Streamline Towers Luxury Condos are open for sales and, unlike most high rise developments, the contracts are assignable. Plus for a limited time Prudential clients only need 5% down payment until closing on the two bedroom units. Call 702-985-7654 for more information and updated pricing.

While media attention has so far been concentrating on the glitzy new high rise developments going in along the Las Vegas Boulevard resort corridor, Mayor Oscar Goodman’s redevelopment of the “Old Strip” along Fremont Street into a San Diego style gas light district may make downtown condos the next “hot buy!” For both investors and owner occupants alike, the Streamline Towers project, scheduled to open its sales center in late July, could be a dream come true.

The Las Vegas downtown casino area is in the midst of a major redevelopment effort, and investors are starting to snap up the still relatively lower priced condo units there before prices go sky high along with the skyline. The redevelopment plan calls for a retro Las Vegas atmosphere with several distinct neighborhoods including an arts district, an entertainment district, a casino district, the Las Vegas Academy performing arts district and an office district, as well as the 12 million square foot World Market Center and the Premium Outlet Mall with over 120 shops and restaurants.

Streamline Towers will be the first luxury high rise built in the heart of the new six block entertainment district featuring nightly live jazz venues, taverns, cafes, nightclubs and boutiques. Securely financed by Barclay’s Bank and brilliantly located by the 200,000 square foot Neonopolis entertainment complex and the Fremont Street Experience, the building will be 21 stories high and have 251 elegant residences with private view balconies and 10 to 12 foot ceilings, rooftop pool, spa and terrace with Strip views, a fully equipped fitness center with Strip views, a 16th floor club house with Strip views, 11,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space including hairdressers, dry cleaners, mail facilities and boutique coffee shop, private secured parking and 24 hour concierge service.

Streamline Towers also offers onsite executive leasing services for nightly, weekly and long term rentals, making it ideal an ideal property for second home owners and investors. Prices range from $425,000 to $1,100,000 and condos range in size from 756 square foot one bedroom 1.5 bath units up to 1889 square foot 3 bedroom plus den 2.5 bath units. A total deposit of 15% will be placed into escrow upon contract signing and the project is due to be completed at the beginning of 2007.

And while there are nearly 100 Las Vegas condos and high rise projects in various stages of planning around the Las Vegas Valley, only an estimated 35% to 40% will actually be built. Streamline Towers is already fully backed and funded by Barclays Bank and ground breaking has started.In addition, owners will be able to walk a mere 162 steps from their front door to Fremont Street and the new businesses going in including:

Hogs & Heifers - the original New York honky tonk bar
Beauty Bar - straight from Sex and the City a beauty parlor with cocktails
The Downtown Club - by the owners of Whisky Sky - serious nightlife arrives downtown
Take One - Everyone’s a star with live entertainment and a spectacular restaurant
511 Fremont - the nightclub
Hennessey’s Tavern - an Irish pub straight from SoCal, dude
Mickie Finnz Fish House - a great place for a great time
Seven the Comedy Club - the best comics in the world
601 Fremont - clubs, boutiques and more
Triple George - a fabulous New York style restaurant
Cuba - a new night spot in your neighborhood
Celebrity - a night club with great live music and no cover charge

Preconstruction Real Estate - Buy Now, Pay Later!

Cash in on pre-sale profits in the country's five hottest real estate markets: Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Sarasota, Austin and Tucson. Small deposits on preconstruction properties can bring huge payoffs in appreciation for investors who purchase before building commences in the cities with soaring prices.

The sizzling Las Vegas real estate market is turning up the heat another notch. With over 80% of Nevada owned by the US government, land-starved developers are going vertical to meet the demand for housing in the fastest growing city in the United States. Presales of luxury high rise condos and "condotels" along the Las Vegas Strip are skyrocketing, with over 100 new high-end projects already in progress and more opening at the start of 2006. Developers are catering to sophisticated investors by offering a bundled package of lavish fully furnished units, onsite leasing agents and nightly rentals tied to the local casinos, and the return on investment for these Las Vegas condos is so high that many projects are sold out before ground has even been broken. Anticipated appreciation rates, which hit 39% in 2004, are also fueling the buzz.

Preconstruction condos are selling at a breakneck pace in Myrtle Beach. The release of phase I of Prince Resort at the Cherry Grove Pier was evidence of that when it was sold out ($53,000,000) in the first 48 hours. Investors are snapping up 2 to 3 units at a time, as the Myrtle Beach condos market continues to be one of the most undervalued preconstruction condo markets in the country. Real estate investments continue to be one of the safest investments an individual can make in this day and age. "Getting in early on a preconstruction project can assure the investor of paying the lowest price, and of course, choice of units," says David O'Connell of NewResorts.Com, who has dominated the Myrtle Beach market for the past 7 years. He is about to release a $60,000,000 oceanfront condominium project in the next few weeks.

Another hot area for investors is Austin, Texas real estate. Since the tech market crash of 2001, this jewel in the rough has been of strong interest to investors, especially those who are able to capitalize on their equity from other hot markets. It remains quite affordable for most first-time investors, with Austin homes and condos in the $100,000 to 300,000 range, as well as duplexes. Nestled in the beautiful hill country, Austin is scenic and serene, with a chain of lakes running from west to east and thousands of acres of devoted park land and nature preserves. All in all, one would do well to consider the up-and-coming Austin real estate market as part of a savvy investment portfolio.

Some of the most expensive yet highly sought after property can be found in Sarasota, Florida. As a "city of the arts" and a tropical paradise, Homes in Sarasota will always be in demand. Downtown Sarasota's bay front condos are the hottest real estate in the city right now. (Go to http://www.sarasotarealestateagent.com)Within walking distance to Sarasota Bay, theaters, restaurants, upscale shopping, specialty stores and cultural centers world-class amenities are right at your doorstep. Prices range from $300,000 to $10,000,000 depending on location, square footage and water views, for a two bedroom/two bath condo. These top of the line extraordinary new condos offer breathtaking views of Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Inc. Magazine recently named Sarasota as "Florida's next big thing!"

And meanwhile, out in Tucson, Arizona the local real estate market is also heating up, according to Brenda O'Brien, a top Tucson Realtor. While homes in Tucson are still reasonably priced, they are starting to climb at double digit rates. October listings in the Tucson Real Estate Market decreased 20% from the previous year, and the average price of a home in Tucson was $211,240, according to the local Association of Realtors. Tucson new home sales are also booming, and great homes can still be had in the $300,000 to $500,000 price range. Retirees from all over the country are choosing Tucson for the perfect weather and reasonable home prices, which add to the investment potential.

By going to contract prior to construction in any of these cities investors should be able to benefit hugely from the projected appreciation increases before even closing on their purchases. Those who purchase multiple units in several projects should do exceptionally well in 2006 before rising inflation costs drive prices up even more.

Housing Boom or Bubble

By JENNIFER ROBISON REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Las Vegas housing market has traded in its go-go performance of 2004 for a little sanity, local analysts said. "The good times are not over, but the boom is over. We're going into a period of normalcy," said Steve Bottfeld, an analyst with Marketing Solutions, at the company's Crystal Ball housing outlook last week. "A regular market is good enough. It's fabulous. We're going to be on a very high plateau."

Numbers from SalesTraq, which compiled the data used in the Crystal Ball seminar, showed marketwide gains that were steady, though smaller than in recent years. Sales of existing homes in Las Vegas Valley totaled 15,530 units in the third quarter, up from 14,731 homes in the same quarter a year ago. The median price for local resale homes rose 14 percent in the last year, from $249,000 at the end of the third quarter of 2004 to $284,500 at the end of the most recent third quarter. Local builders closed on 10,314 new homes in the third quarter, up from 7,194 homes in the third quarter of 2004. The median price for Las Vegas new homes increased 7 percent, from $281,082 at the close of last year's third quarter to $301,050 at the end of the most recent third quarter. Those increases are significantly lower than increases recorded in 2004, when Las Vegas led the nation in housing appreciation. The National Association of Realtors reported a local appreciation rate of nearly 54 percent in the third quarter of 2004 from the third quarter of 2003.

Conversions of apartments to for-sale condominiums are helping suppress price increases in the new-home segment, said Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq. Without the condo-conversion average of $160,000, new-home prices would average about $330,000, Murphy said.

SalesTraq's statistics show the sheer sales numbers that allow condominium conversions to influence local housing prices. In the fourth quarter of 2004, developers sold 500 condo-conversion units. In the first quarter of 2005, that figure doubled to 1,000 units. In the second quarter, conversion sales rose to 1,300 units, and in the third quarter, 2,200 units were sold -- about a fifth of the new-home market. Murphy said he expects sales of condominium conversions to reach 2,500 units in the fourth quarter.

The ascension of the Las Vegas condo conversions also shows in patterns of local closings. Single-family homes claimed 85 percent of new-home closings in the third quarter of 2004, while the condominium sector, which includes both new condos and conversions, had 14 percent of the market's new-home closings. In this year's third quarter, single-family homes accounted for 65 percent of new-home closings, while condos took 34 percent of new-home closings.

"If you look at the value in Las Vegas compared to Southern California, Las Vegas is still undervalued and that's good for us. That tells me our properties will continue to increase in value. It's just going to be at a slower pace than in the last year."

Other findings released at the Crystal Ball seminar:

Presenters unveiled numbers that they say contradict the predictions of analysts who believe just 25 percent of the market's proposed Las Vegas high rise condos will be built. Of the 40,000 units that Murphy said have been announced, 12,000 units, or more than a quarter of the total, are under construction -- so the high-rise market has already surpassed analysts' expectations, he said. In addition, developers are actively marketing nearly 13,000 units. Seven of the 10 best-selling subdivisions in the third quarter were condominium-conversion neighborhoods.

Measured in a single bloc, condo conversions led the market in number of closings, with 2,114 units. KB Home was No. 2, with 938 closings. Pulte Homes and subsidiary Del Webb Communities combined to capture the No. 3 spot, with 893 closings. D.R. Horton was No. 4, with 811 closings. Richmond American Homes rounded out the top five, with 583 closings.

The five best-selling master plans in the valley all posted average prices well above the market norm.

Aliante, which American Nevada Co. and Pulte-Del Webb are developing in North Las Vegas, topped the sales list with 454 units closed in the third quarter. The average new-home price at Aliante was $388,462.

Pulte-Del Webb's Anthem master plan in Henderson came in at No. 2, with 405 closings. New homes in Anthem averaged $409,861 in the most recent quarter. The Howard Hughes Corp.'s Summerlin, in the western valley, was No. 3 in sales, with 338 closings and an average price of $569,215.

Mountain's Edge, a Focus Property Group master plan in southwest Las Vegas, made its debut on the list at No. 4, with 291 closings and an average price of $441,169.

American West's Coronado Ranch in southwest Las Vegas was No. 5 in closings, with 252 units sold and an average price of $343,788.

The number of days that resale homes spend on the market has risen, from 19 days in spring 2004 to 42 days. Most markets experience averages of 60 days or more on the market, Murphy said.

For more information on Las Vegas High Rises go to: Las Vegas CondosFor information on Las Vegas homes for sale go to: Las Vegas Real EstateFor information on Las Vegas Country Clubs go to: Las Vegas Golf Course HomesFor information on Henderson homes for sale go to: Henderson Nevada Real Estate