An index that measures the Southern Nevada economy took a step backward after a large increase a month ago. The Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators slipped by 0.74 percent.
The largest auction of commercial property and bank notes in the nation’s history set for mid-May in Las Vegas is attracting national attention, but local brokers remain skeptical that many transactions will be consummated.
More office space will be newly occupied in Las Vegas in 2011 than companies will vacate for the first time since 2007, a California-based research and brokerage firm reported.
One-third of the existing single-family homes sold during the first quarter of 2011 fetched less than $100,000, according to statistics released by a Las Vegas research firm.
A decrease in rental prices in some high-end apartment complexes in Las Vegas has made older properties obsolete, according to Colliers International. That trend has paved the way for construction once the economy improves.
As spectacular as CityCenter is, it has become Las Vegas’ Tower of Babel—serving as a symbol of what could go wrong.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Many had expected CityCenter to be the crowning achievement on the Vegas Strip that would reset the center of one of the most famous streets in the world. It was called a sign of what’s to come and the cherry on top of Las Vegas’ sundae in a community that thought the good times would never end.
Retail sales picked up in Las Vegas in 2010, but that isn’t showing up in demand for retail space in 2011, according to research firms tracking the market. Commercial real estate across the board isn’t faring much better despite improvements in tourism and gaming and a drop in the jobless rate.
Las Vegas homebuilders are in for tougher times this year, the president of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association said Thursday. Frank Wyatt said the ongoing pipeline of foreclosures continues to make it difficult to compete on prices.
Las Vegas’ existing home prices fell to their lowest level in 21 years during the first quarter and that value pushed sales in March to their highest point in nearly six years.
Builders forced to lower prices while competing with sales of existing homes
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The price of new and existing homes will continue to decline the remainder of 2011 and one analyst said existing home prices are likely to remain depressed for several years, in part because of investors. The median price for new homes in March was $199,956, a 5.3 percent drop from March 2010. In the existing home market, the median price was $113,000, a year-over-year drop of 9.3 percent.
How low can they go? Nevada’s existing home prices declined in March, and a jump in foreclosure filings and weak economy may push them down further this year. A California-based firm projects the 2011 median home price will decline 12 percent from 2010.
Prudential Americana Group CEO Mark Stark isn’t afraid of taking chances when it comes to the future of the housing market. Stark had a debt of more than $20 million, but with the financial help of the corporate office of Prudential, he was able to buy back his company at a fraction of the cost he originally borrowed from two lenders
A Dallas-based company overseeing the stalled housing development Park Highlands in North Las Vegas has approached the city about reducing density and eliminating other various requirements.
Las Vegas’ lone major development project off the Strip to continue during the recession is on track to open April 28 with a majority of its office and retail space leased. Tivoli Village at Queensridge has 72 percent of its retail space and 54 percent of its office space leased, the development's executive vice president said.
Las Vegas business leaders are showing more confidence in the recovery of the Southern Nevada economy than they have over the last three years, but remain pessimistic about the real estate and construction industry, and even job hiring.
A Chicago-based manufacturer of exhibit and retail displays plans to open a distribution center in the Las Vegas Valley that will serve the West Coast. About 50 jobs are expected to be created in distribution, computer graphics and printing.
More than half of the investors buying up Las Vegas homes live in Nevada and nearly one quarter are based in California, a San Diego-based research firm reported. The report from MDA DataQuick comes as cash sales accounted for a record 57 percent of sales in February. The firm has tracked Las Vegas sales since 1994.
The developers of Tivoli Village submitted plans to Las Vegas to build a 750,000 square-foot indoor mall and 100 condominium-type units across from its mixed-use development scheduled to open this month.
Commercial vacancy rates increased in the first quarter in a continued sign that local businesses remain too weak to grow and out-of-state companies aren’t moving into the market in large numbers.
The developer of Coyote Springs northeast of Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against Pardee Homes alleging the builder has reneged on its agreements to proceed with the master-planned development. The lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court is a reflection of the state of the region’s new-home market.
Las Vegas homebuilders struggled during the first two months of 2011 and aren’t showing much optimism for a quick recovery in the market. Sales of new homes fell 19 percent in January and February compared to 2010, while sales of existing homes rose 1 percent as prices continued to fall, according to a report released Monday by SalesTraq. Buyers closed on 502 homes in January and February, down from 621 in the first two months of 2010.
Las Vegas has served as a destination point for brokerages holding their international conventions. The top executives of Coldwell Banker and RE/MAX took their turn to speak about the housing market and its prospects for recovery.
International investors are swooping into Las Vegas and purchasing distressed commercial real estate, many times blowing away much lower offers from domestic buyers.
Nevada led the nation in foreclosures in February for the 50th consecutive month, but the problem lessened as lenders slowed down their foreclosure process. February’s foreclosure filings fell 22 percent compared to January and fell 13 percent from February 2010.
The Southern Nevada housing market bounced back slightly in February with increased sales, but it wasn't enough to prevent home prices from slipping again over the past year. The 2,591 sales of single-family homes in February were 3.3 percent higher than January and 8.4 percent higher than February 2010, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported today.
At a time when legislators are debating the pros and cons of whether to tax — and whom to tax — to help rescue Nevada from fiscal calamity, Sallie Doebler has a daunting task in front of her.
The Nevada construction industry shed 19.5 percent of its workforce in 2010 and faces additional challenges in 2011 with builders not undertaking any significant projects, according to a report released today by the Associated General Contractors of Southern Nevada.
One humorous truism among brokers in Las Vegas and the rest of the country described how there were more seminars on distressed commercial real estate than there were sales of those properties.
Retail sales in Las Vegas will increase more than 8 percent in 2011 as an increase in tourism will benefit retail outlets closest to the Strip, according to a forecast released by a California research firm.
The worst of the economic slowdown is behind Las Vegas and 2011 will mark the beginning of a recovery, according to one analyst and the head of the city’s tourism and convention industry.
Nasser Daneshvary took a roundabout route to Las Vegas real estate expertise. He left Iran more than 35 years ago to pursue a degree in economics in the United States with the intention of returning to teach there.