New Las Vegas Real Estate Search Engine Launched

We are truly excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned web site at www.GreatLasVegasHomes.com. The new site has much more information on specific housing communities and condo developments, with on-page statistics for high, low and median prices within each community and direct links to listings by price range.

The new real estate search engine also gives you many more choices to refine your search results – you can even eliminate short sales or look specifically for bank foreclosures. Each detailed property listing has maps showing nearby amenities like schools, restaurants and shops. And, unlike the national sites, contingent properties have been eliminated, so you don’t waste hours looking at properties that are already under contract.

If you would like to buy a brand new home, we also have a featured "new home" section where you can browse all the builder inventory, including floor plans.

For previous clients, all you need to do is sign in with the same email address you used before – no passwords needed. Make sure to “save” your search criteria and the next time you sign in, you can load it all with one click of a button instead of starting over again. And don’t forget to save your favorite listings too – you can track them for future reference. If you are a new client, just register once with your email address and you can come back and visit as many times as you want.

Once you have visited our new site we would like to ask for your help - please send us your feedback and any suggestions to make it even better. We want our site to be THE best site for Las Vegas properties it can be. Happy browsing!

Culture Comes to Las Vegas

The mission statement of the new Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas reads: “To build and establish a high quality performing arts center that is embraced by the community and recognized as a vital force by supporting artistic excellence, education and inspiration for all.”

Well, mission accomplished! Say hello to the most hotly anticipated cultural venue in Las Vegas history: a $450 million performing arts center that puts Las Vegas on a par with the world's great stages. Some musicians are even claiming it is THE best performing arts center in the entire world. If you’ve been debating whether to move to Las Vegas because of its lack of cultural events, wonder no more.

The Smith Center celebrated its gala March 10^th opening by greeting lucky ticket holders with strawberries and champagne in the Grand Lobby of Reynolds Hall, one of three indoor venues at the Smith Center. Then they were ushered to their seats where they were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime line-up of legendary performances, ranging from music icons like Willy Nelson, Emmy Lou Harris and Carole King, to the who’s who of Broadway superstars.

The sold-out show featured incredible pairings of musical duos. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard performed "Pancho and Lefty." Carole King and Mavis Staples combined on the hit "You've Got a Friend." American Ballet Theater's Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris performed a dazzling tribute to the late Frank Sinatra . Jennifer Hudson, accompanied by a 70-member choir, closed the evening with a spectacular rendition of "Take Care of This House."

Theater goers were then treated to more champagne and strawberries as they left the venue with tears in their eyes and music in their hearts. One of my friends who was lucky enough to see the show mentioned how blessed she was to live so near such a fabulous place. She recently moved into Newport Lofts which is just blocks away - and she intends on taking full advantage of the new facility.
In the future, Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center's 2,050-seat auditorium, will host the Nevada Ballet Theatre, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and touring Broadway shows, as well as a variety of special concerts and comedy performances. This season’s Broadway shows include both Memphis and Wicked. I have seen them both several times and can’t WAIT to see them again at the Smith Center – they are fantastic!

The Smith Center also includes the adjacent Boman Pavilion, a 250 seat Cabaret Jazz club with a cozy intimate setting overlooking Symphony Park for both jazz and cabaret performances. Also in the Boman Pavilion, the Troesh Studio Theater serves as the Smith Center's version of a "black box" theater, with seating for 258. Nothing's booked yet for the fourth planned performance space, an outdoors concert venue in the adjacent Symphony Park, with lawn seating for 2,000 to 2,500.

So whether you live in one of Las Vegas luxury estates or a modest suburban home, make sure to check out the new Smith Center and truly enjoy all Las Vegas has to offer.

December is the "Black Friday" of Real Estate

For the past three years clients have been telling us they want a “steal of a deal” on Las Vegas real estate. So how come most of them stop looking in December? All month long, December is the Black Friday of real estate!

Savvy shoppers know that December is the best time of the year to buy property for a number of reasons. And that has never been more true of homes for sale in Las Vegas at the end of 2011 with interest rates and prices at an all time low already.

1. Motivated sellers! Many sellers will take their home off the market until after the holidays. This indicates a seller who is less motivated to sell. A seller who keeps their home on the market and easily available for showings wants to make that deal.

2. More negotiating room! Banks and other companies holding Las Vegas foreclosures want to clear their books so their year- end bottom line looks better to stockholders.

3. Less competition! There is less competition from other buyers who are distracted with holiday shopping and company parties. Or they may be waiting for more inventory to come on the market with the New Year. Yes, there will definitely be more listings after the first of the year, but again, these are likely sellers who are not as motivated to sell and may have until late spring or early summer to move.

4. Undivided attention! Real estate agents are less busy during December and have more time to hunt down that really special deal on your behalf. Listing agents are more willing to present lower offers to their sellers. Real estate agents may literally become your best friends during these slow months as they try to keep their sales moving.

5. Easier financing! Federal regulators have been threatening to tighten up mortgage guidelines yet again in 2012, and may also raise the amount of down payment required for FHA buyers. Not to mention that interest rates may also rise. A small percentage of increase in the interest rate means less buying power.

So this holiday season you have a choice: plan for the holidays, or take advantage of real estate’s annual Black Friday deals and plan for your future.

Buy a Property for $50k - Rent it for $1k per Month?!

'Where in Canada can you buy a $50,000 property and rent it for $1,000 a month?' was the lead-in for an article on the Las Vegas real estate market in the Montreal Gazette this past Friday. The article implied that paying $50k for a property and being able to lease it out at $1k per month was easy in Las Vegas and other distressed US markets.

If so, I would sure like to know where these properties are. I can’t seem to find any listed in our local Las Vegas MLS system. I would be happy to buy at least 10 of them this week myself! Already our phones are ringing off the hook from Canadian buyers who saw the article and don’t believe us when we tell them it was all hype. They think we are “hiding” the listings from them! (I have yet to see a real estate agent that can afford to “hide” listings and stay in business.)

Where does the press come up with these statistics?? They seem to have little or no basis in fact. Another news article posted recently said that the Las Vegas real estate market was going to go down another 10% to 12%. Again, this was reported with no supporting documentation, just a gobbled gook of random statistics that had no bearing on what was reported. But because of articles like these, we have to spend a lot of time re-educating buyers on fact vs. fiction and what is actually possible.

Sure, we absolutely have low cost homes for sale in Vegas. But they are in neighborhoods where the purchase price reflects the potential rental income as well. (And Buyers, please check those Metro crime statistics before making a purchase.) True, many of the Las Vegas short sale properties are listed way below market just to get someone to put in an offer. But the banks always do their own appraisal before approving a short sale, and will usually counter with a price that is within 5% of the actual market value.

That is not to say that you can’t get a terrific return on Las Vegas investment properties. It is absolutely possible to buy a cute newer home for around $100k and get $1k or more per month rental income. This is actually a great time to buy, as the latest statistics are finally showing a small upward trend in Las Vegas sales prices (see Las Vegas real estate weekly trends) and inventory has come down to a five year low. Just between October 1st and November 1st single family home inventory went from 11,500 active listings down to 10,500 active listings. (For homes under $200k we are once again experiencing multiple offer situations because investors and second home buyers from all over the world are trying to take advantage of the low cost to own.)

Not to mention, prices have dropped substantially, 50% to 60%, from just a few years ago. With the strength of the Canadian dollar vs. the US dollar, it makes all the sense in the world for Canadians to finally buy that snowbird property in the States. And the Australian buyers are also taking advantage of the favorable foreign exchange rates to purchase second homes and investment property in Las Vegas.

But someone somewhere has got to finally hold the press accountable for what they print. They aren’t doing anyone any favors by not checking the facts first. The client that buys that $50k property and expects to get $1k per month in rent is going to be sadly disappointed. The client that didn’t buy because he/she read that property prices were going to decline further is going to be really upset when they come back six months later and find that the home he/she wanted is even more expensive.

Help for Some Las Vegas Homeowners May Be On the Way!

While exact details have not yet been announced, it seems that help for some Las Vegas homeowners may be on the way as early as November 15th. Homeowners that have a mortgage loan guaranteed by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae may be able to refinance soon, even though they are underwater.

The Las Vegas real estate market was one of the hardest hit when the real estate bubble burst. Yet many Las Vegas homeowners have honored their commitment to lenders by not walking away from their homes and keeping their loans current, even though all around them they saw their neighbors bailing out. Some of those homeowners are about to reap the reward for meeting their obligations if the new plan announced by the White House comes through in November.

Homeowners with Las Vegas mortgage loans that were purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009 and have a current loan to value (LTV) of over 80% are eligible. The loan MUST be current with no late payments in the last six months and no more than one late in the last 12 months. There will be no ceiling on the loan to value and possibly an appraisal will not even be needed.

The first step is to determine if your home loan qualifies. Go to either: www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup or www.freddiemac.com/corporate to see if your loan is listed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Even a small decrease in the rate should give homeowners a significant monthly payment reduction. A $200k mortgage loan refinanced from 6% to 4.5% would result in almost a $200 monthly saving. And it may be that under the new guidelines the costs to refinance the loan can be rolled into the mortgage amount so that there is no out of pocket expense.

If your loan is listed and you have been current on your mortgage payments, the next step would be to contact a lender that will be participating in the new refinance program. That way as soon as the exact details are released, you will be notified of the terms and rates. We do have a list of lenders that will be participating in the refinance program, so please feel free to contact us at sold@greatlasvegashomes.com  and put “Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac refinance program” in the subject line. We will then forward your contact information on to a participating lender so you can be first in line for the new program.

Then stay tuned for the rest of the details as they are released!

Lake Las Vegas Rises from the Ashes

Like the mythical Phoenix, Lake Las Vegas is rising from the ashes of the real estate melt down. Still the most unique and beautiful of any of the Las Vegas master planned communities, Lake Las Vegas stands like a Tuscan mirage in the middle of the desert, and once again new home builders are taking the plunge to put it back on the map as one of the most desirable projects in the country.

Set on 320 lush acres with its own private lake, three hotels, a casino, the Lake Las Vegas Marina and home to the prestigious South Shore Golf Club, Lake Las Vegas is an elegant European themed resort destination with 1400 luxury homes and condos surrounding the Montelago Village, a boutique collection of shops and restaurants. Each year over 20 events are featured in the community with wine walks, Shakespeare in the Park, beer fests, dragon boat festivals and more.

Like the rest of the city, Lake Las Vegas was hit hard by the real estate crash. Several of the surrounding golf courses closed, the Ritz Carlton shut its doors and even the casino went dark. But over the past few months, a renaissance has arrived along with international buyers looking for second homes. The “buzz” is back. The Ritz Carlton became the Ravella, the Montelago Casino opened, and The Golf Club at South Shore is offering incredible membership options to homeowners.

Harmony Homes and Woodside Homes are on the band wagon and offering some amazing incentives for Las Vegas home buyers. Harmony Homes has two lovely developments in Lake Las Vegas, and through the end of December is offering to pay two full years of homeowner’s association dues for all buyers that go into contract before December 31st in addition to some upgrade incentives. Homes sizes run from 2300 sf to over 4600 sf starting in the low $300s. Woodside Homes, starting in the low $200s, has standing inventory from 1779 sf to 2361 sf with golf course lot premiums included in the base price. In addition, Toll Brothers is closing out the last few units in their exclusive townhome development with lake and golf course frontage from 1600 sf to 2181 sf.

So if you’d like to be neighbors with Celine Dion, now is the time to take a look at fabulous Lake Las Vegas and take advantage of the great home prices and discounted golf and marina memberships. There are even some great foreclosures in Lake Las Vegas too. You only live once - and what a way to live!