Las Vegas, Nevada Real Estate Agent’s Las Vegas Homes, Condos, Land, Commercial Real Estate and Personal Blog

1: Owner occupiers: Or those who want to invest in an owner occupied home or condo or regular home or condo buyers in Las Vegas.

The big difference between owner occupied residential investment and investors who will rent their property is that additional factors may have to be considered in choosing a suitable home or condo than a regular investment property; such as vicinity to a magnet school, layout of the home or condo or the buyer may have a preference for a subdivision or specific part of town. The other difference is that the decision to buy an owner occupied home will invariably become an emotional decision. It is your nest after all, and what I tell my clients is that when they open the door at home after a hard day’s work, they should say thank GOD I am home and not when am I going to get out of this dump.

The point is having a home or condo that you just love and buying the same home or condo as an investment property are not mutually exclusive. If you follow our road map to getting a great real estate deal, you should succeed in buying a great home which you can build equity in so you can move up to a better residence in a few years.

Issues concerning buying a home or condominium and how you can harness the great power of Las Vegas homes, condos, land and commercial real estate to your advantage

Step 1, financing your home or condo purchase

We have two kinds of home or condo buyers in Las Vegas

A: Those buyers that want to buy in cash. They know how much money they have and how much home or condo they can afford.

B: Buyers that have to finance their purchase. These buyers have no idea how much home or condo they can afford to buy unless they become pre-approved which is not the same as pre-qualified.

I will discuss the process of getting pre-approved and why it is so important to do so in the next post.

Related web-site links: Getting the best deal for your Las Vegas home or condo, Buying Las Vegas homes for sale, Buying Las Vegas condos for sale

I have worked my heart out for 18 months and built Las Vegas homes, condos, land and commercial real estate system in order to provide everyone with all they would possibly need to learn about Las Vegas real estate and buying or selling a commercial property. But people are not taking full advantage of it.

The problem is that the information is scattered throughout the web-site, blog and forum. I have tried to author the web-site as a summary of the issues that are involved in buying or selling Las Vegas homes, condos and commercial real estate. I have discussed these issues in far more detail in my blog which you are reading now and started the forum so you can discuss your ideas with other Las Vegas real estate buyers and sellers in addition to real estate related professionals like loan and escrow officers.

I have decided to do a series of articles that discuss buying any Las Vegas property from the investment point of view; bring up the issues involved in investing in Las Vegas real estate and how I have tried to address these issues in my web-site, blog and forum.

Investing in Las Vegas real estate

Any and all real estate transactions should be regarded as an investment, regardless of the fact that the property would be used as an owner occupied home or condominium or an investment property that has been purchased to make money for the investor. Had people followed this rule, the current foreclosure problem that has gripped Las Vegas as well as the rest of United States would not exist.

There are two distinct types of investors in Las Vegas real estate:

1: Owner occupiers: Or those who want to invest in an owner occupied home or condo or buy a commercial property to conduct their business in Las Vegas. Residential owner occupiers can use low down payment loans such as a VA, FHA or conventional loan to purchase their condo or home and if they are a first time home buyer can get additional assistance in form of government down payment grants and tax credits to sweeten the deal.

2: Real estate investors: These buy a residential or commercial property in order to make a profit. Investors have to put up a bigger down payment and may be able to get government assistance and grants or tax breaks if they buy in a re-development zone.

I will discuss the owner occupied investors in more detail in the next blog post. The reason that I call these regular home buyers investors, is that I hope it would help them to look at the process of buying a house that they will call a home as an investment and not an emotional decision.

The trouble with doing a Las Vegas real estate blog is that it has to be serious by default, thus it only shows my serious side and accurately so, those who didn’t take their business seriously have none now.

 When I am representing a client in a real estate deal in Las Vegas, all I know is that someone is trusting me with guiding them through one of the most important deals of their life; so I am very serious, exacting and if needed, a bit aggressive in order to make sure that my clients deal go through without problems. It is a matter of honor.

On the other hand when I am not representing a client, I am easy going and hardly ever serious because I think life is too precious to waste it by being a fuddy duddy, look it up if you don’t know what it means.

So to break the serious streak, I have some nice pictures from Allure High Rise Condo Tower and Parisian Place which is one the most impressive luxury homes for sale in Las Vegas. I have blogged about both and will add the link for these pictures to the respective blog.

Naturally all has to start with me, who else? This is my blog after all. The first picture is from me (Masoud Saberzadeh) sitting on someone else’s thrown in Parisian Palace which is for sale for 6.1 million dollars, American at that.

The Kiss guy and me from Parisian Palace, A las Vegas Luxury Home for sale

Me and the only one true king Las Vegas has ever had, Elvis of course, this is a room at Parisian Palace, a Las Vegas luxury home

A wall pinting in the hall way of Parisian Palace, Las Vegas

One of the bedrooms at Parisian Palace, a $6.1 million dollar home for sale

Dinig Room At Parisan Palace, Las Vegas

Allure Las Vegas, A Las Vegas high-rise condo pictures and pictures from Allure, overlooking Las Vegas Strip

North Las Vegas view from the balcony of one of Allure, Las Vegas condominiums

Las Vegas Boulevard or Strip view from the balcony of one of Allure, Las Vegas condominiums

Las Vegas Land prices tumble 73.9 percent from year ago, prices down for third consecutive quarter. What one infers from this is that parcels of vacant Las Vegas land that were valued at $1,000,000 last year are selling for $260,000 this year. Las Vegas Review Journal had this headline for an article which is written by Hubble Smith, my favorite writer at RJ (who botched the headline this time) and the same headline was reproduced in many real estate blogs without anyone challenging it. This is a misleading headline based on misleading numbers.

So what is wrong with this headline? Well, below is what they have based their numbers on.

“The Las Vegas-based business advisory firm reported an average price of $524,725 an acre for 427 acres sold in the third quarter, down 73.9 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

And here is the market data for land that have been sold in the 2^nd and third quarter 2007-2008

SOURCE: Applied Analysis

All that these numbers say is that in the third quarter of 2007 140 parcels of land for sale sold in Las Vegas for the average price of $2.1 million dollars per acre. That is it, it does not say what was the zoning for these parcels, where was the location, etc. Given that we have parcels of land on the Las Vegas Strip that have sold for upwards of 30 million dollars per acre to residential land that is priced less than 200 thousand dollars per acre, the zoning and location provide for a wide range pricing.

To clear this I will use an extreme example, say that in the third quarter of 2007 only 100 acres of resort land on the Las Vegas Strip have sold for an average of 10 million dollars per acre and in the third quarter of 2008 only 100 acres of single family land sold for an average price of $200,000 per acre. Then can we say that the price of Las Vegas land has tumbled by 98%? All that the above numbers say is that more expensive land was selling in Las Vegas last year while cheaper land is selling in Las Vegas this year, no more, no less.

I am not saying that land prices have not gone done or are not going down. Parcels of vacant land around Highway-215 are offered at 2003 prices or close to it except that in 2003 the area was not built up and those who developed their project first had to pay a great deal of money for bringing the infrastructure to their land, and now the infrastructure is close by.

Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson land values have not gone down by 73% and I hope they never do, because a lot of good guys will go bankrupt. I have written before that price drops of 30%-40% are not out of the question and we are well on our way to getting there, but we are not there yet. But the headline saying that Las Vegas land prices have tumbled by 73.9 percent from year ago, IS RIDICULOUS.

Those know-it-alls that do not use a Realtor or real estate agent to represent them for a new home or new condominium purchase in Las Vegas are taking an unnecessary financial risk that offers no rewards in return, and suffer the consequences, such as losing their Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) or being foreclosed on.

Sometimes one can’t see the error of their ways until it is explained by an example. Imagine someone make a bet with you where if he wins you have to give him $10,000-$50,000 and if you win, you get nothing. Anyone interested?

Those who buy  new condominiums or houses in Las Vegas do not gain anything by not being represented by a Realtor. New condo and home builders are prohibited by law from offering the savings from not paying the buyer’s agent’s commission, the seller gets to keep it, there is no reward for the buyer.

What about the risk? For example; Las Vegas Review Journal had an article about buyers at Cosmopolitan, which is a Las Vegas luxury high-rise condominium tower, wanting to get their deposit back from the builder due to successive delays in finishing the project.

I wonder if they would have the same concern if prices were escalating instead of tanking.

A few Cosmopolitan Las Vegas condominium buyers who have signed their contracts as long as 3 1/2 years ago want their money back after learning the project won’t be completed until mid 2010. The problem is that no closing date or completion date was given by the seller on the purchase contracts. Additionally, the agreements say the seller is “not liable for delays” and any “delays will not permit buyer to cancel, amend or diminish any of the buyer’s obligations.”

A couple of buyers who put deposit amounts of $140-$200 thousand dollars for their respective condominiums began asking for their money back a few months ago when it became apparent the project would not be completed for a couple of years. One said that “By the time they’re projecting that they’re even going to attempt to complete it, in pretty vague terms, the money will have been sitting (in escrow) for five years,” said Lackey.  ”I thought now that the developer has put into writing that the project wouldn’t be ready until 2010, he’s admitting he’s in default.”

The attorney for Cosmopolitan answered that the project “is continuing and making significant progress” and the “seller has no intention of terminating the agreement or returning deposits.” And “We … find no default by seller of any terms and conditions of the agreement,” dated July 22.

Although the buyer’s lawsuit admits no estimated closing date was given, a series of statements and brochures dating back to November 2004 are cited as saying the Cosmopolitan was “projected to … open in late 2007 and early 2008.”

A couple of points deserve a bit of reflection,

1: These buyers were responsible for reading the Cosmopolitan purchase contract before they signed it since no Realtor represented them.

2:  The clause that states the seller is “not liable for delays” and any “delays will not permit buyer to cancel, amend or diminish any of the buyer’s obligations” was in the contract, and they signed it.

3: A Realtor’s job is to go over the purchase contract with his clients and point out the pitfalls. I would have never let my customers sign this contract.

4: Had these buyers been represented by a Realtor, they could have gone after him, they do not have this option now.

5: The real reason that these buyers are now so interested in getting out of their contract is that Cosmopolitan has about $25,000,000 in earnest money deposits in escrow. Cosmopolitan has 1,825 units. So if we say that average deposit to be $100,000-$150,000 then Cosmopolitan would have between 160-250 high rise condominiums under contract.  Talk about buyer remorse.

To this day, when I visit new home or condo builder’s sales offices in Las Vegas, there are Mr. and Mrs. Buyer in the sales office without any Realtor representation, trusting the builder’s sales staff and signing contracts without reading them.

To those, you deserve all that comes your way.

History is about not repeating the same mistakes, and one should reflect upon all the vacant and foreclosed homes and condos in Las Vegas and not make the same mistakes that those buyers made. Not happening!

Where does your Las Vegas commercial real estate listing get published when you list your commercial property with Realty One Group and at www.lasvegas4us.com?

Most of Las Vegas commercial property listings or for that matter residential listings end up being sold through another Las Vegas real estate agent or Realtor and not the listing agent. That is the way it should be done as it is my belief that dual agency (NOT representing either buyer or seller while making twice the commission) is not a proper way to represent either the buyer or seller. Although dual agency is permitted in Nevada it is banned in many other states.

About 80% of residential properties are found using the internet, the percentage for commercial real estate may be higher as no one with a functioning brain should even attempt to conduct a commercial real transaction due to inherent complications that arise from considerations, such as zoning, traffic studies, demographics of the area and other issues such as power considerations, air conditioning (swamp cooled Versus central air) etc.

Commercial real estate buyers in Las Vegas may arrive at commercial listings in different ways, one is to do a search for “Las Vegas commercial real estate or properties” in which case Las Vegas homes, condos and commercial real estate has 3 links in the top 20 and our listing will be seen by the potential buyer as a featured commercial listing.

Commercial real estate buyers may arrive at a for sale listing by going directly to commercial listing data bases such as Property Line, CLAV (Las Vegas Commercial Alliance) or Google Base. We have this covered too in addition to commercial data bases above our listings are published in the following sites:

• Lycos and Oodle classified services,
• Commercial IQ, One of the national listing exchange data bases and Commercial IQ exports the listings to:
• Vast. A vertical search platform for commercial real estate
• CIMLS. Which is one of the leading open commercial or investment real estate multiple listing Services or MLS
• Google Base. The world’s leading search engine. Listings are submitted to both the online classified service and to Google’s search indexes
• Commercial Source. Run by the National Association of Realtors.

As you can see your chances of selling your commercial property in Las Vegas is vastly improved if we at Realty One Group represent you, because, besides pricing you property correctly with respect to the present market conditions we promote them so they can be seen by the many potential buyers.

We represent many buyers who look to buy a foreclosure home or condominium in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. As such we have been significantly impacted by the policies that these REO agents and their brokers as well as Nevada Real Estate Division and Las Vegas Realtor Association have imposed on such transactions.  

I have previously wrote that banks, who are the sellers of these foreclosed properties, see no need to follow any law as they don’t suffer any consequence for doing so, and this has expanded to the REO agents who represent the banks in Las Vegas because they don’t want to go against a deep pocketed customer.

One of Las Vegas’ biggest real estate brokerages advertised an event so other Las Vegas Realtors could meet their REO agents and become familiar with their REO Realtors procedures. After their number one REO agent explained her procedures and policies, which included oral counter offers, it was time to ask questions from their broker. I got up and said that their procedure is in violation of all that I have been taught about real estate transactions and encouraged all of the other agents that had attended the meeting to stand up to them, which they didn’t like a bit. Their broker’s response was that they have vastly improved their procedures and that the Las Vegas Real Estate Division is forgiving when it comes to foreclosures.

I try to avoid confronting others because I believe that anyone who enters a conflict loses by default. One has to spend time and energy to win a conflict when the same time and energy could be spent toward a worthwhile goal.

Anyway, on an offer that I made on behalf of one of my clients to one of the REO agents from the same brokerage, which I will not hesitate to name next time, two glaring issues came up that I want to discuss.

One is the following paragraph from the bank’s counter offer:

     35. Seller shall not be liable or bound by any verbal or written statements, representations, real estate broker “set-ups” or information pertaining to the Premises furnished by any real estate broker, agent, employee, officer, servant or any other person, including but not limited to any representation in any Multiple Listing or Internet Service, unless the same are specifically set forth herein. All oral or written prior statements, representations, or promises, if any, and all prior negotiations and agreements are superseded by this agreement and merged herein. The Seller reserves the right to immediately place the property on the market for sale to a third party without the consent or release from the Buyer herein.

36. Real Estate commission to Buyer’s agent will be paid per the listing agreement between Seller and Listing Agent.

I am not an attorney and can’t discuss law, so I will not analyze these paragraphs, however the following questions have to be asked, and I hope an attorney can answer them.

1: If “Seller shall not be liable or bound by any verbal or written statements, representations, real estate broker “set-ups” or information pertaining to the Premises furnished by any real estate broker, agent, employee, officer, servant or any other person, including but not limited to any representation in any Multiple Listing or Internet Service, unless the same are specifically set forth herein“. Then why is this listing permitted to be published in the Greater Las Vegas MLS?

2: Why would a buyer choose to open escrow, pay the inspection fees, and forgo all other opportunities if he/she will not know until the close of escrow whether the home or condo is going to be theirs?

Showing properties based on the commission is a red line that neither me nor anyone connected to my team will cross, because we follow a customer centric business model and not an agent centric business model. Besides, we think that even at lower commissions we are being paid well. I hate greed. Nevertheless, the law is the law, so the following paragraph raises serious questions that the listing REO agent and their broker should be familiar with.

 3: Seller agrees to pay or credit buyer up to $4,000 in closing costs and commissions will be based off the purchase price of $ 125450. The Buyer shall be responsible for the payment of any and all transfer taxes due at the time of closing. Agents commission based off of the net sales price.

Again I am not an attorney, but below is an article written by Sue Saunders, General Counsel at the NVAR, which I am reproducing here because it was not copyrighted:

“Commission Cutting…A Slippery Slope for Many Listing Brokers

Sue Saunders, General Counsel, NVAR

It is happening a lot more now, especially with all the short sales and REO properties on the market. The scenario is the seller or the seller’s agent tries to cut the commission to which the buyer’s agent is entitled. When a seller and/or his listing agent attempt to cut the buyer’s agent’s commission after the buyer has made an offer, that listing agent is violating both a contract and the REALTORS® Code of Ethics (Hereinafter “the Code).

“What contract?” you say. The contract brokers and agents agree to when they join the MLS. That contract says that you must abide by the MLS rules. The MLS rules are based on the Code and frequently parrot the same language. MLS Rules (Section 5 in Las Vegas and Section 6 in Northern Nevada) specifically say that the compensation being offered in the MLS must clearly inform the Participants of the compensation they will receive in a cooperative transaction. MLS rules further say that the compensation offered in the MLS may only be changed by notice in writing in advance of the cooperating agent’s making an offer. The commission offered to a buyer’s agent in the MLS cannot be changed once the offer has been presented, unless the listing broker and the buyer’s broker agree otherwise (see comments later). The fines are $250 or higher depending on the severity and frequency of the agent’s violations.

A typical scenario may go like this: The buyer makes a low offer for a property. The seller says to his agent, “This could work if you make a counteroffer saying we’ll accept if you and the buyer’s agent each take $5000 less in commission.” The seller’s agent objects, but the seller insists. So the listing agent, in a counteroffer, states that the price is accepted and the buyer’s agent commission will be reduced by $5000. This is a violation of the above stated MLS rules and the Code. The Buyer’s agent could make an ethics complaint and seek arbitration from her local REALTORS® association.

Another scenario may be like this: The listing agent has a listing agreement for 20% and offers a 10% commission to the cooperating agent in the MLS. In the entry the listing agent indicates this is a short sale but nothing more. The buyer makes an offer. The seller accepts the offer. The contract is sent to the seller’s lender for approval. The lender approves, but cuts the total commission from 20% to 10%. The listing agent tells the buyer’s agent that her commission will be reduced to 5%. This is a violation of the Code and MLS rules. (I used unusual percentages to get your attention).

In short sales, MLS rules and the Code provide that the listing agent must clearly communicate in advance if the commission might be reduced by the lender. This is done by stating in the Agent-to-Agent Remarks that the commission may be reduced by the short sale lender and stating the method by which the potential reduction in compensation will be calculated. In the above scenario, the listing agent did not state in the Agent-to-Agent remarks that there may be a reduction and how the reduction would be calculated. Because the listing agent did not give advanced notice of the potential reduction, his trying to require the buyer’s agent to take a reduction would be a violation of the Code and MLS rules and expose him to disciplinary action. Also if the buyer’s agent asked for arbitration, the arbitration committee would likely award the 10% to the buyer’s agent because that is what was clearly communicated in the MLS compensation offer. If arbitration makes that award, the listing agent or his broker would have to pay the complete 10% commission to the buyer’s agent.

A third scenario involves an REO property where a Realtor may have to deal with (as his bank “client”) a relatively uninformed asset manager. A Broker accepts a listing of a bank owned property from an asset manager. The asset manager uses her own listing agreement form. The form has a fill-in blank in which she entered 9% commission. The listing broker signs the listing agreement and offers 4.5% cooperating commission in the MLS. At closing, the asset manager tries to change the commission to 7% stating that she used an out-dated form and the bank was only offering 7% at the time the listing agreement was entered into and will only pay 7%. The asset manager refuses to pay the agreed 9%.The listing agent changes the escrow instructions to state the buyer’s agent will only be paid 3.5%. The listing agent has violated the Code and the MLS rules by trying to change compensation after the buyer’s agent has made the offer.

The buyer’s agent would probably succeed in arbitration unless the listing agent could prove, “…it was impossible or financially unfeasible for the listing broker to collect a commission pursuant to the listing agreement.” [MLS Section 5 or 6]. This is the only exception to the listing broker’s obligation to compensate the cooperating broker as stated in the MLS. Historically, it is rare that the listing broker would meet the “impossible or financially unfeasible” test. (Then again, in today’s financial arena, maybe it isn’t so rare).

These scenarios have been presented to me in the last few months. Listing agents need to take heed, because what is offered in the MLS is what a cooperating participant is entitled to be paid. If the listing agent tries to change the compensation after a cooperating agent has presented an offer, he is violating the MLS rules. He could end up not only paying the cooperating agent what was offered, but also paying a heavy fine to the MLS.

Of course, in all of these scenarios, the Code and MLS rules do not preclude the listing and cooperating brokers from entering into an agreement to change the cooperative compensation. This would be done by a broker-to-broker agreement separate from the purchase agreement between the buyer and the seller. [Code of Ethics, Article 3, Standard of Practice 3-3].

Statements made by the NVAR Information Line attorneys on the telephone, in e-mails, or in legal e-news articles are for informational purposes only. NVAR’s staff attorneys provide general legal information, not legal representation or advice regarding your real estate related questions. No attorney-client relationship is created by your use of the Legal Information Line and any information you receive. You should not act upon this information without seeking independent legal counsel. Information given over the Legal Information Line or in these articles is for your benefit only. Do not practice law! Inform your clients they must seek their own legal advice. “source: www.NVAR.org

Again you can judge for yourself.

I am sick of this and am losing patience. So Las Vegas REO agents this the last fair warning as I will start taking these issues as high as I need to take them to resolve them. As I said, I am not looking for confrontations, but I have never backed off one when I thought all other avenues were dead end.

Given that I have one of the top ranking real estate web-sites in Las Vegas and one of the most popular real estate blogs in the United States, what I write is being read by about 12,000 unique visitors per month, including Fannie May, many banks, and governmental entities. Additionally what I write about tends to find its way to the top of search engine result pages, so if I want to popularize an issue I can.

Related web-site links: getting the best deal for a Las Vegas home or condo, Buying Las Vegas homes for sale, Buying Las Vegas condominiums for sale, , Buying Las Vegas new homes for sale

I have discussed the market conditions report for Luxury homes and high rise condominiums in the previous blog post

How are million dollar plus Las Vegas luxury homes and high rise condominiums selling?

I want to back track a bit and discuss homes or Las Vegas condos or houses that are priced over one million dollars. The number of for sale listings is 1180 and only 40 have sold in the last 60 days. This is about 4 sales per 100 listings. How do you think these homes and condos were priced? I bet you that every single one was a bargain. Additionally, we can see a possible 20% increase in the number of luxury condominiums and homes closed in the next 60 days as the number of pending sales is 50. The other interesting point is that the highest percentage of the homes and condos that have sold in the 60 days that this data was taken has been in the 2.5-5 million dollar range, which is 9% of the total listed in this price range. This makes for a 22 month supply of unsold homes. The other notable fact is that the percentage of short sales and foreclosures remains relatively low if measured against homes or condos that are priced less than $500,000.

Las Vegas high-rise condos and luxury homes priced at $750,000-1 million dollars market report

The lowest percentage of closings versus number of listings belongs to luxury homes or condos that are priced at 1 to 2.5 million dollars. This is due to the low number of foreclosures and short sales in that price range. They have not been beat up yet.

Check out the physiological effect. The percentage of sales for these Las Vegas homes and luxury condos for sale goes up to 6.5% or a 250% increase in sold listings versus the number of for sale listings. The ratio of short sales and REO (bank owned) listings to total listings for the price range of $750,000-1 million dollars is relatively low and is about 8%, but over 40% of the sold properties have been short sales and foreclosures. Welcome to Las Vegas real estate where short sales and foreclosures rule.

Now you can see why I repeatedly mention that if you want to sell your luxury Las Vegas homes or high rise condominiums you have to beat short sale and foreclosure pricing and that is very hard in this market, but can be done if the seller is willing to take a bitter pill and sell his/her home or condo at today’s Las Vegas real estate market prices.

If Las Vegas high rise condo builders don’t go bankrupt and flood the market with multimillion dollar condos or sell them at fire sale prices, I don’t see a whole lot of foreclosures in the million dollar plus residential market. But will the prices come down further in the luxury home and condo sector in Las Vegas? The above data is screaming, YES.

By the way Las Vegas Realtor Association (GLVAR) and Nevada Realtor Association (NVAR) of which I am a dues paying member is e-mailing flyers to all Las Vegas Realtors about “Realtor friendly politicians” and asking Realtors to vote for them.

I am hoping that these geniuses define “Realtor Friendly” for me as I am “too stupid” to figure out how Las Vegas Realtors have been helped by policies of politicians like Mr. Porter who happens to be my congressman. If the large number of foreclosures in Las Vegas and a crushed commercial real estate market is helping Realtors and real estate agents, please tell that to a significant number of ex-Realtors and ex-brokers who have had to find a new job or joined the un-employed ranks, or thousands of other Las Vegans who are leaving our great town because they lost their job and can’t find another one.

Karen, Parviz and I took advantage of early voting and voted Monday, it was quick and easy. I urge all to vote.

Las Vegas luxury homes and high-rise condos priced at 10-25 million dollars market report

Well if a luxury Las Vegas home or high rise condo is priced higher than 10 million dollars, it hasn’t sold in the last couple of months. Below is the market report for ten million dollar plus luxury home and condominiums, how many homes are short sales or foreclosures (REO), how many homes or condos have sold (closed escrow or recorded), how many listings have expired , pending sales, sales percentage and how many of the condos and homes sold in the last 60 days were short sales or REO.

As you can see, no luxury home or high rise condo has sold in Las Vegas that is priced over 10 million dollars although 42 listings are available for sale. I have no doubt that if someone has ten million dollars or more burning a hole in their pocket they can get a great deal. The other important point is that none of these listings were a short sale or foreclosure (REO) as many are  high rise condominiums for sale that the builder is looking for a buyer.

Las Vegas luxury homes and high-rise condominiums priced at 1-10 million dollars market report

Again, we see no homes or condos that are priced over 2.5 million dollars that are selling in Las Vegas, although there are 6 pending sales.

The number of available luxury homes and high-rise condo that are offered for sale in Las Vegas for 2.5-5 million jumps to 817.  Much of this number is high rise condominiums that the builder has failed to sell so far. Additionally, now we can see a rising number of banked owned and short sales rising rapidly to 34. Five of the sold homes or condos are short sales or REO. Please note that the ratio of sold listings to for sale listings is still very low and unless the property is priced low, the chances of selling it is less than 9%.

 Luxury Las Vegas homes and high-rise condominiums have been hit hardest by credit crunch and many of the listings that sell have cash buyers.

By the way, the big news is that the FED cut the interest rate by .5 points today. This doesn’t mean that mortgage interest rates are going to be cut by the same number.

Last time the FED started to cut rates was back in 2001. From January-2001 to December-2001, in the span of 11 months, they cut the FED Funds rate 11 times, with eight of those cuts by 50 basis points. This resulted in a total of 4.75% in short-term interest rate cuts taking the Fed Funds Rate from 6.00% down to 1.75%. While most uninformed people would think that because the Fed cut rates by so much during this time that mortgage rates would follow suit and trend lower as well this is not so.  Mortgage rates actually moved higher during this time of significant rate cuts because inflation, the arch enemy of bonds, gradually rose.