Las Vegas Home Specialist

Can it be we are finally approaching the bottom of our housing slump? The numbers are hinting at it. Sales are good and the difference between the median sales price in September and October was negligible. This will be a number to watch. If it stays stable over the next couple of months, this is a strong indication that we are at the bottom. Las Vegas leads major markets in reducing asking prices. Asking prices are down 7.1 percent over the past three months. Here are some interesting statistics. 61 percent of October sales were bank owned properties with a median sales price of $166,000. The median price of non bank owned properties sold was $217,000, up from $210,000 in September.

There are probably around 15,000 bank owned properties in Las Vegas right now. At current sales rates, it would take seven months to sell them all. However, with more such properties coming on the market every month, there is probably a 14 month supply of bank owned properties. That being the case, we’ll be bumping along the bottom into 2010.

The Robb Report, in its October/November issue, has listed Las Vegas as one of five areas which are a “good bet” for purchasing vacation homes in the United States. The other four were Miami, Aspen, Maui and Coeur d’Alene.

The results of this research pointed to three distinct sectors within the global real estate market: places that are perennially strong; those that have yet to peak and are seemingly undiscovered; and those that offer investment opportunities because their values have dropped, which certainly helped Las Vegas make the cut.

Click here for information on second homes in Las Vegas and Henderson.

With property values lower than they may have been at the time your home was last assessed for property taxes, it may be time to consider requesting a new assessment. Whether you plan to stay in your home, are contemplating selling it or are buying, it is very likely that the property taxes currently assessed were based on a price higher than the property is worth in our current market here in Las Vegas.

Property in Clark County is valued at 35 percent of its current appraised value. If the taxes you are currently paying are more than 35 percent of the current value of your home, you should consider appealing your tax rate. If you’re not sure, contact us to request a market evaluation of your home, which can be done via email.

After reviewing the information, if you believe your property has been assessed incorrectly, you have until January. 15 to file an appeal. Contact the assessor’s office at (702) 455-3891 for information on how to do so.

We saw a little softening in numbers of sales in October, which really isn’t too surprising as we lost the seller assisted down payment programs October 1 and the economic news was, shall we say, unnerving. Still, the market continues to be active as buyers take advantage of all the homes available for less than $200,000, which is where the majority of sales are concentrated. In October that number was 1,753. There were 717 sales of properties between $201,000 and $300,000 and 397 sales over $301,000.

In total, there were 2,867 sales in October, of which 407 were condominiums or townhouses. Of those 407, 300 were bank owned and 27 were short sales. Of the 2,456 single family homes which sold, 1,729 were bank owned and 241 were short sales.

Lots of listings have contracts - 5.967, of which 2,731 are bank owned and 1,743 are short sales. While the majority of the bank owned properties seem to close, it appears that about 10 to 15 percent of the short sales do.

I was recently contacted by a client whose house we had tried to sell as a short sale a year ago. Despite bringing multiple offers to the lender in the $250,000 to $260,000 price range, the lender refused all of them. The property eventually went back to the lender and was sold for $207,500. My client has now been sued by the insurance company for the shortfall of $180,000. Of course, there was no incentive for the lender to sell short, as they knew they would be reimbursed by the insurance policy. As my client says, everyone’s getting bailed out but the homeowners.

As you may know by now, seller assisted down payment assistance programs were eliminated on October 1 by the homeowners assistance legislation passed by Congress in July. Since then, sellers are precluded from contributing the 3% FHA down payment. Sellers may still contribute to buyers’ closing costs, but this is generally limited to 3 to 4 percent by lenders. However, there are still programs available to help buyers obtain financing.

Help Us Give To Our Schools (HUGS) originally provided down payment assistance to Clark County School District employees, but, as of September 22, is now available to all first time home buyers throughout Nevada. First time home buyers are defined as not having owned a home in the last three years. HUGS will provide between $2,000 and $12,000 toward a new home buyer’s down payment or closing costs. Eligibility requirements include using a HUGS foundation mortgage agent or Realtor. Combined income cannot be above $82,000 for families or $41,000 for singles. Liquid assets cannot exceed $15,000. The home buyer must invest a minimum of one percent and occupy the home for a minimum of three years.

The Nevada Housing Division has a first time home buyers’ program which provides up to $10,000 in assistance on fixed rate, 30 year loans. Total gross household income must be between $65,500 and $97,300, depending on which ocunty the house is located and how many people are in the household. The maximum price for a qualifying house also depends upon its location and ranges from $237,000 to $429,619. Buyer assets may not exceed 50 percent of the purchase price of the home, except for elderly or disabled buyers. The home buyer must also complete a six to eight hour Homebuyer Counseling Course.

The City of Las Vegas has a program with allows buyers to borrow up to $10,000 for help with down payment and closing costs. The loan is interest free with no monthly payments. The loan is deferred for five years and it may be forgiven after the five year period. Again, you must be a first time homebuyer, make a minimum investment from $500 and up to three percent of the loan and complete an approved home buyer training course.

The City of North Las Vegas uses two nonprofits to administer its first time home buyer assistance program. The assistance is similar to the City of Las Vegas in that it is an interest free, deferred payment loan, can be between $1000 and $37,500 and is secured by a deed of trust on the home. Buyers are required to have a total gross household income at or below 80 percnet of the area’s median income. Total household assets cannot exceed $30,000. Buyers must contribute a minimum of $1,000 from personal funds.

The City of Henderson’s first time home buyer program offers a zero percent, interest deferred loan which may not exceed 10 percent for down payment only and will also loan up to 3.5 percent in closing costs as well as include extra financing for home repairs. Applicants must either work or live in Henderson for at least one year prior to applying. They must also complete a city’s First Time Homebuyer Education Program. Potential buyers must invest at least $750 of their own funds toward the home and have $750 in reserves. Annual income must be between $35,750 and $67,450 depending on the number of persons in the household.

For more information on these programs or other questions, contact us.

1.  Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere.  Las Vegas has its own set of traffic rules.  There’s no book about them.  All you can do is get in your car and hope you survive to learn them.

2. All directions start with, “Go down 95…’cause you don’t want to get on 15.”

3. Las Vegas Blvd, Charleston Blvd, and Torrey Pines have no beginning and no end.

4. It’s impossible to go around a block and wind up on the same street that you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls this a “scenic drive.”

5. The 8:00 am rush hour is from 4:30am to 11:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is from 11:30am to 10:15pm. Friday’s rush hour starts on Thursday morning and ends sometime late Sunday night.  It’s all part of living in a 24 hour city.

6.  If you actually stop at a yellow light you will immediately be identified as a newcomer.  You may only apply your brakes when the end of a yellow light and the beginning of the red light create a “pumpkin-orange” hue.

7.  For the most part, you can do anything you want, as long as it isn’t in a school zone.

8 . Just remember that Camino Al Norte is Martin Luther King Boulevard, Boulder Highway is Fremont Street, Eastern Ave is 25th Street or Civic Center Drive, Desert Inn is Lamb Blvd., Spring Mountain/Sands/Twain are all the same street. And don’t forget that Ft. Apache turns into Rampart and then turns into Durango. Don’t try to figure it out. Just accept it.

9.  Henderson is the only place in the world where THREE “parallel” streets intersect at one traffic light. That would be the 4-way of Green Valley Parkway/Eastern Avenue/Maryland Parkway. For laughs ask your middle school geometry teacher to try to explain it.

10.  Rainbow Blvd. has THREE exits from the 95.  This just makes giving driving directions to newbies more entertaining. There is also a Lake Mead “Drive” and a Lake Mead “Boulevard” and both run east/west but are 30 miles apart. You have to be specific when you say “the corner of Lake Mead and……..”

11.  Many major roads just end abruptly in somebody’s garage, a Home Depot, a casino or McCarran International Airport runways and start again after the interruption. That was done to encourage you to “see the sights” and meet new people. For fun, just try to take Harmon Avenue from Rainbow to Nellis.

12.  If there is moisture which is found to be rain and not sweat, all traffic must immediately cease.  Do not attempt to access any road after an apocalyptic event like snow, blowing dust or a 3 day weekend.

13. Once a year, when it rains, the Las Vegas Wash and the City of Las Vegas are one.

14.  Construction on I-15 and US 95 is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. They actually move the construction cones every night to make the next day’s drive a bit more exciting for you. I-215 will never be completed. Get used to it!

15. Stay away from the corner of Nellis and Las Vegas Blvd. if you do not like the thought of being in a remake of the movie “Top Gun.”

16. And always remember, when driving in Las Vegas in the summertime, it is a good idea to wear pot holders on your hands!

Want some good news? Of course you do! How about a tax credit to first time buyers and anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years? Eligible buyers will receive up to a $7,500 tax credit for all homes purchased between April 9, 2008 through July 1, 2009.

The tax credit is based on 10% of the sales price up to a maximum of $7,500. It must be the buyer’s primary residence and there are a few income restrictions. To capture the full amount, single borrowers cannot make more than $75K and couples can’t earn more that $150K. At $95K and $170K respectively, the credit gets phased out all together.

There has to be a catch, right? Let’s look at the fine print here. Well, this kind of generosity from Washington can’t be free. And it isn’t. It’s actually an interest-free loan which must be paid pack over 15 years or $500 a year if the tax credit extended was $7,500. But heck, there’s nothing wrong with getting an interest-free loan when buying a car, why not when buying a home?

Also, if the home is sold before 15 years, repayment of the loan, will be limited only to the amount the home has appreciated.

If the homeowner dies, the loan is completely forgiven.

September was another month of more of the same in our Las Vegas real estate market.  There are still over 20,000 active listings in the Multiple Listing Service, 16,240 single family houses and 4,486 condominiums and townhouses.  Of the single family listings, over half were distress sales (4,800 bank owned and 5,458 short sales).  For condos and townhouses, there were 1,305 bank owned and 1,026 listed as short sales.

There are 5,897 houses with accepted contracts - 3,083 bank owned and 2,036 short sales.  903 condos have offers - 485 bank owned and 306 short sales.

There were a total of 3,081 sales in September, 2,699 single family houses (1,904 bank owned/241 short sales) and 382 condos and townhouses (259 bank owned/30 short sales).

Sales continue to be focused on the under $300,000 price range.  There were 124 sales of condos and townhouses for less than $100,000.  208 were between $100,000 and $200,000.  1,480 houses sold for less than $200,000, of which 120 were under $100,000.  There were 765 sales between $200,000 and $300,000.  A total of 455 houses sold for more than $300,000.

With the end of seller assisted down payment programs and the current economic climate, the Las Vegas Home Specialist October market update will be the one to watch.

Market statistics remained constant in August, with little change from the previous month. Sales were down a bit from July’s high of 2,931 sales of single family homes, condominiums and townhouses, but the market remains active in distressed sales.

Listing inventory was down about 1,000 units, with the current listing total at 20,602, of which 16,059 were single family and 4,543 were condominiums or townhomes. Of the single family listings, 4,218 were bank owned and 5,356 were listed as short sales. Condos and townhouses had 1,145 bank owned listings and 1,016 short sale listings.

There are currently 7,045 properties under contract in our Multiple Listing Service of which 6,201 are single family. Of these contracts, 3,242 are on bank owned properties and 2,016 are short sales. Of the 844 condos/townhomes, 458 are bank owned and 458 are short sales.

The total number of closed sales in August was 2,851, split between 2,477 single family homes and 374 condos/townhomes. Of the single family sales, 1,712 were bank owned and 241 were short sales. For condos/townhomes, 244 were bank owned and 25 were short sales.

While short sale listings continue to exceed bank owned listings, the closing rate remains about 10 percent. Lenders remain reluctant to negotiate short sales.