Homes for sale in Las Vegas reach 13,000 mark in this part of  the year

The actual number of homes available for sale in Las Vegas in this part of the year reached the 13,000 mark, this according to industry observer Applied Analysis.

Of the 13,028 homes for sale, the Las Vegas-based firm Applied Analysis reported that 5,100 of these units are identified as short sales while the remaining 7,900 units are for sale under normal transaction. Most homeowners of these for sale homes have one way or the other faced foreclosures.

The 13,028 homes available for sale in Las Vegas as reported by Applied Analysis is way lower than the 20,613 units reported by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

Las Vegas continuous to top the list of the nation’s most affected areas for foreclosures. 

California-based investment advisory firm Foreclosures.com reported that for the first half of the year, Clark County foreclosures increased by 84.3 percent; that was 23,588 from 12,800 in the previous year.

According to Richard Lee, public relations director of First American Title Co., 20,000 to 30,000 homes are anticipated to be part of the next batch of foreclosures in Las Vegas. However, Lee said no one has been able to validate those numbers.

The public relations director of First American Title Co. added that the foreclosure crisis in Las Vegas will escalate. However, he said that no one can 100 percent predict where the market is going.

The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that the $75 billion Making Homes Affordable Plan of the Obama administration, as well as the loan modifications pledged by lenders have made no significant impact to the wave of foreclosures nationwide.

The Center for Responsible Lending reported that there have been less than 500,000 loan modifications completed since 2007.
 
In a testimony before Congress, Keith Ernst, director of Center for Responsible Lending, reported that a total of 1.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure. The center’s director added that over the next five years, an additional 13 million foreclosures are anticipated.

Las Vegas June home sales soars

Real estate information service DataQuick reported that Las Vegas home sales in June this year soared to the highest level for any month since December 2006.

DataQuick, a firm which tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records, said a total of 5,519 new and resale houses and condominium units closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County) in June. This was up by 21.7 percent from May, up by 44.1 percent from a year ago, the highest sales total for any month since 5,780 homes sold in December 2006, and the highest for any June since 8,110 homes sold in June 2006, the firm said.

The 4,042 single-family house resales in June 2009, DataQuick said, were the second highest for any June next to 4,846 sold in June 2005. Resale of condominum units have also seen an annual sales gain for 12 straight months, DataQuick added.

DataQuick said that in June of this year about 70 percent of the Las Vegas-area houses and condominium units that resold foreclosure resales or those homes foreclosed in the previous 12 months. This  increase was from 59 percent in June 2008 but the lowest for any month since it was 68.9 percent last December, the firm said.

Foreclosure resales reached its highest point in April this year at 73.7 percent of total resales, the real estate information service added.

Due to the fact that home builders cannot compete with heavily discounted foreclosure resales, sales of newly built homes remain extraordinarily low, the real estate information service said.

Unaltered from May but down 41.3 percent from $230,000 a year ago, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condominium units sold in the Las Vegas metro area in June was $135,000,  DataQuick reported.

Investors keen on buying single-family homes

Las Vegas Sun reported that investors are now hot on buying single-family homes in Las Vegas, not for appreciation potential, but for rental income.

Investors are picking up mostly the foreclosed properties. Short sales in Las Vegas can be a 2 to 4 month wait for approval. Home buyers who will occupy the home they buy, have been turning to short sales as an alternative to the competetive REO market that is flooded with the cash buyers.

Short sales in Las Vegas can be just as good of a deal as the bank owned homes in Clark County. Anyone who has the aptience to wait one out may end up with a ahome that is in much better condition as compared to foreclosed home.

Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq, a Las Vegas housing research firm, reported that over the past year, single-family homes performed best out of all the real estate investment categories. Murphy said single-family home has always been the preferred house of choice by most people. He said most people want the picket fence and the back yard.

Murphy added that between the first six months of 2008 and first six months of 2009, the median price of single-family homes fell by 34 percent in Clark County, NV.

According to Steve Bottfeld, executive vice president of Marketing Solutions, investors are buying single-family homes to earn money from rental income.

It is logical for someone to buy in cash a home in Las Vegas for $100,000 and then rent it for $1,000 a month as this corresponds to a 12 percent return before taxes and other expenses, Bottfeld said. He added that even if one can only get an 8 percent return, this is better than getting a 2 percent return or interest from the bank.

Glenn Plantone, president of the Real Estate Insiders Club in Las Vegas, reported that investors are making the most out of the drop in home prices. Plantone said that in some instances, prices of homes fell by 70 percent in the northwest. He said homes sold for about $300,000 are now being sold for about $110,000.

Plantone added that home rental remains a strong market as people prefer renting a home than an apartment. He said homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure prefer to rent a home than an apartment.

The president of SalesTraq added that over the past year, land fared second after single-family homes. Even with the financial crisis, Murphy said land remains a precious commodity in Las Vegas.

Builder DR Horton has done some impressive sales  the first six months of this year, despite the recession in the new home sales in Las Vegas. According to sales track DR Horton has recorded a high amount of sales when compared to other Las Vegas home builders in this market.

According to Dennis Smith, a housing analyst by profession and president of Home builders Research, terrific marketing of new homes made by DR Horton made the difference between them and others. The move of the Texas based builder which is named as “Repo myth sale” has been appreciated by Smith saying that it is a great move to bring this issue of foreclosures to consumers. There are other builders in the market with lower rate then him but he has benefited due to this “Repo myth sale”
According to DR Horton, foreclosed homes are costly in poor condition and they also require costly refurbishing which makes them more expensive than a new home. This appeal is important to those first time buyers who have been frustrated by losing to investors in the case of foreclosed homes.
According to Smith, to hold down the prices of foreclosed homes and especially with new homes, low appraisals of the buildings is the major factor. Home builders have to fight for the issue because they could not be credited for refurbishing of the foreclosures.
The average price per square foot of new homes in July shoot up to $107 as compared to existing homes price of $76, Smith says. An increase in single month isn’t enough to get excited because unemployment and difficulty in obtaining finance is the problem for buyers. As the rates of existing homes are lower than the new homes, the inventory of existing homes has decreased for now, and the builders are already gearing up for buying finished and near-finished lots from banks. Nationally, the Commerce Department reported this week that due to low interest rates, bargaining in prices and $8000 federal tax credit new home sales in June posted their fastest increase in more than eight years
Pardee has even sold all of its remaining lots in the Providence master-planned community in northwest Las Vegas, and Lennar is selling remaining lots in many of its subdivisions, Smith says.
The finished lots have been foreclosed from $10,000 to $45,000 depending upon the location. During the boom period the lots may have been sold up to $100,000 or even more. According to Smith, the increase in lot buying is a big change from last two to three months. As demand picks up in this market in the coming years, many are looking to build on these lots. According to the research of Smith, there are 368 new permits pulled in June which is nearly 54% less when compared to last year but the positive news is that the monthly permit tally has been increased since January. According to Smith, if builders have to compete against existing homes they have to buy hundreds of lots today at bargain-basement prices.

According to DataQuick foreclosure resales has been shooted up from 59% in June,2008 to 70% in June of this year. The sales of Foreclosures have been peaked at 73.7% in April of this year. Buying a home also depends upon the time also as during this season the maximum trading has been there. According to Data Quick, the inventory of Las Vegas will continue to weigh on home prices as Las Vegas has many foreclosures to burn off.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors has elected new board members and office bearers for the next year 2010 in the high profile meeting. Rick Shelton of Re/Max Associates has been elected president of the association while Paul Bell of Prudential American Group is now President-elect. Min Melvin of Keller Williams Market Place has been elected vice president while Paul Smith of Realty ONE Group is the treasurer of the association. The term of all the members start 1st of January, 2010.

New home sales are up 11% nationally compared to last month sales. This hasn’t been seen in 9 years and is also the 3rd consecutive month of growth.

What does this mean for Las Vegas home buyers considering purchasing a short sale in Las Vegas, a foreclosure in Clark County or a new home. Builders are trying to compete with all of the foreclosures and short sales that are currently on the Las Vegas real estate market so they have had to reduce their prices. The median price of homes in Las Vegas have dropped from the high of 315,000 to the new median price which is under 150,00. This good news because it gives another choice for frustrated homebuyers trying to get a home in this busy Las Vegas real estate market.

If you build a new home, it will probably take about 3 to 4 months from dirt.  That’s about how long it takes to get a short sale in Las Vegas approved!  A favorite line I once heard from a new home sales agent was, ” No one has ever cut there toe nails here!”  That is the nice thing about purchasing new. New appliances, carpet paint, that new home smell!

Builders are including such things as stoves, washer and dryers, refrigerators etc. Anyone who has looked through short sale listings as well as valley foreclosures knows 4 out 5 is missing at least one of these items if not all. The other nice thing is it will close, for sure! That can be one of the most frustrating thing when it comes to someone buying a short sale home. It can take 2 to 4 months and there are no sure signs that say yes it’s  close. One of the hardest things is to keep the buyer committed to the sale.

If you are interested in new home sales in Las Vegas, please call us so we can set up a new home search for you.

CNBC reports Las Vegas home sales are on a sugar high. Las Vegas short sales and foreclosures consisted of 80% of  June sales. June 2009 had 4,701 closings according Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. This is better than any other month in the last 5 years. A sugar high or no sugar high, this is weeding us through our problems.

It will get the homeowners out of the homes they can no longer afford, it will get the houses off the banks books, and brand new homeowners who couldn’t of afforded these homes a few short years ago.

Fort Myers, one of Florida’s hardest hit areas and the area I spent my honeymoon, is reporting record sales. New listings have multiple offers within days of listings. Sales  are up 116 % year to date through June and inventory is down to a 3.5-month supply, about a 1/3 of what it was last summer. You can attribute the booming sales to the median price nearly 60% of what it was a year ago.

Rick Shelton, president elect of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and my former broker before starting i Realty, states in the same CNBC report “(Foreclosed) properties are almost selling faster than we can get inventory,” and “Inventory is extremely depressed.”

When the bubble started in 2004 we had very low rates and inventory. Hopefully this action will help the Las Vegas real estate market recover. The majority of the people thought prices would keep going up. They could have sold their homes then but thought no way its going to keep going up. Now the majority of people are standing on the sidelines thinking prices will keep going down. I feel it is the same way of thinking in both cases.

The perceived value is here, now in the market. It could drop more…..so. If you are buying a home for 100,000 and it drops 10% in the next year, that 10k will cost you about $60 a month. Is living in a rental apartment, with a landlord telling you can’t paint the walls the color you want, no tax write offs and  a HOME that is not yours worth $15 a week?

I don’t think so.

Las Vegas Short Sales.

There are currently 5117 short sales in Las Vegas on the market. This includes Condos in Las Vegas, single family homes in Las Vegas and townhomes. Close to 30% of these homes are priced under 100,000. The majority of the homes are priced between 100,000 to 200,000. That makes up nearly 50% of the short sales in Las Vegas.

Luxury homes in Las Vegas are a small percentage of the market. There are currently 110 homes priced between 500,000 and 1,000,000. These homes would have fetched well over the 1 to 2.5 million at the height of the market.

Click here to download this report.

July_19_2009_Short_Sale_inventory_report

Please contact us to view any of these homes currently on the market and use our site to search for Homes in Las Vegas.

Buyers looking to purchase a home in Las Vegas will be happy to hear we still have foreclosures coming.  Realty Trac reports there were 8,726 notices of default filed in Nevada in June. That is close to a 10% jump between May and June in 2009. In Las Vegas Real Estate, Las Vegas Notice of Defaults dropped from 7,643 in May to 7,335 in June. Notice of defaults and sale dates issued by lenders jumped from 14,681 in May to  15,885 in June. Nevada has led the nation in foreclosures for the first half of the year. We have surpassed Florida, Phoenix and the hardest hit areas of California. It is estimated that everyone 1 in 13 homes in Nevada has recieved a notice of default. A NOD is typically issued after a borrower has missed 3 payments.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported a record 4,702 home sales locally in June, with the median price of $140,000 remaining steady from May. The good news is the inventory is getting eaten up once they are on the market. Lenders are working with homeowners on modifications as well. If your purchasing a short sale home, the banks seem to be working through these with a bit more efficiency than compared to a year ago.

What should you know before purchasing a short sale.

Wait.

Yes if the little rabbit has trouble waiting on chocalate milk, you are going to have to wait longer! There are so many people involved in a short sale transaction compared to a regular sale.

Now compare this to a short sale transaction. There are 4 times the number of people involved in the transaction. This shows why it takes 2 to 4 months to close one of these deals.

The diagram displays that there are so many steps involved in getting a short sale sucessfully closed. If buyers can understand the complexities before entering a  into a short sale, they may be a little more understanding. There are so many emotions that run through the buyers mind.

So great, you found a nice house and have an accepted offer from the seller, now what?

The listing agent will send in the purchase agreement along with:

Authorization to speak to the lender on behalf of the seller.

An estimated HUD showing the what the lender will net from the sale.

Sellers hardship letter.

All their financial’s including, bank statements, paystubs, 2 years of previous taxes, and a breakdown of all monthly bills. The average short sale submissions are 100 pages total.

The file is in then imaged and reviewed. They then order a BPO ( Brokers Price opinion) to get a value of the property. If the BPO comes back within reason of the offer, it will be assigned to a negotiator. They then review all of the documents and decide if it should go in for approval to all of the parties in short sale diagram above. Hopefully we are 6 weeks into the process here.  On average short sales will receive an approval from this point within 4 weeks on average.

Another factor that will affect the process is there one lender or two lenders. If there are two lenders are they with the same bank or different banks. Is the second willing to accept what the first is willing to give them.

These loss mitigation agents can be sitting on 100 files. They are overworked in a field that did not exist to this degree a short 3 years ago. Everyone wants to close the deal. It just takes time.

If you are looking to purchase a short sale, commit to the fact it will take longer than expected and if goes smooth you are lucky! The flipside is continue writing offers on bank owned homes along with everyone else and their brother and hope to get an answer in a reasonable amount of time. Regardless of bank owned or short sales, it is not an easy process but the prices are great and so are the rates.