Las Vegas Luxury Properties Link

OVERVIEW ~ As now seems the usual course for the markets, sentiment among investors turned from optimistic, over the week of Feb. 16 (Feb. 15 was a holiday) to Feb. 19, to pessimistic in the week that followed. At the start of the day on Monday, Feb. 22, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had risen to 10402.35. By the end of the week, the DJIA had declined to 10325.26. This is not a precipitous fall, but stock market indices remained somewhat sluggish over the entire week, brought down by disappointing economic indicators and worries about developments in Greece. Further, the week saw very large Treasury security auctions in which bidders pushed rates slightly higher than the Treasury had anticipated. Again, not a great deal higher, but enough to create worry, particularly over Monday's and Wednesday's auctions. The Freddie Mac average 30-year fixed-rate, meanwhile, rose from 4.93% the week prior to 5.05% on Thursday, Feb. 25. This signaled the possibility of an on-going uptrend among mortgage rates (though, as always, concerns that present events foretell future trends usually fall away as the mood among investors moves from negative to positive and back again).

 FOLLOW-UP ~ Greece remained in the news, postponing its sales of 10-year notes for one to two weeks, much to the concern of international investors.  Greece needs to borrow at least  54 billion this year to pay off existing notes and bonds; it has thus far raised  13 billion. About  22 billion of bonds mature in March and April, and so Greece is under the gun to find enough money to pay off the  22 billion. The country also currently faces the possibility that Standard & Poor's, and possibly other rating agencies, will lower its rating for Greece, which could make it still harder for Greece to sell its notes.

 Coming this spring as well, the Fed will stop helping keep mortgage rates low as its program of buying very large quantities of mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) comes to an end. Investors have had plenty of advance warning that this will happen, and it is therefore difficult to predict the reaction in the markets. More important, though, we can't know to what extent this will leave the MBS markets vulnerable to an imbalance of growing supply and lower demand, elevating the rates required by investors.

FOCUS ~ The Federal Reserve Board Chairman, in testimony before Congress on Wednesday, Feb. 24, once again reassured the markets that the Fed would continue to help keep rates low for an "extended period." His comments appeared to briefly help lift the stock index nearly a full percent, but investors remain skeptical, worried that interest rates may turn higher before the Fed Chairman currently predicts they will. The rate the Fed charges at its "discount window," after all, was nudged higher last week. And purchases of MBSs will cease in March. What we can see here is an anxiety among investors which cannot be salved by the Fed chief (surely assuring continued market volatility) as rates and indices climb and fall unpredictably

The Las Vegas Housing Market continues to see high buyer traffic

The month of February saw 3,178 properties change hands of buyers looking to capitalize on the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit.

• 23% of those sold properties were short sales
• 54% of those sold properties were foreclosures
• 23% of those sold properties were regular sellers

The available inventory has dropped dramatically from a year ago:

• There are currently 10,724 condos, townhouses, and single family residences on the market.
• 45% of those properties are listed as Short Sales (where the bank has to approve the sales price and take a loss)
• 38% of those properties are regular sellers
• 15% of those properties are foreclosures.  This is a HUGE drop in available foreclosures.

If you are interested in short selling your home, visit http://www.LasVegasShortSaleConnection.com or call me toll free at 1-866-589-1646.  You can also do your own home search below for FREE. 

Felipe Crook Prudential Americana Group Realtors, Las Vegas NV 89117 

Roma Hills is a beautiful community in Henderson Nevada.  Full of custom homes, this guard gated community sits near the base of the southern mountains in the Las Vegas valley.  Take a look at this beautiful home for sale:

• 4 bed, 4 bath
• Den/Office
• 3427 sq ft
• 12,197 sq foot lot
• Pool and Spa
• Guard Gated Community
• Travertine Floors
• Upgraded counter tops and cabinets
• Much more....

ELEGANT CUSTOM SINGLE STORY*TRAVERTINE MARBLE FLOORS IN ALL LIVING AREAS*KOHLER SINKS & PLUMBING*GE MONOGRAM PROFESSIONAL GAS RANGE*TOP-LINE CABINETRY & ELECTRONICS PACKAGE*THEATER ROOM*CASITA*RAISED EDGE POOL W/SOLAR HEAT & WOK WATERFALL*GORGEOUS SEPARATE MASTER SUITE*2 BOSCH DISHWASHERS*BUILT IN COFFEE/ESPRESSO MAKER

For full details of this property, contact Felipe Crook with Prudential At 1-866-589-1646.

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas, NV 89117

Availability within the resale market continues to bounce within a relatively tight range as the number of listings reached 11,383 during the second week of January. The current count of available residential properties represents a modest increase of 38 units compared to the preceding week and is down 49.0 percent (10,957 units) compared to the same week of the prior year. While availability levels are well below the prior year, the number of units contracted for sale remains elevated.

 Currently, a total of 13,486 units are contracted for sale, with 10,646 homes noted as contingent while 2,840 are identified as pending. The bulk of contingent units (78.4 percent) are subject to short sales, suggesting lenders are required to release borrowers for the mortgage shortfall (i.e., difference between the net sales proceeds and the amount owed). Another 15.3 percent of contingent units are bank-owned properties, while the remaining 6.4 percent are traditional, non-distressed transactions. Given the mix of contracted properties with a contingent status, it is unlikely all units will close as planned, which may put upward pressure on the number of available listings.

The mix of properties classified as pending is much different. Pending sales are those that are awaiting

customary closing procedures to take place. A more modest 22.7 percent are short sales subject to lender

approval, while 58.9 percent are bank-owned properties. The remaining 18.4 percent are traditional, nondistressed

transactions. Consistent with previously-issued reports, we believe lenders will play an increasing role

in sales transactions going forward.

If you would like to search Las Vegas Properties Click here, or you can start your search below.  If you have any questions, or need a referral to a great mortgage professional, please call Felipe Crook toll free at 1-866-589-1646.

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas NV 89117

1-866-589-1646

I just came across a great article in the Las Vegas Sun by Buck Wargo.  It's always nice to read some good new in our market.  Even though we are number 1 for foreclosures in the nation, we're slowly digging our way out of this slippery hole we've created.  One of the things he mentioned in the article was that growing trend of new homes being sold.  I've sold five new homes in the last two months because my clients are fed up with putting in 10 offers and getting out bid.   Many of these builders have come down in price to where they are slightly more expensive than a foreclosure.  Many of the banks are offering closing costs, and extra incentives to sweeten the deal for buyers. I have full access to new homes, and make sure you bring a Realtor on your first visit, otherwise the builder's employees will also represent you AND the seller.  A third party agent will look out for your interests more than the builder's employees.  Anyway, here is the article in full: 

Existing home sales in Las Vegas rose 57 percent in 2009, but builders sold fewer than half as many homes compared to 2008, according to statistics released Tuesday.

SalesTraq reported that that demand for existing homes remained strong in December with the 4,502 sales the third highest-selling month in 2009, pushing the annual total to 48,075 - the third highest in the valley's history. That is more than 16,000 sales compared to 2008 as the existing home market continues its rebound.

Median prices fell by $5,000 in December to $120,000. At the peak of the market in 2006, prices nearly reached $290,000. That's a 58 percent drop.

Existing home prices have held fairly steady in Las Vegas since April, falling in a range of $120,000 to $125,000, according to SalesTraq.

The demand for existing homes continues to decrease the inventory with 10,262 available listings on the Multiple Listing Service at the end of December, translating into a 2.6-month supply. SalesTraq reported that's the second lowest level of inventory since March 2005.

The amount of foreclosed-upon homes continues to decline. Only 51 percent of the 4,502 existing home sales in December were banked-owned, SalesTraq reported. Foreclosures had been two-thirds of sales at one time.

The number of foreclosure homes dipped 5 percent in 2009 to 24,033. In 2008, lenders foreclosed on 25,276 homes. That meant the level of foreclosure inventory slid to 11,248 in December, the lowest level since March 2008, SalesTraq reported.

Analysts attribute the decline to lenders' self-imposed moratorium in early 2009 and Nevada's new program implemented July 1 that gives homeowners the option to seek mediation with lenders and modify their loans.

Las Vegas closed 2009 with 517 new home sales in December, the second-highest month last year. For the year, the 5,184 sales fell 48 percent below the 9,965 sales recorded in 2008.

Steve Bottfeld, executive vice president of Marketing Solutions, said he sees a positive trend for the new-home market because the fourth quarter accounted for nearly 31 percent of the annual sales.

Some analysts said a lack of existing home inventory led people to consider new homes at the end of the year to take advantage of a first-time homebuyer tax credit that was set to expire Nov. 30. Congress has extended it through June.

New home prices rebounded slightly in December to $210,000, up from $198,466 in November. The only time new home prices surpassed $220,000 was January 2009 when it was $231,035, SalesTraq reported.

Despite the increase in price in December, the price per square foot dropped to $105.32 in builders' bids to construct smaller homes, analysts said. The price per square foot was at its 2009 height in January when it was $122.15, SalesTraq reported.

Builders, however, haven't rushed out to take out permits to construct new homes. Local governments issued 349 permits in December to bring the yearly total to 3,766. That is 32 percent lower than the 5,551 permits issued in 2008.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Las Vegas, please start your free search for properties below.  All information is updated and more current than Realtor.com.   You can even save your favorite properties and get notified of new ones as they come on the market.

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas NV 89117

1-866-589-1646

I just read an interesting article on HGTV's website about the housing market in 2010. There are a couple of interesting sections I'd like to discuss in this article.  Anytime you're reading a national article, it doesn't always reflect the current local market.  Much of the country is slowly rebounding, but our market has been hit hardest by the housing and economic recession.  We're not seeing the massive free fall in prices, but 2010 will most likely see a decline. 

"Coming off an estimated modern historical low of 555,000 total starts in 2009, housing production should rebound by about 25% this year to just under 700,000 units, according to NAHB projections. There is certainly a measure of good news in this forecast, but it hardly represents a return to normalcy.

Based on demographics and other factors, an annual average of 1.8 million housing starts will be needed over the next 10 years and 2010 starts are not likely to provide even half of what is needed.

Improvements in residential construction this year will be largely concentrated in single-family construction. Builders successfully reduced their inventory of new single-family houses in 2009 to levels last seen in 1971 - for a population that has grown by 80% since that time."

In Las Vegas, the new housing market has definitely seen an upsurge in activity. In fact, I sold five new homes in December and November.  January 2009 was the bottom of the new home market.  Many buyers are frustrated with the multiple offers on most bank owned properties under $200,000.  I've noticed a lot of builders have drastically reduced their prices in order to compete with the huge amount of foreclosures on the market. Take a look at the chart below. Notice the prices and volume dropping sharply and then starting to rebound towards the end of 2009.

"However, since existing home sales are based on settlements that do not capture new contracts but rather reflect sales agreements from earlier months, many of the November sales resulted from pressure on buyers to close by the end of that month to qualify for the then expiring first-time home buyer tax credit. (The tax credit has since been extended into 2010 and expanded to include repeat home buyers. See www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com for details.)

After this burst of activity, it was not surprising to see the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Pending Home Sales index, which is based on the acceptance of new sales agreements for existing homes, fall 16% in November. Even so, the index was 15.5% higher than the same month a year earlier, a hopeful sign that housing has turned the corner and that the extension and expansion of the tax credit is having some early, positive effect."

The first time home buyer tax credit contributed to the big surge in sales for November. I can attest to that because everyone and their brother waited until the last possible moment to look for a house.  If you are determined to buy a foreclosure or a short sale, and you plan on financing the deal, It takes about 60-90 days to close on a house.  That's being conservative.   Some deals can close a lot faster, but the big wild card right now is how quickly you can get a response from the bank.  Some offers don't get a response for three weeks, others two days.   The tax credit has been expanded and extended. Here's a video about the credit:

"Inaccurate appraisals are also hindering a faster housing recovery. These occur when an appraiser (often from outside the area being appraised) uses sales from a dissimilar neighborhood as a comparison or uses a foreclosure or short sale as a comparison without proper adjustments for differences in the condition of the homes.

Foreclosures are yet another drag on numerous housing markets. Many of the foreclosures and past-due mortgages are concentrated in the formerly hot markets - parts of California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and southern Florida - and economically distressed markets, primarily in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwest."

This factor is going to be Las Vegas' biggest hurdle to overcome.  In the last four months, I had four transactions where there were multiple offers. My buyers bid above the listing price because the comparable sales  supported the offer.  When the appraiser came out to the property, his value of opinion was lower than the sales price.  If people are willing to pay higher than a listing price in order to get the home, appraisers should take this into consideration.   I think we have swung the pendulum too far in the other direction.    As of January 15th, 2010  our market is made up of 49% short sales, 19% foreclosures, and 32% regular sellers.   If the banks learn to streamline the short sale process in Las Vegas and around the country, we would start to see a faster recovery.  Learn more about SHORT SALES HERE.  I think society's idea of home ownership has shifted dramatically. Instead of being a big cash cow, it's now a place to live with some nice tax benefits.    If you are thinking about buying or selling a home and want more information, please feel free to call me toll free at 1-866-589-1646 or email me felipe@felipecrook.com.  If you want to start your own FREE search of properties in Las Vegas CLICK HERE.

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

7475 W. Sahara Ave Ste 100

Las Vegas, NV 89117

1-866-589-1646