The Las Vegas Housing Market Isn't All Good News? What?

I've sort of started to feel like a stick in the mud.  Median home prices are rising meteorically in Las Vegas, inventory remains ridiculously low, and foreclosures seem to have simply faded into the sunset.  New home starts are moving back to pre-bubble levels and everything seems to be coming up roses for the Las Vegas real estate market.  So why do I keep raining on the parade?  Well, lots of reasons really, you can read my previous blog posts/press releases for all of them, but I was happy today to see a report from the Nevada Department of Business & Industry that makes me feel a little more justified in my cautionary outlook.  It's not that I'm saying that Las Vegas real estate isn't improving, it's just that I'm encouraging my clients to proceed with caution, because the market has not fully recovered.

The new index released by the Department of Business & Industry seems to agree with me. The Nevada Housing Stability Index was just unveiled.  It is a report designed to use multiple markers to evaluate the true strength or weakness of the real estate market.  It is interesting to note that even with all the positivity circulating lately, Las Vegas earned a D+.  Yep, you heard it right...a D+.  Coincidentally, had the measure been available at this same time last year, we would have earned a D.  That's not a huge improvement.

So what's dragging us down? A few things actually...nine to be exact. Nevada lags behind average in the following categories: percentage of homes under water, share of investors, foreclosure volume, delinquency rate, housing affordability and availability and four others. Nevada received middle of the road marks for distressed home sales, and our only two high marks were for balance between supply and demand and demand for new construction.

So where now? You can look at the report two ways.  First, it ought to remind us all to proceed with caution.  It remains a great time to invest in Las Vegas foreclosures and other real estate, but you need to work with a professional who can help you evaluate cash flow on your potential investment and make sure that you are in a solid position to endure market fluctuations.  The second way to view the report is that there is lots of room for improvement.  This bodes well for investors who are afraid they've "missed the boat" so to speak.  It would appear that we have a lot of upside ahead of us still in the Las Vegas market.

If you are interested in learning more about Las Vegas foreclosures or other real estate investments, contact Glenn directly.