UNLV's Nevada Housing Report - A Good Sign of Good Times...

UNLV and State of Nevada put out a Quarterly Report 

on Nevada's Housing Market.

below are the Clark County Statistics

Click HERE for the entire 23 page report.

Highlights...

New Home Sales are High but Construction Starts are decreasing.

Home Prices have Risen nicely over the past 3 years and are leveling off.

Foreclosure, Notice of Defaults and Short Sales have decreased drastically.

In General, Good signs of a healthy and improving Housing Market.

But I always say, "I Live in Las Vegas"

We look at this Graph a lot. 

It shows us what is happening with Home Prices for the past 3 years.

The Top Graph is the one I have always posted.

The next three are what has been happening in

Henderson, N Las Vegas and Boulder City.

I was curious to see the Population of these 4 major areas of our Metropolis.

So I searched the web and found a Map of the Major Cities in Clark County and their Population.

It's interesting to see that what we call Las Vegas is actually over 10 different townships.

So... Where do you actually Live?

Las Vegas

 

Henderson

N Las Vegas

Boulder City

Market Snapshot - The Las Vegas Housing Market is a Good Bet!

Thanks to our friends Forrest Barbee and Equity Title, 

they spend a lot of time crunching these numbers.

The Top Graph is the Most Important.

I like this version of the Home Prices Graph because it shows prices 

both before and after the "Housing Bubble".

Many people are still hesitant to get back into the Housing Market.

We have lived in a negative Housing Market for a long time.

In many parts of the country, they are still suffering in one now.

It's hard to be confident and take that step.

The Las Vegas Market was one of the first and hardest hit in the country.

But now we are leading the country with a strong recovery.

When you look around our town we see growth everywhere.

Dead malls are filling back up and new ones opening.

Construction Projects that were put on hold have restarted.

Corporations are Investing in Las Vegas.

My Opinion...

There are a lot of opportunities here, you can bet on Las Vegas.

 

 

A Deeper Look at the Numbers - Level Heads Prevail...

Many have been concerned that the quick rise in Home Prices 

could lead to another Housing Bubble.

In 2012 and 2013, Investors drove up prices rapidly.

Now that Homes aren't the steal they were a year ago,

the Market has leveled itself out.
This is a sign of a healthy, self correcting Real Estate Market.

 

How Much Americans Owe On Mortgages by State

According to a recent study, the average American has a mortgage Balance of $157,154

Home Owners in Nevada have a $161,812 average balance.

According to Zillow, the median Home Value in Nevada is $189,700

which is up 16.4 % from $158,589 last year.

This means that, on average, a majority of Home Owners in Nevada have Equity again.

NAR - Pending Sales Up in July

NAR is The National Association of Realtors

Las Vegas is dependent upon the Tourism.

The stronger the National Economy and Housing Markets, the better it is for us.

 

Las Vegas Market Update

Every Month, Mr Forrest Barbee and Equity Title

put out a Monthly Market Update.

Below are the main points, and my comments.

We have seen this Price Graph before.

Just to reiterate, these recent rises in price are a recovery, not a bubble.

 

 Just 2 years ago, only 37% of all transactions were Traditional Sales (Classic)

As a Realtor, It's nice to work with People again, and not banks.

Again, only 2 years ago 53% of all transaction were CASH (usually investors)

 This gives a good visual of how the Market has changed;

- Moving away from Foreclosure 

- The rise and fall of Short Sales

and Traditional Sales returning  us to a "Normal Market".

 This might be the most thought provoking graph of them all.

Sales (solds) have stayed steady at around 3,000 a month.

When Inventory dropped, Prices started Rising.

When Prices rose, Home Owners once again had Equity.

Many people have been waiting a long time to have equity.

Now that they do, they can finally make the move they have been putting off.

We are now seeing a rise in the number of Listings.

Days on Market has been rising as well.

Now is the best time to Sell in the past 5+ years. ( for Sales Price)

But it needs to be priced right.

Still a great time to Buy.

Interest Rates are LOW.

And now Buyers have several houses to choose from.

What's a Dollar Worth? Depends where you're at...

Nevadans seem to make more money on average.

And that money goes a little further.

Maybe this is why all those people keep coming to Las Vegas from California.

 

Are You Enjoying Your New Equity...

 The Las Vegas Housing Market is currently in a nice recovery.

We have had steady growth over the past couple of years.

Many People are still concern about the possibility of another Crash or Bubble.

We see it as a comfortable level and rate of growth.

As I have said in the past...

Please take these numbers with a grain of salt.

It only takes a couple of Million dollar homes to skew these numbers.

But you can definitely see a lot of positive growth throughout the town.

Prices Plateau... Is it Time to Sell?

 It's been a month since we looked at these graphs.

It looks like things are Calming Down.

This is probably the most Normal Real Estate Market 

we have been in for several years.

For Home Owners who have been waiting for the Market to "Peak" before they decide to Sell,

this might just be the right time. 

I thought 4.5% was going to be the going rate.

It looks like it's going to stay around 4.25%

3.25% if you finance for 15 years.

National Consumer Sentiment Survey

Fannie Mae Surveyed 1,000 people the following four questions.

Please keep in mind this is a National Survey. 

It seems that More and More People think that:

- It's Not a Good Time to Buy

- It's Not a Good Time to Sell

- Home Prices are Going to ....

In my Opinion...

Here in Las Vegas, it is an Awesome Time to Buy.

And for Home Owners who have been waiting for the Market to go up 

so they could have equity in their homes. 

It's an Awesome Time to Sell.

What's going to happen in the Future?  

We are very Optimistic!

 The National Housing Survey has been conducted on behalf of Fannie Mae every month since June 2010.  

Over 1,000 Americans, homeowners both with and without mortgages and renters are polled by phone to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, home ownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence.

Prices Leveling Off... Rates Staying Low...

The last time we looked at this graph it was climbing quickly.

I know many are still concerned that Las Vegas was heading for another "Housing Bubble"

It appears that The Market is Leveling Off.

Activity is still at a strong pace, but Buyers are not going to Overpay.

We also get asked a lot about Interest Rates.

The last graph really puts into perspective how low Mortgage Rates are.

Debt... It Hits Hardest at Home!

The Largest form of Debt for most people is their Home Mortgage.

 It's nice to see that Nevadans on average have less debt.

But we tend to not pay our Debts.

Nevada leads the Nation in Delinquent Debt.

Most likely because of how hard the Housing Crisis affected us.

America's debt load

Americans hold a majority of their debt in mortgages, considered productive debt. 

But when it comes to not paying bills on time, the South stands out. 

Urban Institute; 1 - Debt in collections: Debt goes into collections after it is more than 180 days past due. At that point, the debt is placed in collections by the original issuer or sold to a third party debt collector. Debt in collections can remain on a person's credit file for up to seven years.

Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY

Nevada Leading the Nation in Appreciation - Relax, It's OK !!!

-  WARNING  -

This is a Recovery - Not a Bubble

We still have a long way to go until Housing Values are where they should be.

Raising Kids in Nevada... Our Report Card

Today in the Newspaper and on the Radio I heard Reporters saying,

"Nevada Schools Rank Dead Last"

They were referencing a Report by The Annie E Casey Foundation.

The Report ranks The Quality of Life for Children in each State.

Nevada Report Card below

Or go to their website www.aecf.org

 

This doesn't mean all of Nevada is bad.

We do have a  lot of Non-English speaking Families.

Their children tend to struggle in school.

There are a lot of families that make minimal incomes.

We are a 24/7 Town. Many people work 2nd and 3rd shift.

These parents are not always around to keep their kids on track.

They are exposed to a lot of bad things.

It's called "Sin City" for a reason.

You can see a big difference in the various areas of town.

When buying a house, better schools and areas demand a higher price.

A Good Realtor can help you find an area for You.

Las Vegas in the Top 1/3 of Counties to Live in, In the USA

The New York Times put out this Interactive Map.

Showing every county in the Nation, Ranked by

 Education,  Income, Unemployment Rate, Disability Rate, Life Expectancy and Obesity.

To get full use out of this Interactive Map

Click HERE

Home Values Compared to One Year Ago...

This is always fun to look at.

But please take these numbers with a grain of salt...

For Example... 89134 and 89144 are both in the heart of Summerlin,

And both are excellent neighborhoods. But you can see a 13% difference in change.

89074 and 89014 are both Green Valley and have a 27% difference.

It only takes a couple of Million dollar homes to skew these numbers.

But you can definitely see a lot of positive growth throughout the town.

 

These next two images show a transition in the market 

from Cash Buyers buying Foreclosures and Short Sales,

to a more Traditional Market with far less Cash Investors.

Why the change?

The Local Economy has got better.

Property Values have gone up.

Most of the people who are going to lose their home, have.

Investors are not getting the rate of return they were last year.

Nevada Economic Condition Showing Improvement

I use this Graph regularly to show what is happening with Home Prices in Las Vegas.

It shows a strong upward Trend that is happening right now.

In my opinion, this is a very good sign.

But some people look at it and say,

"This is another Housing Bubble and it will Pop... Again"

So we need to put this growth into perspective.

This graph is from 2010 and on.

The next graph shows from 1990 and on.

When you look at the high Home Values in 2006,

compared to the little bit of growth we are having now,

To me it is more of a recovery, not a bubble.

But in doing my due diligence, 

I went to the UNLV / CBER website to look at the 

May 2014 Economic Reports. (see below)

Las Vegas is seeing upward trends in the 3 main indicators in the report.

Business, Tourism and Construction are all seeing a similar Growth / Recovery.