As many of you know, my core business involves purchasing foreclosure properties at the Las Vegas Trustee’s Auction, renovating them to better-than-new condition, placing long term renters or lease option tenants in the properties, and then selling them to my investor clients as turn-key, cash flowing investments. Last year I was able to successfully turn over 25 such foreclosure properties. Half way through 2011, I am on pace to more than triple that number.
But, lately, there has been a hitch...a speed bump so to speak. The foreclosure auction just doesn’t have very many foreclosures. My team has found that where we were able to easily identify and purchase multiple foreclosures weekly only a couple of months ago, now we are struggling to find good deals on Northwest Las Vegas properties. Our personal experience is being backed up by the latest statistics.
Realty Trac recently released data showing that notices of default in the Las Vegas Valley fell to 2,701 in April down from 4,600 in March. That is a huge decline.
So does this data point towards an over-all economic recovery? Not necessarily. RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James Saccacio believes that the slow down is a result of delays from lending institutions in processing foreclosures. However, a recent report from CoreLogic shows that the 90-day delinquency rate for Las Vegas has steadily decreased over several months.
Regardless of the impact that declining foreclosures will have on the overall economy, one thing is certain: We will continue to hunt down the best Las Vegas real estate deals for our customers, as we have for the last three years. In the past, when foreclosures have not made financial sense, we have turned to short sales and REOs. We have already begun to shift our acquisition strategy yet again. As I mentioned in a series of artciles in 2009...being a successful real estate investor means being a chameleon...constantly able to adapt and change to fit current market conditions. As we change our strategy, we will keep you abreast of current developments in the Las Vegas foreclosure market.
If you are interested in learning more about investing in the Las Vegas real estate market please contact me for more information.
Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty
(702) 656-3264
gsplantone@gmail.com
www.glennplantone.com
If you’d like to see more of Glenn’s articles, follow his blog at:
www.vegasforeclosures.blogspot.com
