After much speculation within the industry, news out of Washington D.C. this week confirmed that Senate is moving forward on extending the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. The Senate still has to approve the measure; however, it appears to have bi-partisan support amongst Republicans and Democrats.

The latest version would offer a slightly lower credit of 10% of the purchase price with a maximum payout of $7,290. As long as the home you are purchasing has a price of $72,900 or higher, you will receive the full credit. That is still a nice credit for buyers to enjoy. The median home price here in the Las Vegas real estate market is around $140,000, so most buyers will qualify for the full credit. The tax credit is limited to individual buyers earning $75,000 or less and married couples who earn less than $150,000 per year. Buyers would have to be in contract to purchase a home no later than April 30th, 2010 and must close on their home no later than June 20th, 2010.

The credit is also being expanded to include current homeowners looking to purchase a new home may also qualify for a credit. They must have been living in their current residence for a minimum of five years. Individuals earning over $125,000 and couples earning over $250,000 per year would not be eligible.

2008 was a year of uncertainty and near panic as the American public was bludgeoned out of its collective denial, that the sub-prime crisis had far more sinister implications that just punishing speculators and a small segment of borrowers. I believe 2009 will be a different environment; interest rates are lower, at around 5%, than last year. Buyers now see the opportunities created by the current downturn.

Brian Wargo, a staff writer for In Business Las Vegas, cited the enormous price drops and increased sales in 2008.

Fueled by foreclosures and a 37 percent drop in median price to $205,893, the existing    home market ended 2008 with 31,727 sales, 38 percent more than in 2007. Combined with declines in 200, the median home price has fallen 45 percent since February 2007 when it was $288,000. http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2009/01/23/feature1.html

I was watching a local broadcast this evening on KLAS TV and the anchor, Jeff Gillan made a very interesting comment in a conversation with Richard Lee, a V.P. from First American Title here in Las Vegas. Mr. Gillan asked his guest during the course of his interview ‘if prices are too low and actually over-corrected’.

I have been thinking a lot about our current prices. As a Las Vegas real estate agent, I am asked nearly every day if the market has “bottomed”.  Good question, not many people have to ability to predict highly complex systems such as an entire marketplace and believe me, I won’t try. I do however believe that prices are on average, too low. Unlike many markets with high foreclosure rates, the Las Vegas real estate market is moving properties. We sold an average of 3000 units (single family homes and condos) a month during the last three months of 2008. Many existing homes aren’t selling because they are overpriced, but because of a lack of credit access.

If one accepts the popular analogy of a bubble bursting, think about what happens afterwards. We have all seen super slow-motion photography of a bubble of liquid bursting. The droplets created, eventually begin to fall and then create a depression in the surface of the liquid. That depression undulates until the surface eventually settles. That is where I believe we are today. The weight of the crash has pushed prices below where they should be. I hear all the time from real estate professionals and builders that ‘we have returned to 2002 prices’ or ‘2003 prices’, like that is somehow natural. Our prices really started moving upwards in the 2nd half of 2004 and stopped climbing in mid 2006. Think about that for a moment, if current prices are truly accurate, wouldn’t we return to 2004 prices instead of 2002?

We now have prices equal to seven years in the past, interest rates at levels not seen in half a century, what else would a potential buyer require for a buying signal? Look at the numbers and make a decision as to whether you think it is time. Why wait until some government decree to officially name a bottom? Once something fully enters the public consciousness, it is often already passé. People who wait will mostly likely enter the market as part of a heard, and that could mean facing more competition for the best properties than those who are out there buying now.

My buyers have made their decision and all they really have to focus on is buying the right property, an undervalued concept in this market. Once the word gets out, many will feel compelled to pick up a deal and possibly get stuck with some home that sat deteriorating in a torrid desert environment for two years while that buyer was trying to “time” the market.

Paul Rowe is an agent with North American Realty of Nevada and a five year veteran of the Las Vegas real estate market.

If you read the newspaper or watch the news, it makes you wonder why you would want to buy a home in this real estate market.  All the media has been reporting is that home prices in the Las Vegas Real Estate market are dropping and more homes are being foreclosed on every month.  I won’t deny that’s true but there’s other information that is not being reported that might give you a different perspective on the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.

Las Vegas sales of existing homes and condos are up from the same time over the previous two years. For November, Las Vegas’ existing home sales were 120% higher than the same month in 2007.  The increase in home sales has reduced the standing inventory even with all the new foreclosed homes that are entering the Las Vegas Real Estate Market every month. Available inventory of homes for sale sits at 10.4 months compared to a 24 month supply at the end of 2007.  Homes that are priced below $200K are receiving multiple offers and are selling above list price.

If you are interested in buying a home in Las Vegas, make sure you act now as housing inventory continues to decrease, you can expect prices to stabilize and even begin to rise.

If you have any questions about the Las Vegas Real Estate Market or would like us to send you properties for sale in the Las Vegas Valley, contact us at 702.376.0088 or fill out our contact form.

We have been seeing a trend of foreign nationals investing in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.  With the dollar at an all time low, foreclosures at an all time highand Las Vegas Real Estate prices at levels we haven’t seen since 2003-2004, foreign nationals are finding great investment opportunities in Las Vegas.  The majority of the foreign nationals that we have been working with of late are from Canada.

I was speaking with a Canadian client the other day and it appears that there is alot of media coverage in Canada about the which real estate markets are ripe for investing in the United States and Las Vegas is at the top of the list.

According to Dan Green with “The Mortgage Report,”

Foreign national mortgages are still available in the United States

Downpayment requirements are low — 10 or 20 percent, depending

Interest rates are reasonable and are not “monthly adjusting”

There’s no forbidden property types — condo, condotels, and multi-units are all okay

Even though Dan Green has stated that there are some programs that require as little as 10% down, I haven’t seen or heard of these programs.  The best I have found for any of my clients was 25% down.  But with lender guidelines changing almost daily, I would recommend that you speak with a local Las Vegas Loan Officer like Mark Madsen.

If you are thinking of investing in Las Vegas Real Estate, take advantage of the home prices while you can as we all know, home prices will eventually rise!  You can begin your search for homes for sale in Las Vegas by clicking on the link below:

Las Vegas Homes for Sale

Will the new federal housing bill help the Las Vegas Real Estate Market?  Without a doubt!  The federal housing bill should stop future foreclosures, stabilize home prices, encourage a wave of more home buyers and reduce the housing inventory.

The federal housing bill will allow distressed homeowners who might be facing an eminent foreclosure to refinance out of their existing mortgage and into more attractive terms.  According to the bill, financially distressed homeowners have the opportunity to reduce their mortgages to 90 percent of their home’s current appraised value. The newly created mortgage will be a 30-year fixed FHA loan at the prevailing interest rate.  In exchange for refinancing, the homeowner agrees to share a substantial portion of any future appreciation with the original lender and the FHA.

So this gives a homeowner two choices.  They could either go through with foreclosure and destroy their credit or refinance their home at 90% of the appraised value and share any future appreciation with the original lender and the FHA.  I think this is an easy choice, don’t you?

The Federal Housing Bill will reduce the amount of future foreclosures on the market, which is significant.  This means the current housing inventory will decrease at a quicker rate and home prices should stabilize because of the decline in inventory.  We have had 6 straight months of increased home sales and it has been making a small dent in the standing inventory because of the increase in foreclosures.  So with foreclosures decreasing because of the new bill, we should see a decrease in the inventory over the next 8 to 10 months.  With the decrease in inventory comes with the stabilization of home prices.  Home prices should start to level out over the same period.

I think this bill was exactly what we needed to help the Las Vegas Real Estate Market which will ultimately have a positive effect on the Las Vegas Economy.

Home prices in Las Vegas dropped 29.5 perecent in May compared to a year ago.  This decline can be attributed to the abundant amount of foreclosures that are flooding the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.  Banks and Lenders are lowering prices to move these homes which is affecting home values all across the Las Vegas Valley.

First time home buyers, investors and those looking to buy 2nd homes are finding incredible opportunities.   A friend of mine is looking to rent a home and they forwarded me a property that was for rent and asked me to find out when it was purchased.  After doing a little research, this 3000 square foot house sold in December 2006 for $610K and just recently sold in May 2008 for $300K.  Talk about a great deal!  This one story, 3 car garage, 3000 square foot house sold for almost 50 percent less in less than 2 years. 

What this means for buyers:

1. Excellent opportunity to find an affordable home.
2. More home for their money.
3. Banks/Lenders are paying your closing costs.
4. Interest Rates are still at all time lows.

Sellers are not in a very good situation right now and should avoid selling if they can and attempt to wait until home prices in the Las Vegas Valley begin to rise.  The rental market is doing very well right now and sellers should look at renting their home as a viable option before selling.  If you cannot wait and have some type of hardship, (divorce, loss of job, pay cut, etc…) you could always look into selling your Las Vegas home as a short sale.

What this means for sellers:

1. Banks/Lenders are driving down the values in neighborhoods.
2. Probably will owe more than the home is worth.
3. Hold off on selling if you can afford to wait for home prices to rebound.

If you are looking to buy or sell in Las Vegas, don’t hesitate to contact Sena & Associates for all your Las Vegas Real Estate needs at 702.376.0088 or visit us on our website at www.SenaSellsVegas.com!