Las Vegas... Let's Look at Some Statistics

The GLVAR recently released 

The Southern Nevada Market Update

 Here are a few highlights...

 

Nevada Leads the Country in Population Growth

That works out to More than 5 People every Hour

Most of these People come from California 

Why are they coming to Las Vegas?

Job Growth

Nevada is #1 in the Country for Job Growth

 What kind of Jobs?

Leisure and Hospitality lead the way...

Are they Good Jobs?

Nevada is #1 in Personal Income Growth

 So Yes, Nevadans are making more Money

 So we have More People

We have More Jobs

People have More Income

But is it still a Good Time to Buy?

Nevada is #1 in the Country in Home Appreciation

House Price Index Growth

Those are State Numbers, 

What about Las Vegas Metropolitan Area?

Las Vegas is the #1 Metro in the Country 

 With Housing Prices Going Up so Fast

Are Homes in Las Vegas still Affordable

Las Vegas is still far More Affordable than in California

Or Seattle, or Denver, or Portland...

Yeah, but is Now a Good Time to Buy?

If all that Info about Las Vegas and Nevada isn't enough

 We now have the Lowest Interest Rates in the past 2 Years

 Yes... Las Vegas is a Growing Area

with a Strong Economy 

and Higher Paying Jobs 

with a Vibrant Housing Market 

at a Time when Interest Rates are LOW

If you have any questions about Buying or Selling a Home

Please give Us a Call at Anytime

702-768-4556

A Market Slowing Down, a Crash or a Seasonal Trend

This week in the Las Vegas Review Journal the Headline said,

"Las Vegas Median Home Prices 'Slowing down' this Summer"

I also found a Headline from California and Washington State

both with similar comments about their local Real Estate Markets.

So what is happening ?    Is the market turning ?     I wish I knew !!!

On the Graph below, you can easily see that in the past 2 years,

there has been a seasonal trend that starts in August and ends in April.

 We wont know if this is a Seasonal Trend or a Cool Down until next April.

 FYI...  of the approx 11,360 Homes on the Market,

1,450 or 12% are Tenant Occupied and 5,225 or 45% are Vacant.

Home Ownership Dropping - Now is the Time to Buy...

 US Census Data shows a Drop in Home Ownership 

in All Age Groups over the past 3 years.

These are National numbers and not what we are experiencing  

here in the Las Vegas Housing Market.

With Interest Rates as Low as they currently are...

Now is the Time to get back into Home Ownership.

Nevada Property Tax under 1% - and No State Income Tax

What makes The Nevada Real Estate Market Attractive?

Desert Landscaping and Low Taxes!!!

CoreLogic did a comparison of Property Taxes for all states.

 Nevada is the 15th Lowest in the Nation.

The Big Surprise... Hawaii has the Lowest.

Signs of a "Good Time to Buy" - Here's a couple...

What makes it a "Good Time to Buy"?  

A Few Factors; Large Inventory, Low Prices, Market Rising and Low Interest Rates.

Top Graph -  Interest Rates over the last 30 years.

The only way you could have done better is if you had purchased in 2012.

Bottom Graph - Equity Growth for 2015 by State. 

Nevada is back in the lead 12.3%

I cant guarantee that we will have as good of a year as last, but it looks good.

 Also Interesting, WA, OR and CO are in the Top 10 and they all have legalized marijuana.

Start Your Home Search HERE

California Dreamin'... of Lower Taxes - in Nevada

The most common question we get as Realtor's is,

"What's going on with the Market?" 

In my opinion, all the signs say it's going up.

Here's one of them.

Nevada has seen a lot of people move here from California.

 Why...?

Median Home Prices - California $410,000 - Nevada $219,900

 State Income Tax Rates - CA 13.3% - NV none

State Business Tax - CA second worst in Nation - NV 3rd Best

2015...Hopefully more of the same as last year

 

 Looking back at 2015 we had a very good year. 

Below you can see the rising price trends for Las Vegas, Henderson and NLV.

Home Prices in Henderson and NLV are still moving upward.

Las Vegas dipped down at the End of 2014

If you look at the End of Year for 2013 and 2012 you will also see a similar seasonal drop.

Looking ahead...
With Prices Stabilizing, Unemployment Dropping, Interest Rates hitting new lows...

This is a good recipe for another strong year for Vegas Home Values.

 

^^^   Las Vegas   ^^^

 

^^^   Henderson   ^^^

 

^^^   North Las Vegas   ^^^

 

Click on Image below for the Complete Report

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.

The Market is Always Changing... So where is it now?

 We have seen a lot of changes in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.

And it is still changing now.

10 years ago we saw the market take off, "The Boom"

The economy took a turn for the worse and so did the Housing Market, "The Bust"

Foreclosures Properties dominated Home Sales.

Then Home Owners saw a way out in Short Sales.

Investors and Cash Buyers took advantage of Low Prices.

The Market has since started to recover and prices are again on the Rise.

Short Sales and Foreclosures are fading away.

Rising Prices have shrunk Investor Profits.

And Now...

Traditional Sales (Classic) are taking over the Market.

Development and Jobs are coming back.

People who loss their homes a few years back are Buying again.

Prices are rising at a reasonable rate.

 We are transitioning back to a more "Normal Market"

Information provided by

Las Vegas 2013 Appreciation Map by Zip Code

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Area had some very nice Appreciation in 2013.

On average there was a 30% increase in Home Values.

We hear numbers like this all the time, but take a moment to really think about this.

If you owned an average home of  $200,000

That would mean it is now worth $260,000

For many people throughout town, who were upside down and could not sell,

$60,000 is a substantial jump in price. They now have Equity.

For others who have wanted to upgrade, that $60,000 could be a 20% down payment 

on a $300,000 home. And with 20% down they would have no PMI.

If you are curious what your home is worth today.

Please give us a call or email and we can send you a current CMA.

To view a Larger Image, Click HERE

Setting Up for A Summer Surge - 4.5% Seems to be the New Sweet Spot for Interest Rates

Typically, summer time is when the Real Estate Market picks up.

It did last year at right about this same time. It took off.

Last month when we looked at these graphs it looked like the market was leveling off.

This month we have an obvious upward trend in both Price and Activity.

 

In my opinion...

 This is most likely going to lead to Higher Prices by the end of this summer.

If you or someone you know is considering buying anytime soon.

I would advise not to wait too long.

Currently we have a comfortable level of Inventory.

But when the feeding frenzy starts up, it becomes very difficult to get 

the "quality" properties that all other buyers want as well.

 

 

After several years of dropping Interest Rates,

In an attempt to spark the National Real Estate Market,

Rates have settled in at around 4.5%

Which is a Great Rate!

Interest Rates are...

Interest Rates have risen a bit over the past year.

But let's put thing in perspective.

As recently as 4 years ago,

No one had ever heard of 5 % Interest Rates.

2014... A New Beginning

2014       Happy New Year     2014

Every Week Altos Research puts out their weekly summary.

Below are the main statistics we need to look at when 

discussing where our Local Real Estate Market is Now.

Also included is HSH 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Graph.

There was a lot of "Press" when we had a dip from the 18 months of consistent growth.

  In the Papers and on the News they talked of a "Housing Bubble" or a "Crash"

Now that we can look back it, I would describe it as a "Leveling Off"

The Leveling Off was caused by;

- Higher Prices

- Rising Interest Rates

- The Holiday Season

Looking at the 2nd graph, we still see above average Activity.

And it is still a Sellers Market.

My opinion...

We should see Prices holding steady and more likely to rise than fall.

Is it Good News or Bad News?

CoreLogic posted their October National Statistics

Nevada Leads the Nation with 26% Equity Growth over the past year.

This has many people shouting, "Bubble!"

Look a little further down and it also shows that Nevada has the largest margin 

from our Peak Values back in 2007.

In an attempt to put this growth into perspective,

look at the Trulia Median Sales Price Graph below.

 

It looks to me like we are finally making some positive progress.

But people are so use to Negative News, that's what they expect.

Inventory is on the Rise... Is that Good or Bad?

You have probably heard on TV or Radio have our Inventory has been Rising.

But Exactly How Much and Why?

In the Graph directly below, the Orange dotted Line represents that Months Inventory.

The Blue Bars below represent the Number of Months of Inventory, at the current Rate of Absorption.

The Rate of Absorption is the number of Sales that month.

For example... We have close to 7,000 Homes on the Market and we Sell about 3,500 a Month,

meaning we have 2 Months worth of Inventory.

According to the Experts ( people who's opinion is supposed to mean something ),

A Healthy Real Estate Market should have around 3 months of Inventory.

Less than 3 is considered a Sellers Market.

More than 3 is considered a Buyers Market.

We have also heard about all the Shadow Inventory of Foreclosures 

that are supposed to be being dumped on our Market.

There are 637 REO's of the 8,728 Listings or 7.2% Bank Owned

FYI... Short Sales make 14.6 % of the Active Listings.

In my opinion...

The reason Inventory is Rising is that Prices have gone up. (see Graph 2)

(1) Investors are backing out of Las Vegas because their Margins are shrinking.

(2) People finally have Equity in their Homes and want to Cash-In.

(3) The Timing.  Real Estate is cyclical. The Summer Price Surge has Sellers trying to Cash-In.

The Fall Drop Off means that people are not buying as Fast as they were just a couple of months ago.

People are concerned that there will be another a Housing Bubble / Burst.

We all still have a Bad Taste in our mouths from the last one,

and the Media loves to grab our attention with bad news.

Looking at 2 graphs below, I don't see anything to give me cause for concern.

Market Numbers, Statistics and Trends

As of Today Thursday September 26

There are 7,879 Available Listings

of them 1,032 are Short Sales (13%)
504 are Bank Owned REO (7%)
leaving 6,343 Traditional Sales (80%)
3,584 of All Active Listings are Vacant (45%)
(Traditional Sales Include Investors Selling Rentals, Investor Flips and Regular Sales)

There are 10,004 Listings Under Contract 

of them 6,491 are Short Sales (65%)
358 are Bank Owned REO (3.5%)
leaving 3,155 Traditional Sales (31.5%)
3,755 of these Listings are Vacant (37%)
Also, 5,711 of these are expected to be CASH transactions (57%)
(keep in mind that Short Sales take an average of 6 months to Close)

Over the past 12 months there have been 40,429 Sold Homes

of them 14,315 were Short Sales (35.5%)
3,941 were Bank Owned REO (10%)
leaving 22,173 Traditional Sales (54.5%)
20,374 of the Sold Listings were Vacant (50%)
Also, 22,259 of those Sales were CASH transactions (55%)

The Previous Years had a total of 45,161 Sold Homes

of them 14,374 were Short Sales (31.8%)
16,321 were Bank Owned REO (36%)
leaving 14,466 Traditional Sales (32%)
31,547 of the Sold Listings were Vacant (70%)

 Also, 23,682 of those Sales were CASH transactions (52%)

In the past 30 Days, there have been 3,256 Sales, 1,559 were CASH (47%)
(CASH Buyers tend to be Investors)

So what does it all mean?
We can see some Trends.

The market has had fewer Bank Owned Foreclosures (REO)

Fewer Short Sales are being Listed.
Probably because Home Owners have Equity again 
and are Selling as Traditional Sellers.

Fewer Cash Buyers (Investors) are Buying Homes.
Prices have gone up, Rents have stayed the same,
making it harder for investors to get the return they need.

People are very skeptical about what is going to happen 
with the Las Vegas Real Estate market.

Are we at the beginning of another Bubble and potential Burst?

Or will the market . . . 

AB 300 vs NV Homeowner's Bill of Rights...

 

Back in June we talked about what affect Assembly Bill 300 would have on our local Real Estate Market.

We have all heard about the increasing number of homes out there just sitting vacant.

Would the banks flood the Market with these listings or would they trickle on the market.

Last week the LVRJ had an article,

Foreclosures surge in August; Nevada again No. 1 in U.S.

 Notice of Defaults went up from 340 in June to 1,125 in July a 226% jump.

In the big scheme of things, really not that big of a deal. 

We knew they were coming. 

But what is next?

Well, in the meantime, NV has passed the NV Homeowner's Bill of Rights.

What's that?  Good Question.

In my opinion, a couple of years too late. 

Purpose of the Nevada Homeowner’s Bill of Rights

The purpose of the Homeowner’s Bill of Rights is to provide homeowners in the state of Nevada with better consumer protections, as well as fair and honest treatment in the servicing of mortgage loans in default, especially when it comes to the loss mitigation process.

Many are speculating that the Intentions of AB300 was to allow the banks to Foreclose on the Shadow Inventory, but now the NV B of R's is going to draw that process out even longer.

NV Homeowner's Bill of Rights takes affect Oct 1st.

In the meantime, we will probably see the banks rush to Foreclose on as many properties as they can 

before the new Law takes affect and slows the whole process down again.

Just Listed in Downtown Historical District

Hello One and ALL,

Elaine and I recently took a New Listing we thought some of you might be interested in. 

The most Interesting and Unique feature of this house is its location.

It is located in the John S Park Historical District in Downtown Las Vegas.

It is walking distance to all the new development that has been happening in the area.

If you know anybody interested in previewing this home or any others in this upcoming area,

please give them our name and number, and have them give us a call.

This beautiful charming home is located in the heart of John S Park Historic District and is on over a quarter acre lot. It boasts a big open living area with wood burning fireplace and large bay window overlooking the lush front yard. Den could be 3rd bedroom with a full wall of built-in shelves, drawers and cabinets.. The dining and family rooms look out on park like backyard with mature fruit trees, a lovely fountain and lots of room for the urban farmer in you. There is a detached one car garage that would make a great artist studio or workshop and an extra shed for storage. This home has been well cared for! Walking distance to First Fridays, Art District, The Outlets, Legal District, Zappo's and more!

 To view more pictures and details, please click the following link.

CLICK HERE

Why are Prices Going Up So Fast?

Activity is staying the same, so why are prices on the rise?

In this Humble Realtors opinion, Buyers believe the worst is behind us.

They want to buy now at today's prices, before the properties become less affordable.

Sellers, if there going to sell, they want top dollar.

Inventory is low, Interest Rates are low, People want to Buy Now, Sellers want $

Prices Go Up!