Las Vegas real estate numbers keep improving

May housing numbers for Southern Nevada are mostly positive. Not too long ago all the key indicators were heading in the wrong direction, but that trend seems to be now history. Recent history for sure, but history anyway. The one truly worrisome category that keeps churning out high figures is the foreclosure filings and it may unfortunately stay that way for a while longer.

On the positive front, as reported by local research shops SalesTraq and Home Builders Research, resales grew 5.2% in May as compared to a year ago, totaling 2,606 homes sold. Bank foreclosures played a large role in this as lenders have slashed prices to unload properties they don't want to keep in their books. Attractive pricing has certainly nudged home buyers and investors off the fence where they've been sitting for the last couple of years. Median values have slumped over 20% from the high of $290,000 in October of 2006. As sales improve, it could also mean that further price declines are unlikely.

Please click on the link in the first paragraph to read the entire article.

Super-luxury housing market still strong in Las Vegas

This segment seems to have it all figured out. It’s generally considered to include homes that go for upwards from $3 million at which level buyers seem to be little concerned about where the Las Vegas real estate market is, what mortgage rates are doing or how the national economy is behaving. They just go out to find a house to their liking and purchase it, often paying cash for it, too. As long as the money is available, it’s usually going to be an easy closing since there is no need to deal with underwriting issues, meeting conditions and that sort of stuff.

Some of the ultra-luxury sales in the last several months took place at MacDonald Ranch, Shadow Creek, Queensridge, TPC Summerlin and Panorama Towers. In 2003 the top price for a home sold in Southern Nevada exchanged hands at $4.2 million while that number increased to $17.4 million in 2007 for a Shadow Creek property, according to GLVAR, or the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Clearly the values keep going up nicely in this market segment, apparently pretty much immune to what is taking place elsewhere in the valley.

In a stark contrast, the semi-custom product usually in a guard-gated community that not too long ago ranged in price from $1 to $1.5 million is starting to show real stress. A host of them are now on the market for 30-50% less and local observers predict there is still room to go further down. It’s here where the tough economic times obviously have a real impact on the homeowner, especially when he sees the value of the home drop way low. To be several $100 Ks upside down will definitely make you think and some of them have decided to become “mortgage walkers”. They just hand the keys back to the lender and walk away.

All in all, the super-luxury and the lower-end and mid-range segments seem to be holding up rather well at this point. It's the upper mid-range home that is still going through a serious correction.

Mortgage lender REO count grows

Recent statistics, especially on sales numbers, have instilled some optimism among consumers that the distressed real estate market is about to bottom out in many areas of the country. Maybe it is and that would be a welcome boost for the industry, and also for the beleaguered mortgage lending community. On the other hand, though, perhaps a few more tough months lie straight ahead.

That is what First American CoreLogic, a research shop from California, is indicating in its latest foreclosure report compiled from bank and county sources. Investors in home loans and mortgage lenders together had in their books roughly 660,000 homes by April when the count was 493,000 in January. And in January of 2007 the number was a paltry 231,000. This spring the pace has clearly accelerated and throws a grayish cloud over the hoped-for recovery.

Las Vegas has experienced a moderate increase in home sales in the last few months thanks in part to lenders aggressively dropping prices on their REOs, or real estate owned. Similar trend has taken hold in other hard-hit areas across the land, too. By doing that, the theory goes, it's better to lose a little if values keep decreasing than lose a lot by holding onto the vacant, money-losing property.

Some mortgage firms have read the tea leaves differently. To minimize losses, or even avoid them altogether, they have actively sought out homeowners in distress to work out something so that they can stay in the house. The idea is to completely bypass the REO scenario. Making the loan terms more palatable could solve the problem, or stretching out the payment period might fix it. This approach appears to be more of a win-win nature to both sides, but for some reason it isn't used as much as many would think.

One good thing coming out of the assertive price-cutting alternative to REO sales is that this way a realistic, lower housing value plateau for the area is reached faster. From all appearances Las Vegas seems to be following this route. When median household incomes and real estate prices settle to a workable range the market will cure itself and return to normalcy.

Las Vegas condo-hotel market cooling

Condominiums that can be doubling as hotel rooms was introduced a few years ago as a new concept to Southern Nevada, likely migrating here from Florida where it had already seen quite a bit of success. Vegas being such a hot-spot tourist magnet world over proved to be a fertile ground for the idea. Developers quickly realized the opportunity and were soon elbowing their way to authorities to get building permits. A frenzied housing expansion was already gathering steam in town when this phenomenon was discovered and what it did was add a smaller side boom to merge with the larger general boom.

All good booms come to an end one day, though, as the single-family house and townhome segments in Las Vegas have already proved with their soft performance of late. Now it's the condo-hotel's turn.

To read the entire article, please click on the link in the second paragraph.