Summerlin development going green

For years Summerlin has been famous for being one of the top-selling master-planned communities in the nation. Which has partly helped Las Vegas carve a favorable niche for itself as a livable city. Besides that, it has top finishes on other lists, too. It was the first local developer to introduce extensive desert landscaping in its common areas and it did something in 2003 that was thought unthinkable only a few years ago, namely doing away with lawns in front of new homes. Summerlin has earned the image of blazing the way to innovative and somewhat untested solutions.

Now Summerlin is at it again. To read the full article, please click here.

Las Vegas housing expensive

It is if you look at the report that the National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, and Wells Fargo just published. The study took into account the median family income and the median sales price of a sample metro area during the first quarter of 2007 and then arrived at an affordability index. According to its findings, Las Vegas ranks 186 with only 18.9% of households able to purchase a median-priced home. That is a worrisome number.

I don't know what the index was before the residential real estate boom started early this decade, but it must've been much higher than the above figure. To read the entire article, please click here.

Sullivan Square Las Vegas goes high tech

The mixed-rise condominium project is coming to a screen near you. Your very own computer screen, that is. It doesn't matter where you are, here in the Las Vegas valley or in downtown Timbuktu, it'll be available 24-7 through a streaming live video on their webcam. To get a feel for it, click here.

Right now you can keep an eye on the progress of the excavation for the underground garage and utilities, which isn't all that exciting. But when work crews move above ground, things will be much different. It'll be floor by floor visual all the way to the top. Besides these live updates on actual construction, their website currently offers a virtual tour of the entire community, from streetscapes to the central park to the architecture of the buildings.

When Sullivan Square is finished, it'll have 1,300 residences that range in size from 500 to 2,000 square feet. The diverse design options you can choose from are regular condos, traditional brownstones, Chicago-style lofts, terraced condominiums, live/work spaces and townhomes. What about the pricing, you may ask? They start from the low $300,000s and can go up to $1.7 million.

Vegas real estate prices lower

Maybe that's the medicine we need here. Lower real estate prices, that is. Well, I understand, no one wants to see his house value drop, and that includes me. The equity you were counting on could be 5% less in a matter of months. Or 10% less. Or even more than that. Anyway, the market here is still reeling and the sooner we get to the bottom of it, the sooner it can settle down and then return to normal again. Right now we are in a wait mode that serves no purpose.

According to a local analyst Dennis Smith, in May the price of a new single family home declined 3% to $308,874, when compared with April's figures. On the resale side, the price drop was 2.5% to $278,000. The resale number is especially encouraging, yes it is despite going down, because now it seems that the sellers, most of them are speculators, are at last realizing that to unload a property is entirely possible so long as the price is right. I'm going place a minor wager on this trend continuing for a while.

The economy in Southern Nevada remains strong and people are still moving here at a good pace, 5 to 6,000 a month. That is solid inbound movement. But what they are doing once they get here is sit on the fence and study the scene. Local and national media have been all over the spectrum with negative real estate stories and that can make anyone hesitant. That is totally understandable.

How long is this apathy going to last? No one knows. I certainly don't. Six months? Twelve months? Longer? It's anyone's guess.

Low appraisal, then what?

It's a well-known fact that appraising is an art, not an exact science. Most appraisers are very good at what they do. And thorough. They are licensed, they belong to a trade association, they attend refresher courses and they make sure that their results are accurate. However, mistakes are sometimes made and your number comes in low and you don't like it. There are a couple of ways you can approach the injustice.

Go ahead and ask for a second opinion. What has become more and more popular lately is the AVM, or an Automated Valuation Model. It's nothing more than a computer program that uses real estate data, like sales price, property characteristics and price trends, to calculate a value for the house in question. To read the complete article, please click here.

Las Vegas housing struggles

The Southern Nevada real estate market continues to struggle. In its latest report the Home Builders Research, a Las Vegas firm, registers 1,724 new-home permits in May, putting the year-to-date total at 7,934 that in turn tells us that there is 34% decline in the figure from the same time last year. A considerable drop, I must admit. What's surprising is that even though local builders are offering incentives in all shapes and sizes, the sales still remain sluggish.

Industry analysts are now saying that the new-home permits are likely to stay flat for this and most of next year, too. One important reason to that is the high existing home inventory, now over 24,000, and nearing an all-time record that was hit in October of 2006. The resale listings have to come down before it's realistic to expect the new-home sales to improve. So, the current slump seems to go on for another year, if not longer.

The national picture is equally worrisome. The Commerce Department announced just this week that construction of new homes and apartments fell 2.1% in May, which translates to a 24% drop from a year ago. Single-family applications alone were down 1.8% and have edged lower in four of the past five months. The South and West regions were harder hit than the Northeast and Midwestern areas, the latter two actually showed some modest gains.

I think we can stomach one more statistic. But that's it. The National Association of Home Builders also stops by to tell us that its survey of builder sentiment dropped, there is a lot of dropping nowadays, in June to 28 from 30 in May. All three indicators - sales, buyer traffic and sales expectations - headed south. This is the lowest level it has been in 16 years, which ought to tell us something.

Like I keep saying, there are some good news as well. Las Vegas is enjoying a bona fide buyer's market. Nothing more, nothing less.

Lake Las Vegas townhomes

Where is the lake in Las Vegas, some might ask? Do you mean Lake Mead? Well, not quite. Lake Las Vegas is actually rather close to Lake Mead, sort of on the way there from Henderson. But like its bigger brother, it's also man-made and as a bonus is surrounded by impressive desert mountain and golf course views.

Toll Brothers are building townhomes on its shores. The development is called Vita Bella and it features three distinct styles. In size they range from 1,566 to over 2,000 sq. ft. and come in two- and three-bedroom floorplans. Each has a large master suite and rear-entry two-car garage with storage space. The lake is rather exclusive and the prices reflect that, starting from the upper $600,000s.

Henderson master-planned community

The real estate project is called Inspirada. It sprawls on the southern foothills of the valley, taking up almost 2,000 acres. Homes that are available now range in size from 1,300 to over 4,000 sq. ft. and are priced from the mid-$200,000s on up. So, it can be the neighborhood for the first-time buyer as well as for the discriminating one seeking size and luxury.

The fascinating thing is that Inspirada is made up of seven villages with each having its own theme. That's unique for the Las Vegas area. One features musical aspects, bolstered by a civic center and some performance space. Another is defined by sports and it's supported by athletic fields and a swimming pool compound. An active town center carves out room in the middle of it all with restaurants, entertainment venues, retail shops and cafes.

All the villages are connected to one another by tree-lined boulevards, walking paths, biking trails and natural, open spaces. Sense of community is the concept the developer is pursuing and seems to be achieving.

Nevada mortgage foreclosure rate rises

The rate actually went up so much in the first quarter that Nevada, unfortunately, managed to top all other states for the dubious honor. The number of home loans in foreclosure grew 0.32% to reach a total of 1.16% of all mortgages in Nevada, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The other high-ranking states are Arizona, California and Florida.

What's intriguing about the results is that if these four states are left out of the report, the statistics for the entire nation would've shown a decline. These states were invaded by real estate speculators a few years ago and now that the market has considerably softened, many of them are walking away from homes with falling values. Just abandoning them.

There's another concern. It's estimated that around 2 million ARMs will reset in the next two years to higher rates. Many of these belong to subprime borrowers who were attracted to the mortgage programs by low teaser rates, but after the initial two or three years the rates will climb steeply, causing payment shock. More foreclosures probably will come from this segment in the coming months.

Strip to get a new hotel and condos

The New Frontier casino is going to change hands this summer. The new owners, the Elad Group, have grand plans for the 34-acre property across the street from the luxury resort Wynn Las Vegas. They paid $1.2 billion for the casino and will spend between $6 and $8 billion to redevelop the site.

They're putting up a replica of the well-known Plaza Hotel in New York on the location, next to the Trump International Hotel & Tower. They're going to do more than that, though. It'll be a mixed-use project that will also house 300 high-end condominiums, in addition to the 3,500 hotel rooms. And the development will feature a retail shopping center. The mixed-use component is there to help make back some of their investment via sales of the condominiums and the retail offering.

Where is the real estate recovery in Las Vegas?

I certainly can't find it anywhere no matter how many rocks I turn over. The stats that have come out lately haven't given much encouragement, but you tend to remain optimistic and try to find some light in the famous tunnel.

Last fall things were pretty bleak here when the MLS inventory hit over 24,000 listings in October. Then the winter months started to whittle down that number and it fell to somewhere above 19,000 and hopes were slowly beginning to stir. Fingers were crossed in mortgage, real estate and other related offices. Read more ...

Henderson mixed-used project

Pre-sales are under way at Stephanie Village in Green Valley, a 22.5 acre complex with condominiums, office space, shops and restaurants. The first residential building is already under construction, as is the clubhouse that is scheduled to open this fall.

The condo floor plans go from 908 to 2,295 square feet and up to three bedrooms. European-style maple cabinetry, Kohler plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient low-E windows and granite counter tops are standard features in each unit. They're also pre-wired for high-speed Internet, cable and satellite access.

The project's amenities are diverse. There'll be a fitness center, practice putting green, library, business center, conference rooms and a clubroom. The grounds consist of four swimming pools, an outdoor amphitheater and barbecue areas. When they say it's mixed-use, the village features appear to fill that requirement well.

New condo project planned in Las Vegas

Even though the Las Vegas real estate market is sputtering along right now, a developer from Florida has plans to build a $2.5 billion mixed-use condominium and hotel project on Paradise Road called Las Palmas Hotel and Residences, a location that's still rather close to the Strip. At first glance it looks to be a daring undertaking in this depressed business climate, but his calculations may be that by the time he's up and running the market has come around. He just might be right.

The project calls for four 55-story glass towers with 1,000 condos and 800 luxury hotel suites.

Condominium prices will start from $600 per square foot and go up to $1,000 per, with the first building scheduled to open in 2009. The price structure is similar to other luxury projects in town, although they are either on the Strip or very close to it. It's aiming to be a five-star property that also features upscale restaurants and designer boutiques. The top level of each tower will have a pool and an exercise and recreation deck.

Some local experts have doubts about the project's viability, mentioning the developer's lack of experience in a huge job like this and that he doesn't have the name of Turnberry, MGM Mirage or Trump to make it a certain go in Vegas. Only time will tell.

Streamline Tower tops out

This luxury condominium project will be the very first residential high-rise in the downtown entertainment district. As you know, the city is heavily promoting anything downtown and the aim is to make the district a local destination spot. Streamline Tower will certainly be a nice addition to that mix.

The 22-story building will include 275 condos with some ground-level retail space, on top of which sits a six-level parking garage and then above that are the residences. They come in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts.

The intriguing thing about this project is that it's located on a 1-acre piece of land with zero lot lines. That's why the garage is between the street and the condominium units. The lack of staging and storage space presented the developer unique challenges on many fronts during construction. The concrete forms that are used are hand-set instead of the usual flying forms.

The tower crane stands tall in the elevator shafts. The scaffolding setup allows workers and materials go up and down like an elevator. That all is kind of technical but that's what I'm reading.

Despite all these challenges, the project is moving along as scheduled and should be completed in February of 2008.

Las Vegas housing hurts local economy

The Midyear Economic Outlook for Southern Nevada was presented this week by the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research. The word that stands out from the report is slowdown. The residential real estate sector plays a large role in the overall weakness, as most of its indicators have fallen quite a bit.

Let's take a look at some of the actual housing numbers. New home permits dropped 21% from last year and existing house sales declined even more, almost 37%. The worst performer is new home sales that suffered a 41% decline. These numbers are a clear sign that the local market is still struggling to steady itself.

The report's findings aren't all bad, though. There are some positives that offer a healthy dose of optimism for better times ahead in the intermediate future. Despite the steeply falling sales figures, median new home prices decreased only 3.1%, to $318,346. The other notable positive is the new resident arrivals, namely 6,195 last month. An encouraging trend that has stayed in that range for years now.

So far we can say that Las Vegas is not about to experience a bursting of the bubble in the residential real estate market. Slowdown, that's what best describes the situation on the ground.

Home prices in U.S. higher than a year ago?

They might be. The numbers for the nation as a whole that we have seen in the last several months point down, though. Some areas are harder hit than than others and some have just leveled off and are holding on, like Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. Some areas are still robust, thank heavens, and have seen value increases. For the most part, however, the real estate news have been dismal, an indication of a soft market.

Enter OFHEO, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and you're treated to a rosier picture than before. To read more, please click here.

Las Vegas condo project in trouble

Spanish View Towers broke ground in early 2006 for three 18-story buildings that would house 444 condominiums in total, ranging in size from 1,835 to 9,500 sq. ft. and priced from $795,000 to $8 million. It was going to be a luxury high-rise development located at Buffalo and 215. To date construction has only reached the first floor but even that remains unfinished. It obviously is experiencing serious trouble.

What it looks like is that the timing was its worst enemy. Residential real estate market in Vegas was getting soft around the ground-breaking time and has been on a downward slope ever since. At the same time construction costs were rising substantially, from concrete to window glass, and would put a double vise on a project that was operating on the edge. Local observers know that there probably is no existing financing right now to take the project forward.

Many bills have gone unpaid in the recent past, causing several mechanics liens to be filed against the development, running in the 10s of millions of dollars. Not only that, but home buyers who put down cash deposits for units are suing to get their money back. The legal pressure is mounting as well.

If there is no additional financing in a matter of days, the developer is forced to file for bankruptcy protection, say valley experts.

Las Vegas condo market softer

The local condominium market has received a lot of media coverage over the last few years and most of it has been positive. Of course, there were some bad news days, too, when developers had to cancel projects. Yet, many developments were completed more or less on time and the buyers closed on their purchases as agreed.

For the first time since the condo boom began somewhere in 2003 experts are talking about the supply flattening. Potential inventory level for existing units is 4,200 in the first quarter of 2007 and there were 13,400 condos under construction in that same time period. I'm not sure whether those numbers point down or up, but several times a month developers announce with the appropriate fanfare new condo projects somewhere in the valley. So, the supply side is sort of mixed.

On the demand side the news are markedly worse. SoHo Lofts reportedly has 70% of its residences listed for sale, a huge number. Can you imagine what happens to the unit values over there. According to another market observer, Metropolis also has lock boxes adorning a host of door knobs, another sign of units on the market. Again, this isn't the case with every high-rise building here, but you get the idea.

It seems that the years-long excitement is at last wearing off and reality is descending on the condominium market.