Earlier this month after JP Morgan Chase Bank and Ally Financial Inc. put a halt to evictions of property owners in default on their mortgages after rumors surfaced in several states that alleged that bank officers/employees were signing documents that may have contained errors. Bank of America soon followed suit and halted all property seizures as well.

In a statement release by Bank of America this past Monday, "Our initial assessment findings show the basis for our foreclosure decisions is accurate."

"Although the Moratorium was short lived, it did have an impact on the Las Vegas housing market as it made potential buyers uneasy about home purchases and Title Companies a bit skittish about writing Title Insurance." according to Las Vegas Realtor Laura Arcuri of the Realty One Group.

Ms Arcuri went on to state "Although Nevada was not listed as one of the 23 states the effect of temporarily putting the brakes on any foreclosures will send ripples throughout the already devastated real estate industry and will delay a full recovery.”

What this Las Vegas Real Estate Veteran is referring to is the fact that in order for the market to stabilize foreclosures are a necessary evil. Home owners simply cannot remain in homes that they cannot or will not pay their mortgages.

"It was the Housing Sector driven by out of control politically initiated Sub-Prime and "Liar" loans that caused our current recession. The economy simply cannot recover until the real estate industry does. It is time to finish the healing process." according to Ms Laura Arcuri.

You would have to be blind not to notice all of the Commercial Real Estate vacancies here in Las Vegas. Driving through town with every turn and on almost every block we see vacancies for offices, retail and specialty stores.

What amazes me is that there is still new construction taking place on commercial property.

As we see more and more businesses closing every week the vacancy rate continues to climb. I can’t be the only one that sees this.

This will defiantly be the next big hit on the economy here locally. Why do the banks continue to loan for new commercial projects with such a high vacancy rate? Do they just assume that the Tax Payers will bail them out again?

Perhaps it is time to use some common sense and consider a moratorium on new construction permits. As much as I appall Government intervention into the private sector someone needs to display some leadership. I much prefer the idea of a moratorium on new construction permits than I do another round of bank bailouts.

I am not suggesting a moratorium on casino construction. That is an entirely different class of commercial property and I realize that casino operators are taking advantage of reduced building costs.

We have not yet recovered from the busting of the “Housing Bubble” and when the commercial sector implodes it will send shock waves through the economy unlike we have seen yet. The devastation will be compounding as it will cause even more businesses to fail. The difference between the “Housing Bubble” and the “Commercial Real Estate Bubble” is that the commercial sector has the potential of being more destructive to the economy.

Is this treat of the “Commercial Real Estate Bubble” a local phenomenon? No it is not. You can see similar rates of commercial vacancies nationally.

Do I believe a permit moratorium would stop the pending collapse of the commercial real estate market here? No I do not, but at least we could lessen the blow. Las Vegas Foreclosures already leads the nation in home foreclosures. Do we really want to lead the nation in commercial foreclosures too?

It is not a question of “if” the commercial real estate sector will collapse but “when?”.

For anyone looking to invest in Las Vegas now is certainly the time. Many investors from all over the nation and Canada are honing in on the “steals’ in real estate in the southern Nevada area. All around Las Vegas and many of the master planned communities in Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch and Henderson are seeing foreclosures, just like other places all over the United States. What this means for investors, is that these luxury homes are now selling for so much less than anyone can imagine. Investors, whether looking for long term or short term profit are flocking to the Las Vegas area in ensure they get a piece of this sought after real estate.

The housing market is steadily making a change for the better, which means that all the homes that are now in foreclosure are practically all gone. Yes, individuals and investors knew a good thing when they saw it and purchased these homes, which is helping the housing market here in Las Vegas, start recovering. The problem for investors is that if they do not get in now before all the Las Vegas foreclosures are gone, the inventory will be very low. Once the inventory is low, prices will rise as there will not be enough Las Vegas investment properties on the market for those looking to buy.

The bottom line in the housing market in Las Vegas is that inventory has decreased drastically the last couple of months, interest rates are still wonderful, and prices are so below the norm that you may faint at what you can get for your money.

At the time of this writing, Fannie Mae is offering a Non-Owner Occupancy loan for investors with terms of 10 percent down at 7 percent. The program is called HomePath, but there are only a few lenders that are registered with Fannie Mae to process these loans. You may not believe this, but all over Las Vegas, the median price for a home is $142,000 with many more at $100,000, meaning you can obtain a great rental property for only $10,000 down.

Investors that are serious about buying investment property at a great price and receiving more than they bargained for, should check out Las Vegas before all the properties are gone. Today, investors can find single-family homes, condos, townhouses, golf homes, luxury homes, and other properties that will surely put them in the profit column in a short amount of time.

Investors should talk with our Las Vegas Homes experts to learn all the possibilities available in the Las Vegas area. With a professional Las Vegas real estate Agent by your side, you will be able to find the Las Vegas investment property you desire and save money in the process.

Today, more and more Canadians are investing in Las Vegas property whether for a second home or for investment property. At one time, Canadians looked for homes and investment property in the state of Arizona; however, with prices of homes drastically lower than ever in the Las Vegas, many are now looking to buy in the Las Vegas area.

Canadians like other investors in the US are realizing that now is one of the best times to find a wide array of properties in the Las Vegas area at prices that are practically stealing the property. A matter of fact, finding awesome properties that at one time sold for $400,000 is now selling for $200,000, what investor in his right mind would not jump on the chance to buy investment property in Las Vegas.

For anyone looking to purchase investment property in Las Vegas including Canadians, you will need the expertise of a local real estate agent that will be able to show you all the communities in and around Las Vegas that are available. Some of these homes are in sought after communities such as Summerlin, Green Valley, Henderson, Lake Las Vegas, and Seven Hills, to name a few. Not only will an investor be able to choose the location of their rental properties but also the style the property they desire including ones on a golf course, age restricted, ranches, condos, townhouses, and gated communities.

As you look for your second home in Las Vegas, you will need an experienced Las Vegas Realtor that will be able to find the home that fits your lifestyle along with all the amenities you deserve. For any investment property search, you need a Las Vegas real estate agent with talented negotiating that will stay one-step ahead of your competitors. Owning investment property in Las Vegas is an excellent opportunity as many people have the desire to live in the area where they are quality educational opportunities, fun family activities, several employment options, and summer like weather year round.

Canadians are looking for property in Las Vegas for all of the above reasons. Dennis Smith, the president of Home Builders Research stated, “I think we are getting more Canadians than in the past simply because of the affordability,” …“I have been talking with some of the sales and marketing people of builders, and they tell me more Canadians are looking at properties.”

Smith went on to explain that the “median price of resale homes in Las Vegas in February was $145,000, which as stated by Smith numbers is down $10,000 from January and $90,000 from February 2008. That contrasts with the $120,000 median resale price in Phoenix.”

D.R. Horton a builder in the Las Vegas area stated, “Affordability has put Las Vegas back in the picture,”…“For a long time, I think, when (Canadians) think of Arizona, they think of desert and warm weather. When they think of Las Vegas, they think of casinos. They forget about the warm weather and desert.”

Tom Deinet, a Realtor with Century 21 Barrett stated that, “Properties are selling for half what it would cost to build them,”…“You will never see this again.”

Many believe that home sales went up in June in Las Vegas due to the overwhelming number of Southern California investors that returned to the area to find deals on single-family homes. The number of investors seen in the Las Vegas area in June of 2009 when compared to June of 2008 was 35% higher.

Steve Bottfeld the executive vice president of Marketing Solutions stated, “Real estate has always been a good investment, and right now it has never been better from a residential standpoint,” … “I just wouldn’t invest in commercial because it is about to go through what residential already has.”

The research provided by DataQuick showed that Las Vegas property investors of both new and existing homes in June were 37.5% of the buyers. By their records, this is the second highest June during the last decade when comparing investor purchased homes, second to June of 2004 at 39.4%. Henderson homes and homes in Summerlin were also big gainers in the push for Las Vegas property investments.

Bottfeld went on to explain that the investors you are now seeing in the buying frenzy are now the same as the ones that were buying and flipping property. The investors in Las Vegas today are the ones that are looking for long-term real estate income. “It makes sense because if someone can buy a home for $100,000 in cash and rent it for $1,000 a month, that equates to a 12 percent return before taxes and other expenses are included, … “even getting an 8 percent return is better than the 2 percent they might get at their bank.” He stated.

Glenn Plantone a realtor and president of the Real Estate Insiders Club explained that investors are taking advantage of the huge drop in price the market is seeing in existing homes such as homes that were selling for around $300,000 are now going for close to $110,000. “They are buying them for cash flow;”…“We are not even talking about appreciation potential.”

Plantone went on to explain more about the rental market, “It is a lot easier to rent houses than condos,” … “We are getting people who are walking away from a $2,000 a month home payment and going across the street to rent a home for $1,200 in immaculate shape.”

Plantone stated that he has been working more with Southern California investors that have several hundred thousand dollars to invest and have been sitting around waiting for just such an opportunity to present itself in real estate.

Robyn Yates, the broker-owner of Windermere Prestige Properties said that she is seeing foreign buyers as well, many from Asia that are buying homes without even seeing them in person.

If this trend keeps up in Las Vegas, all those homes on the market will be in the hands of investors and new homes sales will certainly be on the rise. Does this trend mean that all those ugly Las Vegas foreclosure stories we have been hearing will soon be a thing of the past and the real estate market will begin healing?

By his own admission the President has not read the 1,000+ page legislation which has become a Washington DC trend. President Obama also blamed Republicans for attempting to block the bill. Now unless I have missed something the Democrats hold a 2-1 majority in the House of Congress and a 60-40 majority that is filibuster proof in the Senate. The President does not need a single Republican vote to get healthcare reform passed into law. So why more Republican bashing for the President that ran and won the presidency on “a new kind of politics in Washington” and, “change you can believe in”?

According to a July 16, 2009 article on Smart Money, “More than $1 trillion will be needed to pay for the Obama administration’s ambitious health-care reform plan. To come up with the money, the president has pledged to trim fat from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. But when all is said and done, it may be consumers who end up paying the price.”

So why would this information be on a real estate website that sells Las Vegas homes and other property here in the Valley? Simple, healthcare represents 1/6 of our economy and the government wants to take it over. The market for real estate in Las Vegas is just now beginning to see signs of recovery. If we hand over healthcare to our government you will see taxes skyrocket and small businesses forced out of business. Since small business employs 99% of Americans this will send shock waves through the private sector and add to the escalating unemployment rate. This bill will hurt the Las Vegas economy and tank the Las Vegas real estate market if it becomes law.

Michael Steel: Obama Healthcare is a Reckless Experiment

Record sales of single single-family Las Vegas homes, condominiums, and town homes were announced in June in Las Vegas. The record set back in June of 2004 was at 4,414, but now in 2009, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported a new all time record of 4,702.

We hear how potential buyers are afraid to buy homes and just how many homes are sitting on the market, but then we see a report of record-breaking sales in Las Vegas, what is the real truth.

Realtors in the Las Vegas area sold 3,785 single-family homes during June, which is up 16.3% from May and a whopping 70% over June of 2008. Condos and town homes have tripled from sales last year at this time to 917 in June.

A decrease is now seen in the single family homes of 11.9%, bringing homes on the market to 20,613 and condos on the market is at 5,416 decreasing 2.2%.

Sue Naumann president of the Realtors association stated, “I think it’s significant that we sold a record number of homes last month… We’ve been closing in on this mark for a few months now.”

Single family homes in Las Vegas are at a median price of $140,000 which is the same as May. Condo prices are edging up a bit to $66,000.

Inventory in Las Vegas is a bit down and prices are going up or stabilizing which is good sign for the housing market across the US. Las Vegas was one of the first to feel the bubble burst and will be one of the first to see a change for the better.

Broker David Brownell of Keller Williams Realty stated that closings are up from last year as well as pending sales.

Broker and Team Leader for Realty ONE Group Konnel Peterson said, “Figures on closed real estate transactions for June 2009 signal that the market did reach bottom this spring and that Las Vegas real estate may well be on our way to recovery.”

Las Vegas is beginning to see buyers both investors and families, however, everyone is still a bit concerned about the future when it comes to job security. However, with housing prices going down and those wishing to buy a new home for an affordable price, this is a great time to buy. Many of the homes on the market today are foreclosures, which allows you to buy at a considerable lower price than the home is actually worth.

If you want to know how soon the housing market will rebound across the nation, keep a sharp eye on Las Vegas. As Las Vegas heals so, will other states.

While the Obama Administration promised distressed homeowners relief and loaned banking institutions tens of billions in TARP and bailout money the banks took a “wait and see” attitude and slowed or suspended home foreclosures here in the Valley and across the Nation.

Now that it appears the average homeowner will not be a part of Obama’s bailout, and that there will not be any realistic government effort to keep families in their homes the banks have once again started to move on legal proceedings to recover mortgaged property and get them off the books.

The timing of lifting the foreclosure moratorium is interesting if not suspect. Is it the realization by the banking institutions that the Calvary is not coming or is it public outcries of foul will make government handouts harder to come by for banks and distressed homeowners? It could also be that we are now in the selling season and the financial institutions are simply making a prudent business decision to act.

While motives are uncertain it is clear for both the banks and our government, it is time for the Administration to act and do so decisively. They need to cease spreading false hope to homeowners that over extended themselves to begin with. The market will not recover until it hits bottom and that can only happen without government interference while allowing the free market to work. The promise of government intervention has prolonged this crisis and adversely affected home values across the nation.

Secondly, if the government really wants to help, instead of handing out billions to the nations largest banks they could stimulate the economy and real estate industry by backing a program of guaranteeing 4% Fixed Rate loans for 30 years to qualified buyers. This would not take any money from the treasury and would be a major boost to home sales.

These are two simple steps that cost tax payers nothing that would have huge benefits to the real estate industry, our economy and homeowners. The only downside is the government will have to be honest with the voters and tell the Janitor making $15.00 an hour that he can not afford his $250k home.

We all need to live within our means if we are to overcome this crisis. This includes our government.

Home prices per square foot are almost at a pre “Boom” level. Interest rates are at a historic low. Potential Las Vegas home Buyers have an opportunity to buy a home or condo now with an affordable monthly payment for a short period of time. A narrow window of opportunity now exists.

Why do I say they can buy at these rates for a “short period of time”? Simple, the cost per square foot on a home in Las Vegas is extremely attractive right now. Interest rates on homes may be at a historic low but can not go much lower and will most certainly rise considerably this year.

Historically, when our country begins to exit a recession we enter a period of inflation or hyperinflation. This means that interest rates on home loans will rise dramatically. So will the cost of the home. Under the President Carter Administration from 1977 – 1981 we saw mortgage rates run between 18-21%. Inflation rates in that same period were topping 18%. No one knows just how bad the inflation and interest rates will be in the near future under President Barak Obama. My best guess given the current state of the economy they will be staggering.

Rising interest rates alone is ample reason to act now if you are thinking about buying a home. Let’s do some math to illustrate what is at stake. If you are looking to finance a home at $200,000 at a 30 year fixed rate of 5.09% your payment would be $1,084.67 and the total cost of the loan would be $390,481.54 over the 30 year period. Now if you were waiting for that exact same house to be reduced by $10,000.00 and before you bought this home the interest rate jumps up only 1% the monthly payment would now be $1,150.16 and the total cost of the loan would be $414,058.72. So even if the home was reduced by $10k your monthly payments went up by 65.49 per month and your total cost over the 30 year loan went up by $23,577.18. And now this is assuming the price of the home was reduced the full $10k. If it did not, the difference is even more drastic.

Now there is absolutely no doubt that interest rates will go up in the near future. Will they go down any more before they go up? I have no idea, but the illustration above shows that once they do go up your total cost of hosing will increase substantially.

In my humble opinion we are all faced with a short term opportunity to purchase affordable housing. How long this window of opportunity will last is uncertain. So if you are considering purchasing a Las Vegas home in the near future the time may be sooner rather than later.

The economic factors in the Las Vegas area that affect both demand and supply include the job market, the rise in the price of home values, and the economic outlook. The job market has quite a bit to do with the real estate market. If there are good jobs available, then people will want to move to the area and there will be an increase in the demand for homes for these individuals. However, if there are not many jobs available the demand for homes will decrease.

Home Values

When home values rise, buyers feel they can sell their home, move to a new location, and pay cash for their new home. Because of this, they can improve their lifestyle when they sell their home and move to a better neighborhood. When home values go up you will find more homes on the market since home sellers would love to sell their home and better their lifestyle.

Everyone looks at the economic outlook. When things occur in the stock market, social events, or stock market that causes investors to worry about future events they take their funds out of stocks, stop buying, and sit on their money. When everything looks good in these areas, investors spend more money.

Demand for Las Vegas Real Estate

The demand for real estate in Las Vegas is affected by such things as interest rates, how other real estate markets are doing across the US, entertainment, and the local economy. Interest rates have a lot to do when it comes to buyers being able to purchase homes. When interest rates are low, home buyers can afford more home for their money. When interest rates are high, home buyers cannot afford as much. If home values are high in such states as California, Florida, or other areas of the United States, people will sell their homes and move to Las Vegas to better their lifestyle. Entertainment is one reason people move to Las Vegas. There are so many entertainment options in the Las Vegas area all year long that is a major draw for most people wanting to better their lifestyle. Las Vegas has a strong economy that has been strong for years and it is estimated that it will be strong for the next decade due to all the new developments under construction bringing more jobs to the area.