Archive for the ‘Las Vegas Real Estate’ Category
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Sep
19
Posted by Mark Clawson
Write an Offer and Then Negotiate
I was reading a post from Dave Hanson’s Ballard Undressed site. Ballard is a neighborhood within the city of Seattle. Dave brings to light the need to get more personal when making an offer on a home. Here are some of his thoughts:
Sellers don’t sell their dream home and where they have raised a family with all those precious memories to words on a purchase and sale agreement. They sell it to a person. A person they want to connect with and they want them to have the same great memories just like they did when they were in the home. It is an emotional thing to many sellers and your agent needs to tap into that emotion so you can the the best price and terms possible. This is impossible through a fax and a phone is not much better. So when your out there looking at property and you hit upon a home you love, write an offer and then present face to face no matter how ugly it is.
For the full article click here.
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Sep
09
Posted by Mark Clawson
Desert Shores Real Estate.
I decided to do a photoshoot in Desert Shores this weekend. The idea was to give you a sense of the community and some of the activities that you might see on the lakes. While Desert Shores is not considered to be part of the Summerlin community it is on the border to Summerlin and has its own distinctive style of living.
You will find plenty of waterfront property.
Fishing on the lake; the question is whether the fish are safe to eat and how big do they get. Catch and release is just as fun on a nice day.
The Desert Shores Community Center has a great lagoon for swimming or just relaxing in the sun.
You will find some variety in the styles of the homes in Desert Shores.
Sailing anyone?
This is the remote control variety and there was a pretty good turnout.
There are a couple of very special restaurants on the water at Desert Shores. Garfield’s and Marche Bacchus both are can’t misses for fine patio dining.
As you can see; this is a great community for the family!
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Aug
24
Posted by Mark Clawson
Photo courtesy of Sun West Custom Homes in Las Vegas.
The clock is ticking fast for first-time homebuyers. Borrowers are looking at the $8,000 tax credit and trying to make sure that they get it done in time. Here is the link to the article from Reuters.
Photo courtesy of Signature Custom Homes Las Vegas
In refernece to the article above; lets take a look at some of the problems that have been evolving in the appraisal industry. This is very much an issue for new homebuyers since it is taking so long to get appraisals done. Diana Olick, CNBC Real Estate Reporter, talks about how appraisers are threatening The real estate markets recovery.
Photo courtesy of Slade Development in Las Vegas.
Jann Swanson writing in the Mortgage Daily News comments on some stabilization in the housing market. She goes on to say “While the abundance of affordable foreclosure properties is a boon for many first-time homebuyers, I don’t believe we’ll see significant recovery until demand-side fundamentals improve, and more move-up and move-across buyers re-enter the market.” Here is the link to her article.
Photo courtesy of Signature Custom Homes in Las Vegas.
Here is a post from an associate of mine at Kenmore Undressed; Jim talks about some of the consequences of short sales. “The Ugly reality of Short Sales in Your Neighborhood.”
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Aug
22
Posted by Mark Clawson
I stopped by The Lakes neighborhood in Las Vegas this week and found some new construction taking place. The Lakes is a neighborhood in Vegas that is centered around water. The same concept can be seen in the Desert Shores community. It provides a vitality that is common among many waterfront communities.
New Construction taking place on the waterfront.
Docks are plentiful.
As I was driving west on Lake Drive I noticed that there is a series of private parks with water features. This is continuation away from the center of the community and a way of keeping the water theme alive.
A popular place for our feathered friends as well.
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Aug
17
Posted by Mark Clawson
The September Effect and the Stock Market?
Here we are again, looking at the months of September and October in the stock market. Historically these months are very scary. The summer rally seems to have run it’s course after a 50% run-up from the March lows. The Fed has been pouring money into the markets and that has contributed to the market’s big move. Greenspan did the same on a number of ocassions while he was the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
My gut tells me that we are in for some significant trouble in the weeks ahead. However, the Fed may continue to come to the rescue; unless they feel that they now have some breathing room since the markets have performed so well.
This is really uncharted ground. Do you feel that good about the economy? Are you still worried about your job? I read an article in Esquire magazine about an editor for the magazine looking for a job; even though he had one. Three hundred applications later I think he had one job offer. This does not make me feel comfortable about the economy and it’s ability to create jobs.
The commercial real estate market is going to get much worse and the credit card companies are going to be in big trouble. I guess I don’t see any light in the tunnel.
Our elected officials scare the hell out of me. We are creating a tremendous amount of debt and China seems to be less interested in our Treasury securties. On top of that we have the words “socialism, and nazi” being bantered about. Why do we continue to elect people who care only about getting re-elected. It’s like we hired them to do the job of getting re-elected.
Many will say that it doesn’t matter its just about free enterprise. I think that in many ways certain companies in the free enterprise system have let us down. Greed and instant gratification are not the values that built our system of enterprise.
The real story of this post is about protecting yourself and feeling comfortable. If you have an investment advisor; start asking him or her if there is a way to protect yourself in another market decline. Investors have a short memory of events and its important to remember the last couple of years and to be proactive.
Secondly, you need to take a really hard look at refinancing. An optimistic view of the economy suggests that once this correction plays itself out things are going to change in a big way. The Fed is going to tighten; its just the way that the Fed manages the economy. A negative view going forward is just going to buy you more time to make that decision.
I wrote awhile back that I thought that we could see rates on the 10-Year Treasury note fall to 3-3.2%. They dropped to roughly 3.2% in July for 4 days; I think that we may see a test of that area in the next few weeks (currently we are at about 3.5%).
Be proactive and get in touch with someone that you trust; whether that be an investment advisor or a loan consultant just do it!
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Aug
13
Posted by Mark Clawson
Real Estate News Las Vegas is a new series that I am developing. The idea is to bring you news that is relevant and a little bit fun! I know that we are all hoping that the bottom is getting near; if not already in place. I will be linking to local news reports and other real estate bloggers in Las Vegas trying to keep you up to date on our city and real estate developments that may impact your life.
I always encourage feedback and hope that you will make comments. This is a way of having a conversation with you; ideas on content and articles of interest are always welcome. I love using photos on my blogsite and they are not always tied to the link or post in question. These photos are from some of our great custom homebuilders in Las Vegas.
Photo Courtesy of Sun West Custom Homes
This weeks first link is from the Las Vegas Sun in an article written by Cara McCoy. Cara notes that Michael Jackson was planning on acquiring the Primm estate which is “nestled among the homes of casino owner Phil Ruffin, the Sultan of Brunei and entertainer Wayne Newton”. Jackson had looked at The Ridges and MacDonald Highlands but liked the history of the Primm 10-acre estate. Here is the link to the story.
Photo Courtesy of Signature Custom Homes
Hubble Smith writing for the Las Vegas Review Journal indicates that July home sales showed more signs of a recovery. This is not a huge event event but the trend is starting to look better. Always remember that in any type of investment the trend is your friend. Here is the link on home sales in Las Vegas.
Photo Courtesy of Slade Development
Home sales go up and visitor volume in Las Vegas heads down. Howard Stutz writing for the Las Vegas Review Journalsays that the hotel “occupancy rate was 82.7 percent through June, which the convention authority said is 28 percentage points higher than the national average.” For the full article click here.
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Aug
08
Posted by Mark Clawson
Sun West Custom Homes (The Ridges) 2009
There are some very special custom home builders in Las Vegas; this article will highlight a few of them.
There are a number of custom homebuilders in Las Vegas and the designs and character that they have built into their homes are many and varied. Some are strikingly beautiful and unique while others are often just large boxes with high ceilings and little character. Let’s take a look and discuss one of the pioneers in the field Frank Lloyd Wright.
Signature Custom Homes (McDonald Highlands) 2002
In the process of writing this article I started thinking about the time I spent in the School of Architecture at the University of Washington. The architectural vision of the future was to create new structures using imagination, new materials and technologies in the building of homes. Sadly, most builders continued to build what the client wanted rather than build something new that the public would come to see as a better alternative.
Slade Development (Red Rock Country Club) 2009
You can see from the above photos that the creative mind is still at work in Las Vegas!
When I was still in school I visited Taliesin West. Built by Frank Lloyd Wright, this complex was designed as a school for architects. Students, at the time that I was there, learned everything from operating construction equipment, framing to architectural design.
For the full article click here.
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Jul
03
Posted by Mark Clawson
I’m thinking that this is an important time to talk about the stock market and what may happen to mortgage rates. You should know that I spent 25 years in the financial services industry and that many people believed that I was a pretty good technician. Most financial advisors, fundamental or technical, get a good feel for the markets after having watched it for many years; only a few will give you the bad news in advance. Hope you had one of those?
On March 6th the Dow Jones Industrial average fell briefly below 6500; 6469 to be more precise. The high for 2009, on an intra-day basis, was on June 11th when the Dow hit 8877 very briefly. That 37% gain was one of the highest (bear market rally?) since the great depression.
A break below around 8240, Thursday’s close was at 8280, could very easily see the market retrace to the 7700 level. There is a worse scenario and I’ll deal with that later in this post.
Now let’s consider what has been happening to the 10-Year Treasury Note. In the not too distant past you could track mortgage rates by looking at the 10-Year Note. That changed, for a time, when the Fed started buying Mortgage Back Securities. They have pledged to buy $1.25 trillion and they are halfway through that number.
In February the 10-Year Treasury note hit a low of 2.038% and in June the high was 4.174%. That’s a 100% increase; pushed up by green shoots in the economy, a rising stock market, inflation fears, dollar weakness (foreigners don’t want to hold our bonds with a weak dollar) and thoughts that the Fed would tighten.
If you had great credit and very good equity in your home you could have gotten a refinance in February or March at about 4.375%; a couple of weeks ago it would have been around 5.5%, now it’s about 5%.
What’s ahead? If the markets keep falling, oil prices continue dropping, the dollar remains neutral, and inflation fears calm then rates will go lower. I do not expect that we will see 2%; more like 3-3.2% on the 10-Year Note. This should translate into a 30-year fixed rate at about 4.625% – 4.75%; unless the Fed decides to buy a lot more mortgage backed securities.
My suggestion to those people who are looking to refinance or buy a home (first-time homebuyers in particular) is to get moving. The new appraisal laws are slowing the process down; just get the loan application started. You will then be in a position to move forward when you are ready!
I mentioned early in this post that things could get much worse. A friend of mine, Gary Savage, is an extremely astute advisor. I have tracked him over the last year and I’ve been very impressed with his read on the markets. I would like to hope that the market and the economy find a bottom in the next 4-6 months; that may not be the case.
Here is Gary’s read on current events.
Click here
If you want more information about Gary Savage and his Smart Money Tracker services click here.
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Jun
19
Posted by Mark Clawson
James Lupori, from Kenmore Undressed, recently posted an article about the consequences of short sales in real estate. This may be an issue for some of you and I wanted to keep you abreast with the workings of the real estate market.
WHY YOUR NEIGHBORS MATTER
Short Sales Reduce Your Property Values
A WARNING: This blog post is not for the faint of heart. There is nothing warm and fuzzy in what I’m about to write. This is one of those “face the brutal facts of your current reality” stories. This is a blunt discussion of what happens when your neighbors have financial problems, when the economy turns sour and how their misfortune visits your doorstep….literally!
SHORT SALES
By now, most home owners have heard the term “short sale.” It’s become an all-too-common situation for homeowners this last year. For those of you who aren’t familiar with short sales, here’s a simple definition:
A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold. (click on this link to read the Wikipedia article)
Sounds simple enough: a home owner gets into financial trouble and can’t pay the mortgage. They try to protect their credit rating and avoid foreclosure by asking the bank to accept less than what they owe on their mortgage. Wow! Sounds simple enough, right? For the purposes of this post, I’m not going to discuss the complexities of the short sale process. I’ll save that depressing subject for another day. What I’d like to focus on here is the serious, negative consequences short sales can have on a neighborhood.
For the full article click here.
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May
31
Posted by Mark Clawson
Today, I’m starting my end of the week post that will provide you with links to articles that have been posted by other Green Bloggers. This gives me the weekend to explore those sites and bring ideas and discussions on green topics to the community.
Most of these sites are award winners for content and design. I am committed to helping you explore the world of Green. Sustainable green living is no longer a dream but a reality in the making.
If you have any favorite green sites let me know and I can add them!
For the full article click here.
