News & Views of Las Vegas

LAKE MEADE NATIONAL RECREATION

Las Vegas is more than gaming and entertainment!  One of the most popular and beautiful natural resources in the Las Vegas area is Lake Meade National Recreation Area.  Home to Hoover Dam, Lake Meade offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the west.

Black Canyon

Black Canyon is an 11 mile stretch of the Colorado River, and his one of the most stunning parts of Lake Meade.  Visitors can rent kayaks or canoes at Willow Beach Marina, while they enjoy the wildlife, beautiful scenery and historic sites.  It’s sometimes hard to believe that you can be just 20 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, in this quiet, tranquil lake.

Nature Lovers Delight!

From the boat launch area, you might see all types of ducks, birds, blue herons, which are elegant burds with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet.  This area is also home to bighorn sheep, who love the rocky and steep canyon walls, and herds of these creatures can be seen from the lake.  Read the rest of this entry

Summerlin Beauty $120K Under Value!

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Beautiful Short Sale in Summerlin!  This home features a beautiful Pool, Spa, and custom features thoughout.  It is situated on a large corner lot in the popular community of Summerlin….close to schools, shopping, houses of worship, Red Rock Canyon and all of Summerlin’s community activities.

SHORT SALE!

The Seller is offering this beautiful 4 bedroom home for less than what he paid!  This is a “Short Sale” transaction.  If you are interested in learning how a Short Sale works, and how you can purchase beautiful home in Las Vegas for much less than market value, call us today at 1-888-876-8383 or 702-379-6627.  Or, email Las Vegas Properties at terrilvp@cox.net.

North Las Vegas Welcomes Aliante Station

North Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the country.  The popular master planned community, Aliante, is home to the brand new Aliante Station Casino and Resort.  Residents of North Las Vegas are really excited about this new addition to the community.  This “destination resort” is a $662 million development that will offer 202 rooms, 14,000 square feet of convention space, beautiful casino, sports book, a 16-screen movie theatre and 650-seat multipurpose showroom.

Station Casinos Premier Properties

The owners of Aliante Station opened Red Rock Resort two years ago, and Aliante Station was designed to give patrons the same upscale feeling in a more family-oriented setting.  The property will have a TGI Friday’s, Dunkin Donuts, Johnny Rockets and a unique lounge that is a combination of a nightclub and video poker bar.  Among the guest rooms are 9 larger suites offering living rooms with marble countertops and 65-inch flat-screen TVs.  The Access Showroom will offer tabletop searing and deep-booth seating, reminiscent of the “old” Las Vegas showrooms. Read the rest of this entry

In the Las Vegas real estate market, we have noticed that VA loans have made a comeback in recent months.  We had not seen VA loans much during the Las Vegas real estate boom, when appreciation was strong and mortgages were readily available to most homebuyers. But, with recent mortgage problems and challenges for buyers trying to take advantate of our “buyers’ market,” VA loans are a great choice for qualified buyers.  VA loans offer advantages for both Buyers and Sellers, and to the improvement of the real estate market.  In today’s real estate market, with the inventory of resale homes to choose from, many Las Vegas home sellers are considering paying buyers’ closing costs; this has not been the case in the past several years, as the market was so strong that sellers did not have to consider these types of incentives.  Las Vegas new home builders are also accepting buyers with VA loans in today’s market, as they realize that so many home buyers who qualify for VA loans are looking at the builders’ standing inventory.  Especially during the last quarter of the year, Las Vegas home builders want to liquidate their standing inventory before the end of 2008. Read the rest of this entry

North Las Vegas Announces New Projects

The City of North Las Vegas has announced several new projects in its effort to continue growing.  North Las Vegas has been popular for its residential development, such as the master planned community of Aliante and the community of Eldorado.  These newest plans involve commercial and industrial development that will add to the city’s popularity.  Aliante Station, the newest resort casino is due to open next month, and will employ more than 1,000. 

Downtown Redevelopment Plans

The North Las Vegas downtown redevelopment plan has achieved real progress this year.  The city spent $16 million for 12 acres for the new City Hall, while the Silver Nugget Casino serves ad the “showplace” of the city’s downtown redevelopment plans.  The Silver Nugget will add a 200-room hotel, movie theatres, upgraded gaming floor and restaurants, all designed to cater to local residents.  The city will also start on the Fifth Street Corridor, which will improve traffic flow and bring more people to the downtown area of the city.  Plans are under way for the Las Flores shopping center, which will include 350,000 square feet of retail space.  According to Mijewski, North Las Vegas economic development director, said that private developers have shown plans for at least $1 billion in new projects for downtown North Las Vegas, which is very exciting to all of us in the Las Vegas valley.

New VA Hospital

The new Veterans Affairs Medical Center will be built in North Las Vegas; plans include 90 acute-care hospital beds, 120 long-term nursing beds and an adjacent Veterans Benefits Administration building.  The center will also include beds for veterans in need of physical rehabilitation, or who suffer from other conditions.  The goal of this VA Medical Center is to bring together several treatment regimens and administrative support, improving overall patient care.  A federal advisory commission reported in 2004 was instrumental in the decision to build a new VA medical facility in North Las Vegas, so that VA patients can receive quality care in Nevada, as rather than going to California for care.  The location of this new facility was arranged  by a no-cost land transfer from the federal Bureau of Land Management.

North Las Vegas Industrial Park

Apex is a master planned industrial park that will create new jobs and business opportunities in North Las Vegas.  Apex will be a 20,000-acre master planned area that is starting with Industrial Properties Development’s industrial building of 475,000 sqauare feet.  The developer anticipates a total of 10 phases, totaling 20 million square feet of industrial space.  Apex is also trying to become a Foreigh Trade Zone, with the help of the Nevada Development Authority and Nevada International Trade Corp.  This designation would allow park tenants to receive raw materials without customs or duty fees until distributed.  This is a great benefit to distribution companies and will draw many companies to reloate to North Las Vegas.

If you are interested in the details of any of these projects, or are looking for commercial or residential properties in North Las Vegas, contact Las Vegas Properties at 1-888-876-8383 or email terrilvp@cox.net.  Las Vegas Properties is a proud member of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce!

Las Vegas Buyers’ Real Estate Market!

The daily “doom and gloom” of the national economy and real estate markets continue to bring us negative news.  But, there is one “bright light” that does not seem to warrant much media attention.  It is the Buyers’ Market in Las Vegas!  Having been involved in Las Vegas real estate for 18 years, I have never seen such great opportunities for home buyers and investors as I see now.  Investment advisors tell us to “buy low and sell high” and this is the time in Las Vegas to do just that!

Las Vegas Real Estate Auctions

I have experienced first hand the great buying opportunities offered at real estate auctions.  In addition to my traditional brokerage, Las Vegas Properties, I am the Nevada Corporate Broker for Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC).  REDC auctions foreclosed properties for lenders throughout the country.  In Las Vegas, REDC has sold several hundred Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson this year.  This weekend, more than 200 properties were sold to the highest bidder, and the buyers were really excited with the properties prices.  Most properties had financing available, while some were cash transactions with rehab loans available for renovation.  Some Las Vegas buyers who might have been unable to purchase a home until now had great success with auction properties.

Foreclosures and REO’s

Those of us in the Las Vegas real estate industry are hoping for a market turnaround in the near future, but, in the meantime, we recognize the value in finding and negotiating on Las Vegas foreclosures and REO (bank owned) properties for our buyers.  In many cases, the properties are in good condition; not all of them are “trashed.”  Last month I closed escrow on a beautiful home in a new community that was priced at least $100,000 less than the normal market value.  The house was in “move-in” condition and was a great buy for my clients.  There is more research and due diligence involved in foreclosures, but there are some properties that warrant the extra time and effort needed to complete a purchase.  The lenders and banks have become more realistic over the past 30 days, allowing some properties to sell at really low prices so that their inventory is reduced.

Motivated Sellers

During the past 18 months, we have all seen listings sit on the market for months with no offers because they were overpriced for these market conditions.  As the market has stabalized with the newly reduced market values, sellers who do not have a good reason to sell usually withdraw their properties from the market, waiting for prices to increase again.  The inventory still remaining among sellers is now priced correctly, sometimes less than what the seller originally paid.  These homes offer great opportunities to Las Vegas home buyers looking for particular communities or school districts.  Many of these homes have pools, upgrades and options that would have cost thousands more in a better market.  Sellers are offering incentives by way of buyers’ closing cost contributions, or reduced sales prices.

Las Vegas New Homes

I can remember buyers camping outside of sales offices to buy new homes, just a few years ago.  Now, new home builders are trying to liquidate their standing inventory and close out the phases in their developments before the end of this year.  I have not seen such great price reductions and buyers’ incentives in more than 8 years in the new home market!  New home buyers should always engage their own real estate broker to represent them in a new home purchase, as there are some developers who are might not be financially able to complete the development.    A broker is also able to do the necessary due diligence to check on future zoning, building codes and other factors that might affect the future value of a new home development.  The sales agent who works for the developer represents only the developer.  Having your own real estate broker does not cost you, as a buyer, anything, as the builder pays the broker’s fees.  There are some great new homes available in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.  If you would like a list of inventory, special incentives and availability, contact Las Vegas Properties today at 1-888-876-8383 or email terrilvp@cox.net.