Encore, part of Wynn Las Vegas is expected to open in December 2008.  The Encore Tower will add an additional 2,034 suites to the resort at an estimated cost of $2.2 Billion.  Applications will be accepted for the 5,300 positions at the hiring center starting in mid July.

How will Encore effect the local economy?  The obvious, 5,300 new jobs will have a long term effect.  The short term effect will be the tens of thousands that come to Las Vegas for the grand opening of Encore.  December is usually the slow time of year for the Hotel and Casino Industry, so the grand opening of Encore would bring in much needed revenue for the local economy.

Many of the new jobs created will be filled by employees from other hotels leaving openings at these other properties.  The increase in available jobs will cause an influx of people relocating to the Las Vegas Valley.  These new Las Vegas residents will need some type of housing whether it be an apartment, rental home or home ownership, which will be good for the local Las Vegas Housing market.

The Las Vegas Real Estate Market is currently doing better and there are many positive signs on the horizon like the opening of Encore that indicate we are on our way to a recovery.

Fuel prices skyrocketing out of control. Heaven forbid you own a diesel which is now pushing $5 per gallon. The floods in the Midwest are impacting our food supply which in turn is costing us more money. The salmonella scare of fresh tomatoes in threatening a shortage. And now the mortgage interest rates are on the climb as well, joining the long list of things that are becoming more expensive.

According to Bankrate.com which is a national survey of large lenders, the 30 year fixed rate rose 26 basis points. A basis point is 100th of 1 percentage point. One year ago the mortgage index was 6.84%, 4 weeks ago it was 6.19% and today it is 6.52%. The 15 year fixed jumped a dramatic 28 basis points to 6.12% and the 30 year jumbo rose 13 basis points to 7.6%. Even the adjustable rate mortgages have taken a hit, the 5/1adjustable rate went up 27 basis points to 6.07%. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

This is the biggest increase for the 30 year fixed mortgage rate since Feb 20th when it rose 41 basis points. According to a weekly survey by Bankrate, the 30 year fixes has jumped up more then 25 basis points 7 times in the last 10 years with 3 of those 7 instances being in 2008. Not a good trend for ‘08.

Need some consolation right now? The rates were substantially higher a year ago. However, last years high rates were due to the hot stock market which drew investors away from bonds. This caused the bond yields to rise followed closely by the mortgages rates. This year is a whole different story. The rates are rising in response to inflation fears and concerns about credit quality.

Even though the rates are on the rise and prices are steadily going up on many consumer goods, it looks like some areas in the country have less expensive housing then others. According to the Beige Book home prices are down in New England, Florida and California. The NAR (National Association of Realtors) reported this week that its index of pending home sales were up in April. This signals a possible increase in home sales in the last half of the year. Keep your fingers crossed.

“Sharp price reductions are leading to a quicker discovery of price equilibrium points,” the Realtors’ chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says.

According to some analysts this translates into the foreclosure issue out West cutting into home prices in parts of the country.

Right before the increase in mortgage rates this week, the president of the National Association of Realtors, Richard Gaylord, said: “Overall affordability conditions are the best we’ve seen since the middle of the housing boom in 2004, but with far more choices and much less pressure than buyers experienced four years ago to make an investment in their future.”

The question is “has some of the affordability been lost now that the mortgage rates have climbed a quarter of a percentage point?” I would say yes.

By Shelli Crysler

It appears a transportation bill has just been signed for $45 million that will be used to study the idea of a high speed maglev (magnetic levitation) train travel from Disneyland to Las Vegas!  This money will go towards studying the impact on the environment and the overall cost of such a project.  If the plan goes forward, a trip to Disneyland from Las Vegas will only take 2 hours!  I know when my family loads up the car to take our traditional trip to Disneyland, it takes a little over 4 hours and that’s if we bypass the rush hour traffic in and around Anaheim, California.

With the spike in gas prices, this would be a welcoming option to driving from Southern California to Las Vegas.  This would also ease the traffic on Interstate 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas.  If this project goes forward, I believe it would increase the amount of visitors to the Las Vegas Valley which would mean more money being spent in Las Vegas which is always good for our economy!

Let’s just hope they really give this project a chance!

Regardless if you are Republican, Democrat or Independent, John McCain is bad for Nevada!  Why you ask?  John McCain visited Reno, Nevada yesterday and publicly announced that he still supports a nuclear waste dump in Nevada!  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live 90 miles from a Nuclear Waste Depository!  Majority of our state’s budget is derived from gaming and with a Nuclear Dump only 90 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, don’t be suprised if visitors to Las Vegas drops, which will affect the whole State of Nevada, not just Las Vegas!

The way I look at it, all the states that have nuclear power plants should be responsible for disposing of their own nuclear waste, why should Nevada be responsible for their decision on having a Nuclear power plant?  What’s worse, there will be shipments of Nuclear waste traveling across states making its way to Nevada via interstates and railways.  Thats a catastrophe waiting to happen!

You think the Las Vegas Home market is bad now, wait and see what happens if Yucca Mountain becomes a reality.  Many people will begin to move away from Las Vegas because of the proximity to the Nuclear Dump.   A Nuclear dump is bad for Las Vegas and Nevada!

If John McCain wants a Nuclear Dump built, why doesn’t he petition to have one built in his home state of Arizona?  So remember, John McCain is bad for the state of Nevada, do not support John McCain!!!

On May 18th, Lou Dobbs, CNN Anchor was the keynote speaker at the 2008 International Council of Shopping Center’s Real Estate Convention being held at the Las Vegas Hilton.  Mr. Dobbs spoke to tens of thousands of real estate professionals about the real estate industry and the economy.  He summed up the U.S. economic situation as “normal business cycle”.

Mr. Dobbs stated he anticipates a stronger national economy by years end and advised real estate professionals to “Hold Tight” until the economy strengthens.  Las Vegas has already shown signs that the local economy is strengthening with the increase in homes sold over the same month last year and the unemployment rate dropped in April compared to March 2008.  All positive signs that Las Vegas might be on a slow path to recovery!