Archive for the ‘Las Vegas Real Estate’ Category
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Jan
19
Posted by Mark Clawson
The stock market seems to be in free fall these days and this is good for mortgage rates. I wrote a post on August 9th (click here) talking about the problems in the sub prime loan market. I mentioned that weakness in the stock market can help mortgage interest rates since investors tend to adopt a flight to quality strategy.
The article mentioned the possibility of the Dow Jones Industrial Average reurning to the 11,000 area. The chart above shows that we are now approaching the 12,000 mark and there is a threat that it may go lower. You’ll note in the next chart (the 10-year Treasury Note yield) that rates have been moving down in simpathy with the stock market.
Remember that the rate on the 30 year fixed mortgage tends to mirror the movement in the 10-year Treasury Note yield. It is my belief that investors have been pricing in a rather large 3/4 point cut in the fed funds rate later this month.
What strategy should you be considering?
The markets may well bounce and hold these levels and if this occurs funds will start to move out of bonds and back into stocks. The market may continue to dive; another 1,000 points can come very quickly. Here again when a bottom is put in, people will move back into stocks. Eventually mortgage rates are going to stop going down.
It is time to prepare yourself in advance of the event. Get yourself pre-approved and start looking for that house now! If you are thinking about a refinance get started now!
I was working at UBS as a financial advisor in 2000. At that time technology stocks were selling at incredible multiples. That is not the case today. I think we may be getting closer to a bottom and this could mean that mortgage rates may go higher in a few months.
Never hurts to get ahead of the game.
Give me a call at 702-351-7912.
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Nov
28
Posted by Mark Clawson
I know that most visitors to Vegas don’t realize the true beauty surrounding our city. In fact, many of us locals sometimes forget the beauty in this part of the world. Below are a few pictures that I took recently as a reminder.
Pretty amazing as to what Mother Nature has created!
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Nov
28
Posted by Mark Clawson
It’s too bad we don’t see more homes like this in Las Vegas. The style is so appropriate to the desert environment that we all live in. This adobe home is located in Centennial Hills.
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Oct
30
Posted by Mark Clawson
The Lakes Las Vegas has some wonderful homes and is similar in some ways to the Desert Shores neighborhood. Here are some more pictures of The Lakes Neighborhood.
Some very nice Real Estate.
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Sep
03
Posted by Mark Clawson
Is it time to buy a home in Las Vegas? Due to excessive speculation by builders and investors we have a lot of supply on the market. This is a buyers market and it may be that way for another one to two years. One can rarely predict the bottom of any market correction whether it be in home prices or the stock market. People tend to panic and look too much at the present when trying to make decisions.One thing that I noticed when I came to Las Vegas was how the Las Vegas Valley is filling up. I started to think of Seattle, where I was born and raised. The geography of Seattle is quite different; however, each city displays a unique restriction in the growth of new housing. In Seattle, most of the expansion has gone to the east of Seattle since Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound are barriers.
In Las Vegas, the valley of growth is surrounded on most sides by mountains, and there is a finite amount of land available in the valley for building. One might suggest that the builders may be able to move outside the valley. Most of the land is owned by the Bureau of Land Management and they would need to make a decision about releasing more land for development. Expanding the boundaries for development is a hotly contested issue with conservationists.
Why has the demand for real estate been so great over the last five years? Las Vegas which means “The Meadows” is a lot more than The Strip. Las Vegas is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges and canyons. You will find that many diverse communities have sprung up from the desert in many unique ways. The Desert Shores and the Lake Las Vegas communities were built around man-made lakes and few people in the country would ever envision seeing such a sight in Las Vegas. There are many master planned communities in Las Vegas and you will find parks, trail systems, community centers, golf courses, and wonderfully landscaped thoroughfares.
Las Vegas was just voted the number one Adventure Town in America in the September edition of National Geographic. The reason for this is because of all the opportunities to participate in all kinds of outdoor activities within a short distance of Vegas: hiking, boating, mountain biking, skiing, rock climbing, to name a few. Vegas is not just for gambling anymore. A secret has been revealed that we locals have known about for a long time: Vegas is a good home base for outdoor adventure beyond the city limits.
When one looks at growth in the Las Vegas Valley there are many issues to consider. You have to look at the available water resources, increased energy costs, declines in quality of life as perceived by potential residents, and the physical limitations of Las Vegas Valley. At the present rate of growth, predictions indicate that land currently available for development in Las Vegas Valley will be built-out in the next 7 years.
What does this all mean? Okay, we have had over-building and this will continue to depress home prices until the supply is reduced. However, one must keep in mind the limitations that are imposed on this area. There is a real concern about water resources and there are those who will fight development beyond the Valley. If the demand for real estate in the Valley starts to perk up in a year or two, home prices will move higher in the future. You cannot dismiss the law of supply and demand.
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Aug
16
Posted by Mark Clawson
Larry and Kathleen just returned from the Real Estate Connect in San Francisco. It was two and one half days jammed packed with information and ideas. At times conflicting ideas. Real Estate Connect is a place where the real world of traditional real estate meets head on with new ideas, new technology, new marketing, innovations and discussion of where real estate is going from the here and now into the future. Currant trends and troubles are addressed, such as the decline in the housing market, the subprime mortgage crisis and of course what all these things mean to agents and to our clients.
Just a few of the companies represented at the conference by their top excutives were, HomeGain, Chase International, Prudential, Coldwell Banker, John L.Scott, Homes.com, Imprev, Oodle, Trulia, Zillow, House Values, Active Rain, epraisal.com, Point 2 Technologies, Google, National Assoc. of Realtors, IAC, Zip Realty, OpenMLS, Move,Inc, Mapquest, Bank of America, Microsoft, craigslist.org, Yahoo, Redfin, etc.etc.
One thing is clear, things are changing. More and more the driving force in many things is the consumer or I should say YOU, the home buyers. The ease with which the real estate world is at your fingertips is paramount. Agents who know their community, how to embrace new technology to help you and understand what is happening in the real world of real estate will be best at serving their clients. At the conference there was an entire day of sessions devoted to real estate bloggers. This makes our heart go pitter patter, as you may have noticed we are bloggers! We have been developing a network of blogs about towns and cities across the nation all connected to each other and to the consumer in each area. Each town will have its own sponser and voice. We blog with the purpose that was espoused at Inman New’s Real Estate Connect, to educate our readers and clients about real estate and mortgage ins and outs. providing them with a better experience when they are shopping for a home. Info about the community they are thinking about living in is a major theme. All of our blogs are 2.0, allowing you to comment or ask questions, which we will answer. Please Ask! Blogs were often touted as the best method of marketing in the future.
Click on this link for the full article by Larry Cragun on IssaquahUndressed.com
