Due to the poor economic situation that Las Vegas and the rest of the nation is currently in there is a low demand for raw land.  Many developments such as residential or commercial developments have come to a complete standstill here in the Las Vegas and Henderson Valley, leaving a relatively large quantity of raw land with low demand.  It will be hard for investors to ever find prices like this again once the economy bounces back and people begin to build again.  Now is a better time than ever to invest in raw land. Thought the price per acre is similar to 2003’s statistics, there is nowhere near the same amount of transactions occurring.  In the first quarter of 2003 there were over 3,100 transactions involving raw land.  That number is down to 527 for the first quarter in 2010, even though prices are close to the same.

For all your Real Estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.

However, if you’re simply looking at the intricate architecture and are thinking how great it would be to own a piece of the city’s history, you might want to take a step back and consider all the work involved in becoming a historic home owner.

Home Quality

The most important consideration for purchasing a historic home in Henderson is the quality of the house. Whether you’re looking at a bungalow or a mansion, you have to remember that time is rarely kind to real estate.

In addition to outdated materials (like plaster instead of drywall or lead pipes) and difficult-to-work-with architectural styles, you have to consider the costs of restoring the house with authenticity in mind. Many materials are no longer available or can be costly if you want to maintain the historic integrity of your home. The same is true of the availability and cost of craftsman qualified to work with your particular home.

Nevada Housing Regulations

Many historic homes are overseen by governing bodies that regulate what you can and can’t do to your own home. If you’re in the market to purchase a historic home, make sure you know who you will have to go through to get the right permits for renovation, or if you’ll need to register and pay a fee to get your home listed as an authentic historic site. You might also want to note what kind of tourist interest you will get from having a historically-listed site.

Financial Investments

Fortunately, not everything about owning a Henderson historic home is hard work! Historic homes, when restored with authenticity, safety, and modern comfort in mind, are an incredible financial investment. Many people are willing to pay top dollar for homes that are in perfect shape or that have a keen attention to detail.

Many local governments also offer tax credits and tax freezes for those who maintain a certain level of quality in their registered historic homes. This means that a historic home can be a great investment, as well as a beautiful piece of architecture.

Finding and Buying Your Historic Home

When refurbished to contain all the modern amenities today’s families need and enjoy, a historic home can become a showpiece – both for your own visitors as well as those interested in the history of Henderson, Summerlin and Las Vegas. As with all real estate purchases, however, this one should be made after much consideration and under the guidance of your trusted agent.

No part of Las Vegas or Henderson was left unaffected by the dramatic drop in home prices last year.  There were some parts of the valley that were hurt less than others but none went unaffected.  Some areas only saw about a ten percent depreciation in median home prices while others saw up to sixty percent depreciation on median prices.  Overall the median price for an existing home fell thirty-eight  percent in 2009, down to $128,108.

New home sales in the Las Vegas Valley hit a 24 year low in 2009 sustaining a forty-eight percent decrease over the previous year.  In both the new home and existing home areas, many experts agree that here in the Las Vegas and Henderson Valley, we are extremely undervalued.  Many investors are taking advantage of the low priced housing market, driving existing home sales up fifty-seven percent in 2009.  About three quarters of the sales were attributed to foreclosures with the median home price being about $116,000 and nearly forty percent were cash transactions.

Another reason the Las Vegas and Henderson Valley may be undervalued is because cash flow on rental homes is strongly positive.  Back in the 1980’s investors were happy to break even on a rental home after deducting interest and taxes.  At this point in time most investors are taking advantage of the positive cash flow of rental houses and hanging on to their investment until the market picks up.

Larry Murphy, President of SalesTraq predicts that 2010 will be much like 2006 where home prices ended the year just about where they started.  It appears as though housing prices are bottoming out here in Las Vegas, but it still may be a while until we see a full recovery of the housing market.  It looks as though the worst is behind us.  Murphy is predicting that the banks will close on about the same amount of houses as 2009 but there will be a much different result.  Rather than foreclosing on the houses, many of the homes will turn into short sales, or deals where homes are sold for less than the mortgage balance.  Much of this is due to a new law in Nevada which require mediation before a bank can foreclose on a home.

For all your Real Estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392 or visit my website at www.hendersonrealestateonline.com!

Many banks such as Bank of America are starting to get short-sales done in as little as 30 days.  Many are also offering “Cash for cooperation” deals, giving people up to $5,000 to leave their foreclosed home in good condition.  It is becoming easier and easier to buy a short sale home.

For a look at the current inventory of short sales in the Las Vegas Valley visit our website.

For all your Real Estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392 or visit the website at www.hendersonrealestateonline.com!

A little over 40 percent of homes were purchased with cash in the month of November, indicating that investors have returned to the Las Vegas and Henderson real estate markets.  Bank owned properties accounted for 61 percent of the sales.  Many people are becoming fed up with the banks in the real estate market.  Last year prices fell really low when banks dumped thousands of properties onto the market, causing prices to dramatically drop.  This caused almost everybody who has purchased a home in the past 10 years to have a negative value on their property.  Currently the banks are not putting enough homes on the market to keep up with demand.  Many times buyers find homes at a price that they can afford, only to find out that they are up against 20 or more offers.  Banks will take up a month to approve a sale, usually selecting cash buyers before those who need financing. Lately the market has seen an interesting shift from foreclosures to short sales as a higher percentage of total sales.

For some Things to Consider When Purchasing a Foreclosure Property please visit our website.

For all your real-estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.

Investors are buying houses with cash and renting them out for a positive cash flow.  This mentality is a bit different than the investors’ mentality during the housing boom of buy and flip.  Surprisingly the number of investors has yet to dwindle down and investors are still looking for good deals here in the Las Vegas and Henderson valley.  There are still a plethora of deals currently on the market for investors to take advantage of.

For all your real-estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.

Many of Las Vegas’ largest banks with high trouble-asset ratios are attempting to merge with sister banks that are not in as much economic trouble.  Having a high trouble-asset ratio does not necessarily mean that the bank has a doomed fate, but it does shown signs of struggle.  Nevada has been one of the hardest hit states in this current economic crisis.

Banks with a high trouble-asset ratio can recover by turning a lot of their current foreclosed homes into sales.  Many banks have repossessed up to $150 million in foreclosed homes in the past year.  Many of the larger troubled banks have a good chance if they can find buyers for their bad loans and sell their foreclosed homes.

New homes sales also increased to 459 in September, a thirty home increase from the previous month.  The median home prices of new homes are now at $210,877, down from $211,350 in August.

We have yet to see the much anticipated new wave of foreclosures hit the market.  Some analysts have estimated that we may see somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 new foreclosed homes hitting the market.

Two demographic groups are expected to continue to drive sales up here in Las Vegas and Henderson.  The first of which being the 40 to 50 million “baby boomers” who soon may be looking for homes in active adult communities around the valley.  The second demographic is Generation Y, the population that was born as early as 1978.  Many have not had their savings wiped out and many will also qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Most investors in Las Vegas are buying homes to rent them out.  The low prices allow them to pay off the bills and still make a profit.  The investors of today have a different though process, rather than buying the home and flipping it, investors are renting out homes and creating a positive cash flow for themselves.  Foreclosures are still the most popular buy for investors. 

If one thing could slow down investment purchasing it is the lack of foreclosure inventory, which is declining in both the Henderson and the Las Vegas areas.  With the foreclosure market dwindling down, the opportunities for investment are becoming less.  Many skeptical investors may regret their decision not to buy in a market such as this.  Many current and future investors may benefit largely from their investments once the real estate market rebounds.  For now, many investors are just sitting back and waiting, renting their homes out and creating a positive cash flow.  The opportunities are still out there, though the foreclosure market is decreasing, there are still many great deals to invest in, in this housing market.

-For all your real estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.

This is driving a lot of people out of the foreclosure market and into the new housing market.  Many new homes are offering floor plans under $100 sq/ft, which is competitive with the foreclosure market.  After looking in the foreclosure market, many realtors are taking their clients and exploring the possibilities in the new housing market.  Realtors have found that it is usually a much easier escrow and much less stressful to close on a new house than it would be a bank-owned property. 

The median price for a new home recently rose to $210,000, up 1.7 percent from July.  It appears as though the new home market is beginning to stabilize in the Greater Las Vegas and Henderson area here in Nevada.  It also appears that the California new housing market is also beginning to stabilize.  This is a good sign for the housing market here in southern Nevada. 

For all your Real-Estate needs contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.