What is Happening in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Clark County Real Estate?

Let’s take a look at what’s going on in Las Vegas and Clark County. You might be surprised at how things are really going. You may even be surprised at where in Las Vegas everyone is moving to, we are.

Updated for June ’06: New Home Sales are up 11.9%. This is largely due to the sometimes-massive incentives being offered out to homebuyers.

Resale Home Sales are down 18.6%. This too is partly due to the tough competition from the new home sellers. The other factor, we think, is that many resale homeowners and their real estate agents are still overpricing these homes for the type of market that we are in. It is not the time or place to try and tell the market what your house is worth. The market will set your price for you. Be reasonable and adjust your thinking, we are not 2 years ago or even 1 year ago.

New Home Median Prices are up 16.8% to $328,702. That’s fine because that will only drive up your home prices. The new homebuilders really are a driving force in the appreciation in this Las Vegas market. They do not want to upset their buyers by lowering their prices below what they paid for them so what the home builders do is raise the price but offer greater incentives because they know that the house isn’t really worth what they are asking for it.

Resale Median Home Prices are up 5.8% to $285,000. That’s what happens when 4,000–7,000 net people move into your city every month. Resale home have a special feel to a lot of people who move to Las Vegas as well.

As of June ’06, Clark County population is 1.81million.

You might be interested where the “Hot” areas of Las Vegas are:

• 37.01% of people are moving to North West Las Vegas
• 34.34% are moving out to the South East Las Vegas/Henderson
• 14.53% are moving to the South West Las Vegas
• 7.16% are moving to North Las Vegas
• 6.96% are moving to the North East

As always, we are affirm that Las Vegas is #1 on our list of places to live. With people form all over the world moving to Las Vegas you can’t loose. Contact us to be your Real Estate Agents so that you know you are getting the best and brightest in the industry. We will help you sell or buy your home and your goals will be realized.

North Las Vegas, 2nd Fastest Growing in the Nation

A few days ago the National Census Bureau announced the 5 fastest growing cities in the nation. What does this mean to Las Vegans? Well, it means that Las Vegas is still right there at the top. Surprisingly the incorporated city of Las Vegas was not as high as it has been in the past. From 7/1/04 to 7/01/05 Las Vegas has fallen from the number 1 fastest growing city to the 42nd fastest growing city in the nation growing around 11,000 people or 1.99%. Henderson came in at 10th with a growth in the ballpark of 8,000 residents or a 3.39% growth in population. N. Las Vegas came in at an astounding 2nd place of the nations fastest growing cities. N. Las Vegas increased its population by 18,000 people or in percentages 11.41%.

As we can see, Las Vegas and its surrounding areas are still doing very well. The growing populations and the softening but yet strong, not busting, housing market has stumped our ever “neigh saying” critics in their tracks. What can you expect when your unemployment is the lowest in the nation and you have 60 or more businesses moving to Las Vegas each year and you're running out of land to develop. All of these things say to me, “ This is a GREAT market to be in!” Talk about stability and consistency, that’s what Las Vegas has been all about for the past 20 years.

As more attractions and wonderful communities are continuing to be built you are going to be amazed at how steady and rock solid the Las Vegas market is going to be. Speaking of rock solid, look at North Las Vegas. There is no wonder why North Las Vegas is the 2nd fastest growing city in the America. North Las Vegas provides some of the best home prices in the Valley, Aliante, one of the largest and most beautiful master planned communities in the state of Nevada, coupled with the upcoming attractions in the Northwest, North Las Vegas is the epitome of comfort living and convenient location.

Now is the time to take advantage of the affordable house prices of North Las Vegas because as soon as the planned casinos, shopping, malls, the Disney themed park as well as other great parks, and the great golf courses are up and running you probably won’t find a spot available not to mention the prices of the homes.

Just take this as a general suggestion for the “Now” about the whole Las Vegas Valley, “Get it while you can because when it’s hot, it’s GONE!!!”

A Las Vegas real estate agent or Las Vegas real estate team will represent you and your interests so you can grab up the best option for you!

Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR) Reports Flat May Market

Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors released statistics for May 2006 showing that the median home price of $310,000 remained the same as in April. That represents a 3.3% increase from May 2005.

Median sales price for condos/townhomes is up by 0.5 % to $202,000, up 8.6% from a year ago. The number of available condos and townhomes reached 4,253, an 11.9 percent increase from April to May and a 67.4 percent increase from last year at this time.

The total number of local homes sold increased in May, up 12.8 percent from April to 2,556 homes sold. That is down 17 percent from 2005. For condos and townhomes, 605 units were sold, which is up nearly 12 percent from the previous month, but down 19 percent from one year ago. The number of available homes listed in the Las Vegas area increased 7.6 percent from April to May to a record total of 19,132.

"The number of available homes listed in the Las Vegas area increased 7.6 percent from April to May to a record total of 19,132. The number of local homes, condominiums, and townhouses listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service continued to increase in May.

Association leaders expect the local housing inventory to peak as summer approaches.

This means for buyers that they will continue to be in the driver's seat for months to come. It is a great opportunity to negotiate great terms, prices, or both.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) National Real Estate Statistics

The National Association of Realtors provides national average real estate statisics. This quick glance is found here: NAR National Real Estate Statistics.

As Realtors we found the statistics on FSBOs (for sale by owners) to be very interesting. A quality real estate agent can save home sellers a lot of headaches, money, time, and a great deal of inconvenience.

FSBO Methods Used to Market Home:

• Yard Sign . . . 61%
• Friends/neighbors . . . 46%
• Newspaper ad . . . 37%
• Open House . . . 29%
• Internet . . . 17%

Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:

• Getting the right price . . . 14%
• Understanding paperwork . . . 17%
• Preparing/fixing up home for sale . . . 16%
• Attracting potential buyers . . . 9%
• Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale . . . 8%

Buyers and Sellers also find value in using an experienced, highly resourceful real estate agent.

What Repeat Buyers Want Most From Real Estate Professionals

• Help you find the right house to purchase -60%
• Help with price negotiations - 10%
• Help with paperwork - 10%
• Tell you what comparable homes are selling for - 10%
• Help determining how much buyer can afford - 4%
• Help find and arrange financing - 2%

As the Las Vegas housing market turns and shifts it is important to be able to adapt and make informationally based decisions. The resources provided to Realtors are designed for them to aid you in your purchase or sale. Contact a Las Vegas Realtor® today to learn how to buy or sell a home.

Las Vegas Home Sales Settle Down and Appreciation Slows

The recent housing market has changed. The boom has ended. However, sales will continue at healthy levels and price appreciation will return to a historic "normal". The National Association of Realtors®, David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said home sales are settling into a slower pace. "In recent years we were occasionally challenged to find appropriate superlatives to describe surprisingly high home sales," he said. "Now the housing market has cooled, but 2006 is still expected to be the third strongest on record. In this case, experiencing a slowing from a hot market is a good thing because we need a solid housing sector to provide an underlying base to the economy, and slower appreciation will help to preserve long-term affordability. But this is a time for the Fed to pause on rate hikes because we have some interest-sensitive housing markets that have become vulnerable."

Existing-home sales are projected to drop 6.8 percent to 6.60 million this year from the record 7.08 million in 2005. New-home sales are forecast to fall 13.4 percent to 1.11 million from a record 1.28 million in 2005. Housing starts are likely to decline 6.2 percent to 1.94 million in 2006 compared with 2.07 million last year.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said rising interest rates have slowed home sales in many high cost markets, while job growth has boosted sales in some moderately priced areas. "Broadly speaking, rising inventories have taken the pressure off of unsustainable home price growth," said Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc. "For most of the nation, this means future home price gains will be much closer to the normal returns we expect from housing." The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage should average 6.9 percent during the second half of the year, and the unemployment rate is expected to average 4.8 percent in 2006.