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twitterReport: Vegas tops list of cities where home prices at bottom
Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 | 3:28 p.m.
The end could be in sight for the housing recession in Las Vegas and across the country.
That's according to Forbes magazine, which earlier this month ranked the valley's housing market No. 1 in the country in a list of cities where home prices likely have hit bottom.
Those trying to sell their homes are now shying away from aggressive price cuts. On Jan. 1 in Las Vegas, 54 percent of homes listed had gone through a price reduction; nine months later, by Sept. 11, that number had dropped to 30 percent, according to the magazine's statistics.
Forbes looked at 20 major U.S. housing markets and said the percentage of homes with price reductions is down. Forbes used data from Altos Research and determined that 39 percent of homes for sale nationwide have had their prices reduced -- which is a drop of 6 percentage points from January.
"That the number of for-sale homes with startling cuts has dropped is a sign that the real estate market may soon reverse its downward slide," Forbes said.
The magazine said although the numbers are still high both in Las Vegas and nationwide, the reduction in price cuts indicates buyer demand is on the rise and is beginning to align with the excess of supply that resulted from the building boom earlier this decade.
Forbes cited a prediction from Moody's Economy.com indicating that home prices in Las Vegas will have risen by 3.53 percent five years from now.
"A modest but presentable Vegas two-bedroom is going for a song at $65,000 -- 55.8% less than its original quote," Forbes said.
There's still plenty of lingering bad news. In August, despite a decrease in residential foreclosure activity in Las Vegas, the market was at the top of RealtyTrac's foreclosure list. And the jobless rate in the Las Vegas area reached a record 13.4 percent last month, with an estimated 135,100 workers unemployed (up from 13.1 percent in July).
Forbes cited the $8,000 first-time homebuyers' tax credit as a reason for the positive uptick and warned that if it isn't renewed later this year, demand could drop again.
No. 2 on Forbes' list was Phoenix, followed by No. 3 San Diego.
Discussion: 17 comments so far…
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Forbes cited a prediction from Moody's Economy.com indicating that home prices in Las Vegas will have risen by 3.53 percent five years from now.
So, if your house bottomed out at let's say $125,000 for a house that originally was $300,000, 3.53 percent is no big deal! What is that, about $3500? Am I understanding this correctly?
I think this is the sixth month in a row where this paper has tried to convince people things are getting better and now is the time to buy. Aren't the construction workers all about to get laid off?
This report is just another prediction from another so-called "expert."
There will be many more home price bottoms, and there will be many more reports and predictions to follow.
Don't believe the hype.
Las Vegas housing market is nowhere near a bottom. Just wait "til the commercial mortgage market begins to unwind. You ain't seen nuttin' yet...
I too tire of the monthly rebound predictions from both the Sun and RJ. I think the bottom is close but we won't find it until the pent-up foreclosures are marketed and sold.
What I don't believe is that there will ever be a "rebound" as people imagine it. We're looking at 20-30 years to return to '05 prices. Once the bottom hits, we'll be scraping along it for a decade. Remember, they laughed at Shiller and Schiff during the boom. At least one "expert" is right, but only time will tell.
It likely has hit some sort of bottom for the lower end; just ask anyone who's trying to get an offer accepted on a bank repo at 150K or less. Multiple offers and bidding wars just like 2005. It's the higher priced properties that are continuing to collapse in value.
The lenders have hired special Wall Street "pump and dump" experts to slowly release the 30,000 shadow inventory homes back into the market. These houses will be sold slowly so as to minimize price reduction. REO brokers have already been told that they will be needed for the next 5 to 10 years. And yes, commercial foreclosures will cripple the market.
another scam at work; buy now before its too late! the banks are hyped up so they can get rid of their foreclosed inventory that they held back on. yippeee, happy days are here again!
Everythjng I see points to a bottom soon. That said, Las Vegas has had historical, pre-2004 annual appreciation rates of 3-5%. If you bought at the top of the frenzy without doing your homework ... Oops!
same old crap for the past year and a half...
things are bottoming...
now is the time to buy...
yada yada yada...
what a joke...
bottom line...
foreclosures are still thru the roof...
unemployment is off the charts...
the damn real estate market ain't going no where...
period...
end of story!!!
I can only comment on the Summerlin area. I bought recently. I was under no pressure to buy, so I could take my time.
In the Summerlin area,the market did indeed firm up starting in late Spring. People were desperate to sell at the beginning of the year, but by June, you were in a bidding war. Prices were way down from a few years ago, but up from the beginning of the year.
In order to get the house you wanted, you had to be right on top of the market, because houses were going in the first week they were listed.
Perhaps it was foreign investors who were driving the Summerlin market. At the open houses I went to, the majority of other potential buyers were foreign language speakers.
Anyway, I did get a new house that I love, at a good price, but nobody is giving away houses in Summerlin.
YMMV
they might be at the bottom now but recovery is a long way away as more people will continue to walk from bad debt. hey, at least all the big lenders got our tax dollars to pay themselves nice bonuses. what a scam.
HEY BIRDIEDREAMIN.....
You are wrong, THERE WILL BE A BIG TURN-AROUND and the jobs and homes prices will shoot up.....1% per year
You just have to wait till the year 2041
I predict that in the year 2041:
1) the City Center will FINALLY be 63% sold
2) Housing will surge to an average of $131,000 for a 4/3 house
3) The blue building will be rented to Macy's dept Store warehouse
Things are looking up for all you poor guys that live in Vegas
Boomer, Argentina
I forgot, the PRECISE DATA about previous comments, come from
LV state gov:
www.growthLV2041.gov
Are you dorks really going to the above website?
no