Many buyers got priced out, or emotionally exhausted trying to purchase a home this year & will continue renting instead. This specifically impacted 1st time buyers, who hadn’t realized appreciation in a home they’d previously purchased. It can be exhausting, writing offers & not getting one accepted. My clients who don’t have a large ‘over appraisal’ budget, or 20% down have been able to purchase beautiful homes. (You only need a minimum of 3% down by the way.) Right now in Fall of 2021, it’s even easier as much of your competition just signed a 1+ year lease, rates are still low, & you have a game plan that’s been proven in the most demanding market below.
The State Of The Market If you’ve been shopping for a home this year, you probably know it can be vicious out there. Almost 1/3 of the homes recently sold to out of state buyers. Many of those buyers are coming from the West costal area. They have plenty of sale proceeds to pay over…
It may seem crazy to celebrate buying a home for it’s appraised value. However, if you’ve been trying to buy a home in Las Vegas recently, you understand even buying one you like over appraised value is a huge accomplishment today. Homes are appreciating 1-2% per month in my markets recently. That means a $350,000…
Where is the best place to buy a house in Las Vegas?
This really depends on your lifestyle & what you love to do. Do you go to the casinos on the Strip or enjoy all the great outdoors we have surrounding the city more frequently? If you want both there are also some great locals casinos in many areas too. Far up North & West may be good if you love snowboarding, or hiking Mt. Charleston. A few communities my clients really like up there are:
This year has seen so many changes it’s hard to know where to start. Yes, many people have been out of work, but hopefully with the recent news of successful vaccines from Moderna & Pfizer it won’t be long before they can be back to it. Fortunately for many others all over the country, it’s meant lasting & leverageable changes to how work is getting done.
Many past clients & friends have told me their company is shifting to a permanent work from home status for many employees. Industries such as finance, tech, & logistics have been able to shift quite efficiently. Becoming a work-from-home employee provides flexibility & all sorts of other benefits, but it has its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles I’m hearing repeatedly is the need for more space.
This has certainly been a unique and challenging year so far for many of us, particularly in Las Vegas. How 2020 has impacted our housing market depends a lot on where you are in the market. While there are as many particular situations as there are clients; for our purposes here, we’ll break them down into the following categories: Sellers, Buyers, & Homeowners .
Sellers – Possibly The Biggest Winner?
Those looking to sell their home this year have seen very little competition. The demand may not be quite what it was last year, but it is still well-outpacing available inventory supply. Many areas in Las Vegas are seeing 2-3 weeks as a median time on market. Historically, this is incredibly low. This demand is raising home values & in some cases for well-marketed homes, in show-ready condition, even creating bidding wars.
While over the long haul, home values will always go up due to inflationary pressure on the value of a dollar, we understand that there are times each year when homes are at a premium due to demand. Yes, there are cycles (usually around 16 years for a complete cycle) of up-swing and down-swing on home values, but most of us can’t plan our major life events (births, deaths, job-changes, relocation, marriage, divorce, or inheritance, etc.) around these larger market conditions. What we can do is capitalize on the seasonal trends throughout the year we find our life demanding a change.
We just helped Debbie & Peter purchase a home in Spanish Trail; a gorgeous, well-established golf course community here in Las Vegas, NV. I’d spoken with Debbie, who was a referral from a friend of mine. She’s his mother & was looking to move to Las Vegas to be closer to her new grandson. Her husband also just got a relocation here with his company. There are a lot of great reasons to move to Las Vegas. Lower taxes & more affordable housing is a big one we’re seeing from many Californians making the move. For Debbie & Peter, being close to family, having the job-relocation opportunity, & being able to say goodbye to those frozen New York winters were main motivators.
We’d done all the leg work to figure out what she & Peter were looking for in a new home, had her pre-qualified with Charles Christmas at Gold Star Financial, and were prepared to make a confidant offer when the right home appeared. Something low maintenance, secure, and comfortably appointed with great amenities were all on the top of the list. Fortunately, Spanish Trail community was not only checking all these boxes, it was a short drive from family already in town.
Debbie’s son & I had walked a few properties together, using Facetime to give a live feed to Debbie and Peter, while her son gave commentary on how he thought the space & design elements would …
Nestled in the quiet neighborhood of Arden Park, just over a mile from Desert Breeze Park, with it’s soccer, baseball, skateboard & aquatic community offerings, this corner lot is the largest one in the tract. It also provides even more privacy with no neighbors directly behind you & beautiful mountain views from the master suite.
Purchasing and owning real estate anywhere involves a myriad of costs & benefits. Las Vegas is no exception. Our master planned communities and home owners association fees are just the beginning. All homes have property taxes due to the county or city each year. Some homes in our beautiful valley also have what are called…
