Archive for the ‘Las Vegas Economy’ Category

Las Vegas – More Light Than Tunnel

Posted on: May 19th, 2012 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

Moving Northward -   What lies ahead for the famous “Las Vegas Strip”?   Looks like action to the North.  The Sahara closed one year ago May 16th.  It was one of last large resorts on the North portion of the Strip before the Downtown area begins.

SBE Entertainment of Los Angeles and a private equity group are funding $300,000,000 for the rebirth of the old and torn Sahara built in 1952 at a cost of $5 Million.

The new resort will be the SLS Las Vegas.  It will be a boutique hotel designed by Philippe Starch who has the magic design touch of transforming coal into diamonds.

2012 SLS LAS VEGAS BOUTIQUE HOTEL AND CASINO

SLS Las Vegas will open in 2014 with 1,600 rooms.  The rooms will be priced between $100 and $200.  The overall resort will have a much smaller footprint than the other megaresorts giving the resort a warm boutique ambience. SLS is a hotel brand with one of the most luxurious hotels in Beverly Hills.  Rob Oseland is going to bring a Beverly Hills experience at Las Vegas prices.  Slide show of  SLS Las Vegas.

 

Between SLS Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment building the Linq retail and entertainment district, there is close to $1 Billion of construction of new projects currently being developed.

On Wednesday the Governor stated that “Today’s news will make an immediate and positive impact in Las Vegas, infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy and creating thousands of jobs.”

“Las Vegas is the epicenter of the national brands”.  According to Rob Oseland, president and chief operating officer of SLS Las Vegas.  This project could be the start of the development of the North end of the Strip.  Other signs of movement include the Holy Cow Brewery and Casino and the nearby Riviera is planning on $20,000,000 in renovations.  Who knows, the North end of the Strip could explode in the next two years. The North end of the Strip has empty buildings and stalled construction sites of new projects that could take off too.

50,000 cars pass the Sahara and Strip intersection every day.  The northwest corner is anchored by the World’s Largest Gift Shop.  With the awakening of this intersection, Carl Icahn might think again about the restarting the Fontainebleau site or selling it to someone who will restart it.  Las Vegas has had numbers on the plus side for the last six quarters.

Las Vegas may be in the middle of a robust recovery by 2014!

We have had a Wild Couple of Weeks out here & it Doesn’t seem to be Slowing Down

Posted on: April 2nd, 2012 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

After years of instability in the wake of the housing market collapse, the Las Vegas Valley Real Estate market could finally be seeing things turn around.

According to a recent report from DataQuick, there were a greater number of homes sold in Las Vegas in February on both an annual and month-over-month basis. A report indicated that there were 4,240 transactions of both single-family homes and condominiums. This is a 5 percent increase from the previous month, and an 8.9 percent rise from a year earlier.

The Las Vegas marketplace has been flooded with foreclosures and distressed properties during recent years. As a result, a majority of home sale transactions are occurring in the low-end of the market. The report noted that the sales rate of homes less than $100,000 surged 18.9 percent in February on an annual basis and accounted for 42.8 percent of all transactions. In contrast, the rate of home sales for more than $300,000 edged just 1.1 percent higher.

Housing instability in Las Vegas could be seen as negative by a number of people, especially current homeowners. However, falling home prices has made the prospect of purchasing a home for sale in Las Vegas much more affordable for entry-level home-buyers.

Now you may ask! What can I get for $100,000 in the Las Vegas Valley today? You’re going to find this hard to believe, but
click here to take a look—> Single Family Homes from $95 to $120K

Now as you look through these homes, ask yourself: When National housing prices begin to turn in 2013 (as the geniuses predict), wouldn’t you be happy camper in 3 to 5 years knowing that you purchased a home in the Las Vegas Valley at the absolute bottom of the market back in 2012?

Think about it and give me a call because the time to buy low is now.

Kindest Regards,

Mary Kennedy
RE/MAX Central
Las Vegas, NV.

Don’t Miss Your Recall

Posted on: March 26th, 2012 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

Occasionally, you hear about an important recall on a product you have and you take care of it immediately. However, if you were to miss such a notice, it could put you or your family in jeopardy.

You can subscribe to the U.S. Government’s Service to notify the public when recalls are made on vehicles, tires and child restraints through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on their site called http://SaferCar.gov

You’ll receive a notification by email when there is a new recall based on the type you selected. You can change your selections or unsubscribe at any time by going back to their website in the “Manage Your Notifications” section.

I’m committed to helping you be a better homeowner by providing information on items that can protect your family, your home’s value, reduce expenses, improve maintenance and increase the enjoyment of your home.

Best Regards,

Mary

Quarterly Economic Business and Activity Report from the Nevada Secretary of State

Posted on: February 28th, 2012 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

Please see the the Quarterly Economic & Business Activity Report put together byApplied Analysis here in Las Vegas, NV.

It says that the new business entity growth figures posted throughout the majority of 2011 suggest increased employment is likely to prevail in the coming quarters. Find all of the latest statistics sourced to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office by downloading the full report.

Although these numbers pertain to our economy, there is no doubt that our Real Estate Market is directly affected by our Economy and Business Activity.

One point that I would like to make to anyone who reads this, is that the Economy and Business Activity are slowly getting better.

Your comments and feedback on this report are invited and will be greatly appreciated. If I can help, please let me know.

Mary Kennedy

The IDEAL Investment

Posted on: February 21st, 2012 by Mary Kennedy No Comments
Rental homes can be the IDEAL investment in today’s real estate market because they offer a much higher rate of return than alternatives without the volatility of ups and downs that you see in the stock market.

IDEAL serves as an acronym to identify the advantages of rental properties:

  • Income from the monthly rent contributes to paying the expenses and a return on the investment.
  • Depreciation is a non-cash deduction that contributes a tax shelter.
  • Equity grows monthly as the mortgage amortizes due to some of each payment being applied to the principal.
  • Appreciation is achieved as the value of the property goes up.
  • Leverage can increase the return on investment by using borrowed funds to control a larger asset.
The combination of these characteristics working together makes rental real estate a very good investment for today’s economy and years to come. Increased rents, high rental demand, good values and low non-owner-occupied mortgage rates contribute to positive cash flows and very favorable rates of return.
Contact me for more information about actual opportunities in the Las Vegas Valley Real Estate  market.

Las Vegas Continues to Lead the Nation in Foreclosures

Posted on: December 5th, 2011 by Mary Kennedy No Comments
That’s bad news for some that currently live in Las Vegas and good news for some that want to move to the Las Vegas Valley.

For the folks on the Bad News side, I want you to know that, in my optimistic way of looking at the world, I believe that the Feds are coming to grips with the idea that the housing crisis has to be dealt with in order to help get the economy growing again. No one has been talking about it, but we have some lenders that are creating packages that will help homeowners stay in their homes.One such example came to light in the Palm Beach Post Money Section a couple of months ago. The article, written by Kimberly Miller entitled “West Palm Beach firm rolls out a new loan modification for underwater borrowers” tells about how Owen Financial Corporation is going through a paradigm shift in their view of mortgages in default and how they are working to partner with borrowers of underwater mortgages to create a win win situation. A Novel Approach!

So for those of you that are underwater in your mortgage or if you know someone that is, please forward, read and print this article out. Then, find an attorney that works Loan Modifications and see if you can’t work out something together with your lender. If you don’t know of anyone, contact me. I know people that can help.

Now! For those of you that want to move to the Las Vegas Valley, my latest numbers tell me that there are 47,000 homes that are somewhere in the foreclosure process. Of those, there are only around 9,700 on the market. Some are mired in red tape, but most are being held off the market to control inventory. While our prices are down around 9% year over year, the amount of homes sold are up by 15%

So I don’t really need to tell you what that means except that we are probably well into the “Perfect Storm” for Buying foreclosures in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.

At some point, I believe that the Feds are going find a creative way to help underwater homeowners stay in their homes as long as they can qualify for a Modified Loan. You are already seeing the start of it in 32 States.

Make it a GREAT Holiday!

More Optimism About The Las Vegas Housing Market

Posted on: October 25th, 2011 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

Why should we be optimistic about the housing market?

The global economy affects everyone.  Though we didn’t create the global economic crisis, we do have to deal with it in our everyday lives.  Wherever you are in the world, your economy will obviously affect your spending choices.

In the U.S. we do have indicators of a turnaround. Here are a few indicators that don’t get much publicity in the overall Market and the Las Vegas market: 

  • The worst is over for the mortgage resets.
  • People are buying homes in the U.S.  At the top of the heap are the Gen-Y and immigrant buyers.  The two groups continue to increase their real estate purchases.
  • The family formation numbers were dropping until recently.  Now they are back  up to 1.25 million families being formed every year.
  • If you go back to the recession in 1973, you will find that homes sales increased after the recession.  Homes sales are now increasing.

Here are more good indicators from the Investor Front.  Individual Investors who do not buy in bulk are playing a major role in the recovery of the housing market:

  • Investors buy homes, spend money to make the home “market ready,” and then they rent them.
  • On average, investors are spending over  $220,000,000 buying over 2000 homes per month in Las Vegas.  In June 2011 the amount hit a high of $250,000,000.  Over 49% of the purchases are all cash which creates a solid Las Vegas real estate market.  Cash sales are foreclosure proof.
  • Investors use their 401(k)s and IRAs to buy homes that they rent for a positive cash flow, which goes back into their 401k or IRA.
  • They ride the prices back up, and in the future, all the profit goes back into their retirement funds.  This process makes the future brighter for the future retirees as their accounts start to show profits again.

Better Days Are Ahead: Vegas Is Busy!

Posted on: September 11th, 2011 by Mary Kennedy No Comments

The Strip was packed with people this past weekend – full of young Gen Y’s and X’ers.*  The conventioneers were standing in the long registration lines.

* Generation Y (also known as the Millennial Generation, Generation Next, Echo Boomers)  follows Gen X. Gen Y’s are called Echo Boomers due to the significant increase in birth rates through the 1980s and into the 1990s, and because many of them are children of Baby Boomers. Generation X’s were born in the latter half of the 1960s through the early ’80′s.

Lots of Entertainment & Dining options attract the young visitors, and there’s lots of buzz about Cirque Du Soleil’s show Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour, which will be here December 3rd-14th at Mandalay Bay.

More than 50 Conventions will be here in the next 30 days.

Many of the visitors come here more than once a year, and they love the energy in Las Vegas. As cities go, Las Vegas is one of the youngest cities, and we have so much to offer. Seeing our great city in action fuels the fire in our belief that Las Vegas will come back stronger than ever. We can’t say it enough: our Affordable Housing will bring people to Las Vegas. August sales were second only to June 2009, with over 4,600 properties sold.

Over 17,200 Jobs are available.

The Las Vegas unemployment numbers are confusing. The construction industry is certainly not what it was. But those lost jobs still impact the unemployment stats, and that makes people think Las Vegas does not have jobs.  Look at this snippet (at right) from www.indeed.com, the largest search engine for job listings.

The real estate sales stats show that short sales are on the rise. Bank of America is experimenting with waiving the deficiencies.  This move alone will help stabilize housing prices.  Somewhere between the lines, in the future, the banking industry will have to consider lending to the hundreds of thousands of misplaced homeowners. When the banking industry increases their lending, believe that Las Vegas will be on the top of the heap!

People are coming here from around the world and investing in Las Vegas real estate.  Las Vegas returns Positive Cash Flow.  The displaced, foreclosed-on home owners provide the rental pool.

Download the Investment Calculator from the Invest section.  Cash flow calculations are at the bottom of  every listing in our home search.  You can see the cash flow!

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