one buys the materials and subcontracts that determine the cost per square foot and these homes in the Valley are the cheapest quality homes built and yet they sell for the highest price per square foot. Rest assured the builders are getting bulk pricing and the cost to them is cheap, they just retail out based on faulty appraisals and Real Estate Agents have no desire to reduce their commission, they have a conflict. Sell for the highest retail price possible so that the next house that comes on the market is priced higher, this is a vicious cycle.
Go along with the system that is broke or develop your own system that works for you. Money doesn't grow on trees and nobody buy you will look out for your best interest, especially when it comes to Real Estate Agents, Builders, Lenders, or any other business that relies solely on commission or higher pricing.
its2hot...
I tried contacting the lenders directly and was told they were not permitted to give me the name of the Asset Manager in charge of the property. The only person who knows the name of the Asset Manager for the bank is the listing agent. This has happened to me several times, with several banks.
Also, I was looking for a primary residence for myself, so I was more particular about the home and its amenities than I would have been on an investment property, so the homes that fit my criteria were not as plentiful. But, nonetheless, on each one of them that did, I was not given any information from the banks to be able to deal directly with them.
I was pre-approved by two lenders, had 20% down, etc., and could not get through to the asset manager at the bank that owned the properties, and I am a diligent researcher and do not give up when faced with such obstacles. However, this time it was the same brick wall over and over again. I learned quite a bit, especially from the kind person taking the phone calls for the asset manager...he clued me in and validated my frustrations about the listing agents.
The listing agents are in control of the whole process...just as greedy as the Wall Street sub-prime scammers.
Transplanted:
Send me your email to cat6575yr@yahoo.com and I'll send you the information Monday when I get into LV.
Boo Hoo to the sellers - where was the same concern for buyers a few years back when sellers were raping them with their over-inflated prices? What goes around comes around - sometimes it's the seller who comes out on top and sometimes it's the buyer. If the sellers don't like the lower price their home is now commanding then shut up, pay your monthly mortgage, and wait for the market to turn - it will eventually level out and become more reasonable for both buyers and sellers.
Read a 2005 article on land the developer purchased from BLM, we can't fix stupid. They're broke, can't pay their bills, and are being forclosed on by lenders and banks. BLM made a billions in land sales in Clark County alone. My question, where did the Feds put this money?
May. 12, 2005
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
Moving toward the mountain
New master-planned community in Southwest already a best seller
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
May 12, 2005
Camie Tra removes makeshift curtains from her son's new home Wednesday at the Monterey Manor subdivision inside Mountain's Edge.
Camie Tra saturates newly set concrete outside her son's Mountain's Edge home Wednesday.
Bryant Jane, a 27-year-old Las Vegas native, has witnessed the growth of master-planned communities throughout the valley, from Summerlin and Green Valley to Anthem and Aliante.
After living at The Lakes for about a year, he chose to buy into the newest development, Mountain's Edge, in the extreme southwest Las Vegas Valley.
"For one, the value of the homes are nice," said Jane, who purchased a 1,900-square-foot home in D.R. Horton's Monterey Manor subdivision for $385,000. "I liked The Lakes a lot. I just like Mountain's Edge and the separation from Las Vegas, being on the outskirts of the city."
He's among the first residents to move into the 3,000-acre community being developed by Focus Property Group off Blue Diamond Road and Buffalo Drive. Some 12,000 residential units are planned in 71 subdivisions of single-family detached and multifamily homes.
More than 20 home builders have purchased lots at Mountain's Edge and 11 have product for sale. Fifteen homes have closed escrow.
"I love it," said Camie Tra, who's living with one of her sons in the new community. "It's far away from everything. The air is so clean and it's close to the mountain. It's very peaceful."
Focus Chief Executive Officer John Ritter began assembling the land for Mountain's Edge in 1997 and acquired the key piece to his puzzle when he paid $160 million for nearly 1,000 acres at the Bureau of Land Management public auction in November 2002. Focus put another $160 million into infrastructure work.
More than 500 acres in the community are dedicated for public facilities, including a 300-acre regional park, and 500 acres for rural neighborhood preservation.
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Page 2 of 2
With 900 homes sold in three months, Mountain's Edge has overtaken Summerlin as the top-selling master-planned community in Las Vegas, Ritter said.
"The market response has been excellent," he said Wednesday on his way to New York, where he'll talk to bankers about financing Focus' other developments. "We built a drought-tolerant community and the public's response has been fantastic."
Focus also purchased 485 acres from the BLM in the northwest valley for $113.5 million in 2003, 1,940 acres in Henderson for $557 million last year and 1,710 acres near Kyle Canyon for $510 million in February.
Xenon Mallari, 23, said he was attracted to the newness of Mountain's Edge.
"I wanted to try to be the first (resident) and fortunately I was," he said. "I was mostly looking at new homes in the southwest. Prices are a little too high in Henderson. It was almost $100,000 more for the same model."
There are disadvantages of buying into a community in its infancy. It's a long drive to the nearest restaurant and grocery store. Many of the roads are still under construction and traffic can be bumper-to-bumper on Blue Diamond Road from Rainbow Boulevard to Interstate 15.
"It's not that bad, unless you get stopped by the train or you get behind construction workers in the afternoon," Jane said. "It depends on the time of day. It's no worse than Decatur (Boulevard) and Sahara (Avenue) or the Strip."
Mountain's Edge will be home to about 30,000 residents upon build-out in 2012, Ritter said.
Hi Its2hot,
Do you think you can help me out as well in terms of locating the Asset Manager if I do find a decent REO? Can I shoot you an email?
llking
Hello its2hot:
I am interested in the info as well.. I'm sure you don't want you inbox flooded with emails. If you're not wanting to post the info in this threat, would it be OK for me to email you for this info as well? I would appreciate it.
I see. It's everyone elses' fault. Sounds like its2hot (and others of course) are trying to... guess what... buy low, make money renting, and then ...guess what... will want to sell and make a killing. I am certain there is no greed factor there. I really don't care one way or the other, but doesn't it "take one to know one"? Oh, and save your vitriolic responses, you will only validate my point.