Case Schiller Home Price Index Shows Gain

Home price index shows 1st annual gain in 3 years - Business - ReviewJournal.com

While we remain steadfastly cautious about real estate price indices of any kind, it is reassuring to see a gain as a data point in housing prices.

Counterpoint:

Don't start to use the "R word" ("recovery") until the economy has firmly shown 2 consecutive quarters of GDP growth and [our assertion] job growth.

Luxuriously Appointed Home Near Spring Valley Hosptial Priced to Move

5883 Hawley Ct

Custom Built Home, 3800 sq ft in SW Las Vegas

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The lavish interior boasts imported exotic hardwood floors, ceramic tile and upgraded carpet throughout. No detail has been overlooked, this home offers an endless array of unique details and amenities such as custom paint and moldings, designer fixtures, double sided fireplace, granite countertops throughout, and state of the art stainless steel appliances.

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Convenient Jack and Jill bathrooms can be found both upstairs and downstairs. The great room on the second floor opens to a large balcony with breath-taking views of Southwest Las Vegas-Perfect for entertaining.

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Interested parties are invited to contact David Kang (blogger@precisionpei.com) for a viewing appointment.

The Secret to Getting a Great Deal

Image credit: http://www.edupics.com/en-coloring-pictures-pages-photo-whispering-i13373.html

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the consensus in Las Vegas is that there are many good deals available in the housing market. After all, if you can find a home for about half of what the previous owner paid for it back in 2005 or 2006, you're getting a pretty good deal, right?

The trouble is, people are finding that it's rather hard to find one of these homes - when they put in an offer at today's market value, they're being outbid by cash buyers or other homebuyers also looking for a good deal!

We have a client who has written over 10 offers and still cannot get a home, much less one that is a "good deal!" So how can you, a home buyer, get such a good deal? The short answer is that you must listen for "whisper listings."

What's a whisper listing? A whisper listing is a property that is not formally on the market yet. You see, in order to legally allow a real estate agent to sell a property, a home owner has to complete a bunch of paperwork. Since people are busy, that paperwork usually takes about 24 hours. However, the agent who prepared the paperwork for the homeowner knows that the property will be formally on the market in about 24 hours.

This 24-hour (sometimes longer or shorter) "limbo period" in between when the homeowner returns the paperwork and when the agent prepares the paperwork is the magic time. Since no one else aside from the homeowner and the agent know the property is for sale, there can be no competition for your offer during the limbo period.

Agents who list a lot of property maintain close relationships with the homebuyers who want to hear about their "whisper listings." So if you want a good deal, get out there with your agent and start looking! If you want a great deal, get a relationship with an agent and listen for their whispers!

Some Tips to Getting on "The List" for Whisper Listings:

1) Be ready - whispers are available for less than a 24 hour period of time so have your downpayment and financing in order before you start asking agents for their whispers.

2) Be willing - fortune favors the bold so consider writing an offer subject to inspection; you can tie up a whisper before it even hits the open market with essentially no risk. If your offer is accepted, you can "inspect" (go see) the property and if you don't like it, you can cancel. Ask your real estate agent how to make this work.

3) Be able - even in a "down" real estate market, how long do you think the good deals last? According to January's numbers, most houses are selling in less than 60 days. If a good deal lasts at most 60 days, how long will a great deal last?

The scenario of a whispers is a win for everyone: the home owner gets to sell their house fast, the home buyer gets to hear about great deals before they hit the market and become only "good" deals, and the agent earns a good reputation for being able to make the deal happen.

E-mail us and get on our whisper list! Happy house hunting!

Posted By: David Kang

Las Vegas Housing Market Update: December 2009

Image credit: http://www.lvrj.com/business/housing-haunted-by-sales-statistics-82236467.html

Noteworthy statistics from December 2009:

• Median resale price of SFRs: $123,000.00
• Median new home price of SFRs: $216,854.00
• Existing home volume for 2009: 44,885 (second highest ever on record)

More statistics available from GLVAR here: http://www.lasvegasrealtor.com/media/stats/2009_12_Dec.pdf

Posted By: David Kang

Las Vegas Housing Market Update: November 2009

Image source: http://www.lvrj.com/business/buyers-chasing-homes-in-las-vegas-as-prices-continue-falling.html

Last week, the Review Journal published its analysis of the GLVAR November 2009 statistics (GLVAR's source document here). Among the notable statistics published in the Review Journal:

• 3,117 sales closed in Nov 2009.
  
• Median prices in Nov 2009 rose to $140,000 (0.6% from Oct 2009).
• 41% of all sales were cash (no mortgage).
• 61% of all sales were REO (foreclosures).

As always, we strongly encourage home owners and home buyers to read the source document for anything published in traditional mass media. In this case, Mr. Smith (the author of the Review Journal article) uses the GLVAR monthly statistics. You can read the GLVAR statistics here: http://www.lasvegasrealtor.com/media/stats/2009_11_Nov.pdf

The following notable points (in our opinion) are found in the GLVAR statistics:

• 8,385 properties without offers (+3.8% from Oct 2009).
• Of the properties sold in Nov 2009, 58.6% were on the market 30 days or less and 16.7% were on the market from 30 to 60 days. The means over 75% of the properties sold were on the market less than 2 months.

Additionally, the GLVAR statistics have some graphs that provide ability to look at the historical trends of this data.



Posted By: David Kang

Las Vegas Housing Market: No "Flood" of Foreclosures

Image credit: http://www.lvrj.com/business/las-vegas-home-prices-stabilize-as-threat-of-foreclosure-flood-wanes-70448582.html

Today's Review Journal article reinforces what I have anecdotally seen and been blogging about for several months: banks are not stupid enough to flood the market with foreclosures. In spite of their seemingly inexplicable behavior, I've always felt that banks were not stupid.

A "flood" of foreclosures being put on the market, as many have predicted and feared, would drive real estate prices in Las Vegas through the floor. This subsequent drop in prices would also make banks' losses intolerable, so it's my feeling that they'll continue to do what they're doing: dole out the inventory as slowly as possible to reduce their losses and keep prices afloat.

Las Vegas has already seen 3 months of price increases in 2009, which could be supporting evidence for this strategy. Of course, critics will say that these increases in price are a "false bottom" and at any moment, a bank could start pouring inventory on the market.

This is a true statement but I believe it is a scenario of mutually assured destruction: pouring inventory on the market depresses prices; depressing prices causes even bigger losses; even bigger losses may cause failure of the bank. Why would they do that?

I don't think they would.

Posted By: David Kang

Las Vegas Median Home Price Rises Again

Image credit: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/housing-bust.jpg

According to the Review Journal's article from the 9th, Las Vegas single family home values rose for the 3rd time in 2009 and for the 2nd consecutive month in October 2009. Currently, the median price in Las Vegas is $139,100. Additionally, only 8,075 housing units do not have offers on them.

Given the sales pace of 3,535 in October, levels of inventory are shockingly low. It would appear that the paradox of the Las Vegas housing market continues.

Posted By: David Kang