Las Vegas New Homes

Cancellations on Las Vegas new homes are rising around the Valley. Home Builders Research released statistics showing that the cancellation rate on purchases of new homes in the Valley jumped to 53 percent in August.

The rate had been closer to 30 percent two months ago before lenders starting tightening credit. Lenders are requiring higher credit scores, and those who don't have good credit are required to put down a greater down payment or pay higher interest rates. Even people with good credit are finding it harder to get jumbo loans of $417,000 and above. Those who can't document their income are also having difficulty getting loans.

"Buyers are certainly not canceling because they are changing their minds," said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research. "They are canceling because something has changed in their monthly payments."

The good news for patient buyers who were waiting for the Las Vegas homes market to bottom out is that builders have drastically lowered their prices and are offering incredible incentives in order to move inventory. And a few top real estate agents are negotiating even better deals for their buyers than the tracts are initially offering based on the volume of buyers they are able to bring to the tract.

Smith reports Meritage Homes lowered prices in some of their subdivisions by $50,000. And Rhodes Homes is selling homes for $125 to $130 per square foot, way below 2005 levels.
But despite current soft market conditions, Las Vegas is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, and reports say recovery is likely to come faster here than in any other city in the country. A large shortage in labor and a retiring baby boomer generation spell a large population increase in the imminent future which should effectively eliminate the housing surplus and return the market to balanced buying and selling conditions. In order to take advantage of the existing builder discounts, contact our office at 702-985-7654 and ask to speak to one of our new homes specialists.

Three Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score

In these challenging times when credit requirements are being tightened up at all the major lending institutions, good credit is more important than ever for home buyers. Las Vegas mortgage lenders have all but eliminated 100% financing and those with 5% down need to have great credit scores to obtain financing. Below are three techniques for raising credit scores substantially within 30 to 60 days.

DEBT to CREDIT RATIO: Carrying the proper debt to credit ratio will boost your score faster than paying off your bills in full each month. If you have $10,000 in total unsecured revolving credit accounts and you're currently in debt $2500, then your debt to credit ratio is 25%. If you have $1000 in unsecured credit and you owe $500, then your debt to credit ratio is 50% and you will score lower even though you owe considerably less money!

So how can you bring your ratios down without selling everything you own? The answer sub prime merchandise cards. A sub-prime merchandise card is nothing more than a card attached to a line of credit which allows you to buy merchandise from a specific vendor. The merchandise (in most cases) will be purchased through a catalog or online mall. Here's how it works: the company approves anyone with a pulse (literally) and gives them a card for $2,500 to $12,500 with NO credit check and NO cosigner. However, the card is only good for merchandise through their website or catalogs and the consumer is required to put down a deposit on whatever they purchase. After the deposit is paid, the remaining balance is financed on the card. With a legitimate Sub-Prime Merchandise Card your credit line WILL be reported to at least one major credit bureau (or more).

This means if you get a $5,000 card and you finance $500, on your credit report it will look like any other credit card and will do three extremely important things for you. 1.) It will increase your current "High Credit Limit" by $5,000 almost overnight as the account "looks" like any other unsecured evolving account. 2.) By carrying a small outstanding balance it will positively impact your credit report by building and showing potential lenders your credit worthiness. 3.) With a good payment history you are virtually guaranteed to receive "legitimate" pre-approved credit offers in the future due to other lenders renting your name from the credit bureaus.

PIGGYBACKING: Piggybacking is easy, effective, and extremely fast. Almost every credit card or credit account will allow the primary account holder to add on (at a later date) what's known as an "Authorized User" or "Secondary Account Holder". In most cases, when this is done, the entire account history(retroactively) gets posted to the authorized users credit report regardless of their current age or credit history. This strategy is usually only used by parents and their children or between other relatives. In recent years, due to its' effectiveness, this technique has led individuals with excellent credit scores to "rent out" authorized user accounts on one or even multiple credit cards in return for a fee.

DISPUTING COLLECTIONS AND BAD DEBTS: Often collections and bad debts that appear on a credit report can be removed simply by disputing them. The collection company has 30 days to respond to a dispute and often never does. At that point the credit company is required to remove the item from the credit report thus raising the score.

To find out more about financing Las Vegas homes, please call us at 702-985-7654.

Arizona Developer Buys Ivana Condo Site!

Once again the land on the northeast corner at Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard has changed hands, this time being purchased by Steven Johnson, longtime real-estate developer, who, for the past several decades, has quietly negotiated land deals in Arizona and around the Southwest. Most recently, Johnson bought the three adjacent parcels at the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue according to Clark County land records.

Previously the site of the Holy Cow Casino, this two acre parcel was most recently proposed to be the tallest condo tower in Las Vegas, according to would-be Australian developer Victor Altomare. Launched with the motto "In Vegas, Size Matters," The Ivana Supertower was intended to be an 80 story building soaring above the Las Vegas Strip at 923 feet. Much was made of the competition between Ivana Trump, after whom the building was named, and ex-hubby Donald for sales of their respective Las Vegas condos properties. But after numerous launch parties and lots of hoopla, eventually Altomare quietly folded up shop and headed back to Australia.

The current sale shows Johnson paid $45 million for the two acre Holy Cow/Ivana parcel. Johnson says that he is at least a month from finalizing plans for the site, which is across from a multibillion-dollar resort that MGM Mirage Inc., Kerzner International Holdings Ltd. and Dubai World are planning. Since the site is entitled for a casino, there is speculation that there will be some sort of gaming on the property. But much of the property Johnson has purchased in Las Vegas has been turned into Walgreens drugstores, including one on the Las Vegas Strip near the MGM Grand hotel-casino and another at the corner of Charleston and Las Vegas boulevards.

Whatever he builds there, Johnson's intention is that by the end of 2009 his project will be 75% complete. Evidently Johnson, who has been extremely successful in all his past real estate ventures, feels that Las Vegas real estate is still a good investment, even with a $45 million dollar price tag! That's why it's also a good time to look into Las Vegas homes for sale. Buy when the "big guys" are buying too.