Regents Approve Plans to go Forward with Apartment-style Campus Housing

Big news for all prospective and ongoing UNLV students has hit the local Vegas newspapers. A tentative agreement for Midtown Park, a $175 million apartment-style dormitory project at UNLV, has been approved by Nevada's higher education leaders this past Friday. UNLV supporters believe that Midtown Park will help revitalize the area around campus, which had come under hard times in recent years. The apartment-style dorms are scheduled to open in fall 2015. Below is the concept image for Midtown Park, provided by UNLV.

Read more about the newly approved dormitory project:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jul/26/regents-approve-plans-go-forward-apartment-style-c/

Source: LASVEGASSUN.com

Demand for New Homes in Southern Nevada Eases in June

From the article:

Sales of new homes began slowing last month in Southern Nevada amid scorching heat and rising interest rates. But overall, the home construction market has been far more robust this year than during the same period in 2012, a new report shows. Local homebuilders sold 3,618 new houses from January through June, up 75 percent from a year earlier, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research. The median price of June's sales was $266,921, up 37 percent from June 2012.

Read more at the following link:
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/jul/22/demand-new-homes-southern-nevada-eases-june/

Source: VEGASINC.com

U.S. New Home Sales Jump to Highest Level in Five Years

According to a recent Commerce Department report, the housing recovery is strengthening as new home sales gain momentum across the country. In June, Americans swiped up new homes at the fastest pace in five years, with an overall rise of 38 percent in the past 12 months.
As quoted in the article, economist Jonathan Basile said in a note to his clients, "There's an awful lot of headroom for more gains in new-home sales once the job market recovers more fully."

Read more at the link below:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/us-new-home-sales-jump-highest-level-five-years

Photo: JEFF SCHEID
Source: REVIEWJOURNAL.com

Home Resales Down in Las Vegas, GLVAR Reports

Along with investor activity in the LV Valley, home resales across the U.S. are also in decline. According to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, resales in Las Vegas have declined both month to month and year over year. Sales agents have attributed this slump in local resales to a decline in foreclosures since 2011. Despite this slip in the resales category, overall U.S. home sales have increased 15.2 percent from a year ago, propelled by both job gains and low mortgage rates.

Link to the article:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/home-resales-down-las-vegas-glvar-reports

Photo: JEFF SCHEID

Source: REVIEWJOURNAL.com

House Flipping Slows in Las Vegas as Bargains Disappear

A new report from research firm RealtyTrac shows that Nevada had a 34 percent decline in housing flips compared to the first six months of 2012. Whereas from a national perspective, the volume of housing flips rose 19 percent in total over this time period.
Although flipping remains profitable in most markets, it has certainly slowed in regions where there are fewer distressed bargains for sale. In Las Vegas, there is a particularly fewer amount of homes listed for sale in part from heavy investor activity, as many cheap houses have already been purchased in bulk and have subsequently been turned into rentals throughout the valley. Overall, it is now a difficult to buy a home in Vegas, whether you want to flip it or just live in it.

Check out the article to read more on RealtyTrac's report:
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/jul/19/house-flipping-slows-las-vegas-bargains-disappear/

Source: VEGASINC.com

Mortgage Rates Reach Highest Level in 2 Years

The graph below is a visual demonstration provided by Freddie Mac, one of the two major government-sponsored mortgage financing companies. It shows us that 30-year mortgage rates have rose to their highest level in nearly two years, increasing from 3.40% to 4.51% in a time span of just three months. While the average rate for a 30-year loan has climbed to 4.51%, the average mortgage rate for a 15-year fixed loan hit 3.53% according to the data.

Check out the article for more info:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/11/real_estate/mortgage-rate-rise/index.html?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29

Source: MONEY.CNN.com

Rising Interest Rates Cast Shadow over Valley's Housing Market

Rising home prices are less of an issue as buyers are focused more on the Las Vegas Valley's heightened interest rates. According to a June survey administered by real estate website Trulia, rising interest rates have surpassed increasing home prices as the #1 worry among housing consumers.

Read more at the following article:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/economy/rising-interest-rates-cast-shadow-over-valleys-housing-market

Photo: SAMANTHA CLEMENS
Source: REVIEWJOURNAL.com

Was Your Home a Good Investment?

Check out CNN Money's mortgage calculator to find out. Just make the correct adjustments to align with your investment.

Find the calculator here: http://cnnmon.ie/13iXXLF

Source: MONEY.CNN.com

Survey Shows RE/MAX #1 Name in Real Estate

Click on the image below to view the official RE/MAX press release. The referenced surveys were conducted between the end of last year and the beginning of this year.

Source: REMAX.com

Median Single-family Home Price in Las Vegas Continues to Rise

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors released statistics today showing that existing home prices continue to rise as the supply of houses available has also increased. Although the median existing local home price of $175,000 is still a long way from our peak of $315,000 in June 2006, this slow but steady climb is paving out a positive path for the Las Vegas housing market.

Link to the article for more info:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/median-single-family-home-price-las-vegas-continues-rise

Source: REVIEWJOURNAL.com

Thinking of Buying or Selling?

Here are the latest predictions on how rising mortgage rates may affect you as an investor.
From the article:

Institutional buyers are likely to slow the pace of their distress-sale home purchases if interest rates rise and other investments become more attractive. Whether they also dump the properties they have already purchased or hang onto them would depend on the demand for single-family-home rental properties. 

“I think the major equity players, like Blackstone (Group), that brought volume purchases to the real estate industry will retreat from the purchase of individual homes,” said Owen Beitsch, senior principal of Real Estate Research Consultants of Orlando. “This asset class is simply much too management-intensive, and the spread between cost and return is decreasing.” 

John Tuccillo, chief economist for Florida Realtors, said he expects the pace of investor purchases to slow “during the next year or so.” He added that, while he doesn’t expect equity funds to sell off their newly acquired houses, he figures they will cut back on picking up new ones. 

Diminished demand for investment houses would put pressure on prices to fall, though areas with low inventory would more easily handle an increase in available properties without prices tanking.

Read more at the following link:
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/jul/05/thinking-buying-or-selling-heres-how-rising-mortga/

Photography: STEVE MARCUS
Source: VEGASINC.com

Las Vegas Land Market Mostly Stabilizing after Downturn

The latest housing news from the LVRJ says that Southern Nevada's land market seems to have mostly stabilized, with the west side seeing the biggest home price increases. Investors and homebuilders remain the two largest groups with the most homebuying power, and because land availability is dwindling, homebuilders have become more willing to raise prices in order to meet their own demand for raw land. According to the article, this will likely result in rising home prices across the valley in about a year or two.

For more info, check out the article below:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/las-vegas-land-market-mostly-stabilizing-after-downturn

Source: REVIEWJOURNAL.com

June National Housing Report: What It Means For You

What does the latest National Housing Report mean for you? If you need some assistance in translating the latest market trends, here is what RE/MAX has to say:

Buyers: Low inventory continues to be an issue for buyers, but as prices rise, homeowners will become more confident with the idea of selling, which will increase the inventory. If you are considering buying in the near future, you can keep ahead of other buyers by getting pre-approved for a loan, so you are ready when the right property comes along. 

Sellers: Because of the low inventory and cheaper mortgages, it’s still a seller’s market, giving you the upper hand in negotiations. Prices are expected to remain higher due to increased demand and low inventory, and homes are selling rapidly, particularly compared to the same time last year.

Link to the RE/MAX blog:
http://www.remax.com/c/housing-blog/blog-post/june-national-housing-report-what-it-means-for-you

Source: REMAX.com

RE/MAX National Housing Report - June 2013

Click the images below to view the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report. The below data shows how the housing recovery that began early last year is gaining momentum in 2013. Signs of market stabilization and upward growth are followed by continued concerns for low supply and high demand.

Source: REMAX.com