Monday, October 31, 2005

The much ballyhooed housing bubble isn't happening Las Vegas, a real estate consultant said Tuesday.

At a housing seminar at the Four Seasons, Tim Sullivan, principal of San Diego-based Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors, said a housing bubble would defy all fundamentals of the local market.

"The market's not going to hell in a hand basket, and our safety net is California," he said.

Sullivan said Las Vegas can't have a housing bubble with this kind of job growth and in-migration and when land is hard to find and there's not much housing inventory. Any talk of a housing bubble is probably coming from outside the market, he said.

See Full Story...Las Vegas Review Journal

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Are You Ready for 13 SEER?

The Department of Energy (DOE) measures efficiency in numbers called SEER ratings (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). For several years, the minimum efficiency standard for newly-manufactured HVAC equipment has been 10 SEER. On January 23, 2006, the law will require manufacturers to stop producing anything less than a 13 SEER. Therefore, homeowners will be frustrated when they face a possible system upgrade instead of standard repair.
In order to explain the implications of 13 SEER, real estate professionals will need to understand the possible system upgrades and costs associated with the new standard.
A scenario that poses risk to the real estate professional is a home warranty provider that doesn't address 13 SEER. Certain manufacturers and service providers such as NAR's REALTOR BenefitsSM partner, American Home Shield, are preparing to help agents prepare for the new standards.
"We work very closely with the real estate community, and understand their frustrations and constraints," said Steve Burnett, Chief Marketing Officer at American Home Shield. "We're going to supply easy-to-understand learning tools for agents to share with their clients and also make sure our field team is knowledgeable on 13 SEER."
For more information, visit http://nar.ed10.net/h/YS0U/33A4/7V/XIYDF.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Las Vegas lots at all time high

A report from Applied Analysis showed the average price at $601,600 an acre, or $13.81 a square foot, based on 416 transactions involving nearly 2,300 acres.
The comparable period from a year ago included the Bureau of Land Management sale of 1,940 acres in Henderson to Focus Property for about $550 million. Excluding that transaction, land values were up 81 percent.
Parcels ranging in size from 20 acres to 50 acres, suitable for residential development, averaged $890,000 an acre and represented 12 percent of land transactions during the quarter. Property close to the Strip, especially along Tropicana and Harmon avenues, is going for more than $3 million an acre.
"It just confirms the amount of investment and speculation that's taking place in the market," said Brian Gordon, principal of Applied Analysis. "It's just driving property values north, and developers are willing to pay premiums to get in the game."
See Full Story....Las Vegas Review Journ