Showing posts with label REO's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label REO's. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

Observations: The Las Vegas Foreclosure Market for Summer 2011


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


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

What is a Good CAP Rate? What Makes a Good Return on Investment?


In my last article, I discussed how to calculate the three most common ratios used to determine the rate of return on real estate investments: Capitalization (CAP) Rate, Return on Investment (ROI), and Equity Return Rate. Of these, the most commonly used is CAP rate. However, it is actually the ROI that provides you with the most accurate picture of whether or not a particular income property will make a good investment.

Because it is so popular, we will discuss CAP rate first. A 10% CAP rate is often referenced as a goal to shoot for. In general, most areas of the country will have CAP rates that max out at 8-12%. Because Las Vegas has led the nation in foreclosures for the past three years and counting, home prices have plummeted to as low as 30% of their former highs. Rents, however, have only declined moderately. As a result, Las Vegas is currently offering the highest CAP rates available in the United States. For the last three years, I have specialized in purchasing Las Vegas income properties dirt cheap at the foreclosure auctions, renovating them to move-in condition, placing renters or lease option tenants in them and selling them to my investor clients as turn-key investment opportunities with CAP rates that average 10-20%. If you are interested in this type of investment opportunity, please contact me for more information.

Moving on, the better way to evaluate potential investment properties is by calculating Return on Investment or ROI. (If you aren’t sure what this is or how to calculate it, see my previous article on the topic.) ROI portrays what your return is on the money that you have actually put into the project. This provides us with an interesting comparison. If you purchase a property for cash and that property provides you with a 15% CAP rate, then your ROI will also be 15%. However, if you purchase that same property using some form of financing, then your ROI will be much, much higher. As long as you are purchasing properties that have positive cash flow, after all mortgage notes and other expenses are paid, it is always better to purchase using financing in order to maximize your rate of return. We are currently offering our investor clients Las Vegas rental properties that are providing annual ROIs with 25% down of between 20-40%.

The important thing to remember when shopping for investment properties in Las Vegas, or anywhere, is that good deals will always stand up to scrutiny. You should always ask for a detailed proforma or create your own for any investment property that you are considering purchasing. This will insure that you find the best investment properties for your investment dollars.

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

Thursday, March 17, 2011

New Loan Program Makes It Possible for Non-U.S. Citizens to Borrow for Second Homes in the U.S.


We recently received a notice from our lending partner that they have expanded their Foreign National Loan Program to include non-resident and non-U.S. citizens borrowing for second homes in the United States. This is great news for our Canadian clients (and other Foreign Nationals) who are looking to purchase a vacation home or first investment home here in Las Vegas.

We have sold a lot of properties lately to Canadian clients who are taking advantage, not only of the historically low prices and available foreclosures in Las Vegas, but also of the unprecedented strength of the Canadian dollar at the current time. This “perfect storm” of buying opportunity will not last forever. If you are a Canadian looking to purchase a great second home for yourself, for income, or both, now is the time to buy. We specialize in helping out of town investors understand all their options in the Las Vegas real estate market and we offer the best buying opportunities possible by taking advantage of Las Vegas foreclosures, REOs and traditionally listed properties.

Michael Lembo, loan officer at iMortgage, has outlined the following major qualifications for the Foreign National Loan:
Maximum Loan Amount of $417,000
30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage
30% Down Payment Required from Borrower’s Own Funds and 6 Month’s Reserve in a US Bank Before Closing
700 Minimum Credit Score with at Least 4 Trade Lines
36/45 DTI
Single Family Homes or Condos Allowed
Must Not Own Any Additional U.S. Property

If you would like more information on this loan product, or to discuss the current purchasing opportunities in the Las Vegas real estate market, please contact Glenn Plantone of Wynn Realty.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty
(702) 656-3264
gsplantone@gmail.com

www.glennplantone.com or www.vegasforeclosures.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Free Night at MGM Signature for Real Estate Investors


There has not been a better time to purchase investment real estate in Las Vegas in the last quarter of a century. Over the last few years, home prices plummeted to those seen 20 years ago in 1991. But prices have now stabilized, and investors are finding that rents did not fall nearly as much as purchase prices. This means that investors are now able to purchase Las Vegas investment properties with extremely strong cash flow.

As the fourth busiest buyers’ agent in Las Vegas this year (and on my way to being the busiest agent in all of Las Vegas this year), I have purchased two suites at the MGM Signature Hotel Condos to accommodate my clients when they come to town to look at real estate. If you are a serious investor looking to explore the possibilities of the Las Vegas market, I would love to have you as my guest for a complimentary night’s stay at the MGM Signature Hotel Condo. We will spend the day touring properties in the valley that meet your investment criteria and you can spend the night enjoying all the amenities that the MGM Signature has to offer.

I have created a niche by catering to investors looking to purchase turn-key investment real estate in Las Vegas. I do this by acquiring properties at wholesale prices (purchasing them as REOs, short sales, or at the foreclosure auction), I then completely rehab the properties to like new condition and then place a long term lease option tenant in the property. This means that my investor buyers are able to purchase a property that has been completely rehabbed, already has a tenant in place with strong, positive cash flow, and is professionally managed and ready to go. This strategy makes it possible for out of town, out of state, and even international buyers to easily and profitably purchase Las Vegas real estate.

If you are interested in learning more about Las Vegas investment real estate and staying as my guest at the MGM Signature Hotel Condo, please contact me for more details. Of course, certain restrictions and conditions apply to the MGM free night offer. Call for more details.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty
(702) 656-3264
gsplantone@gmail.com

www.glennplantone.com or www.vegasforeclosures.blogspot.com



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

MGM Signature Hotel Condos 4th Quarter 2010 Update

Fourth quarter sales for 2010 at the MGM Signature Hotel were a bit of an anomaly. Sales of any real estate product are always lower in the first and last quarters of the year than the second and third, however I did expect increasing foreclosure rates to drive sales numbers higher than usual in the last part of 2010. What happened instead, was yet another foreclosure stall in the wake of the Bank of America robo-signing fiasco. With foreclosures slowing to a trickle, the inventory of bargain priced units in the MGM Signature complex dwindled considerably. This created an interesting paradigm in which sales volume and average sales price dipped in the final quarter, but lack of new foreclosure inventory created a new framework for sales expectations moving forward into 2011.

More specifically: The 4th quarter of 2010 saw the fewest number of one-bedroom sales in well over a year at only 15 units. The average price for a one-bedroom MGM Signature unit (847-874 sq. ft.) in the 4th quarter was $218,000...well down from the 3rd quarter average of $227,000. The average price for a studio unit (520 sq. ft.) was $151,000 down from the third quarter average of $155,000. Sales on studios (also referred to as junior suites) was down to 48 units from the third quarter volume of 53 units.

What is extremely interesting however, is that although sales volume was down in the 4th quarter...new listings were down even more. At the close of the third quarter, there were 73 units listed for sale at the MGM Signature Hotel Condo. By the close of the fourth quarter, there were only 55 units listed for sale. This is a drop of 25%. Also interesting to note is that the percentage of listings that are conventional (as opposed to short sales or foreclosures) is climbing as well (usually a sign that precedes price recovery). At the end of the third quarter, 40% of the units listed for sale in the MGM Signature complex were short sales or REO properties. At the close of the fourth quarter, that number dropped to 22%.

It’s tough to say exactly where things will go from here at the MGM Signature. If inventory remains as light as it is now, I believe that we will see prices begin to steadily climb. However, if foreclosures accelerate in 2011, we may continue to see some deals holding prices steady. I continue to believe that we have bottomed out on prices at the MGM and that we will hold reasonably steady or begin to climb. It is a great time to purchase an investment or second home property at the MGM Signature...both interest rates and prices really have no where to go but up.

I was the second biggest mover of MGM units in 2010 and the fourth busiest buyers’ agent in all of Las Vegas. If you are interested in purchasing a unit (or a fractional share of a unit) at the MGM, please contact me for more information on the property and all your available options.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty
(702) 656-3264
gsplantone@gmail.com

www.glennplantone.com or www.vegasforeclosures.blogspot.com


Saturday, February 19, 2011

Looking For Turn Key Investment Properties In Las Vegas? Looking to Invest IRA or 401K Dollars In Cash Flowing Real Estate?

I am Glenn Plantone. I am the fourth busiest buyers’ agent in Las Vegas and I work exclusively with investors who are looking to purchase investment real estate here in Las Vegas. Many investors have been frustrated in their search for quality Las Vegas investment property. They have often found themselves in multiple bid situations trying to snatch up discount priced REOs, foreclosures, or waiting on short sale offers that never come through. Other investors are interested in moving their IRA or 401K dollars from under performing markets into real estate, but they may not now how to get started.

I work exclusively with investors, just like those described above, and I specialize in making it easy and profitable for my clients to acquire investment property in Las Vegas. Here’s how it works: I purchase distressed properties below market value via the Las Vegas trustees’ foreclosure auction, short sales and REOs. My team rehabs these properties to move-in ready condition and then we find a long term lease option tenant for the property. We package these properties, with tenant and property management already in place, as strong cash-flowing, turn-key investments for our clients. We are currently getting CAP rates of between 15%-35% for our financed investors and 10%-20% for our all cash buyers. These are phenomenal returns for very low risk, hands off investments.

You do not need to live in Las Vegas in order to buy in the best real estate investment area in the world. We have clients from all over the country as well as Canada and China. Our track record is stunning. Last year, we successfully completed 31 (pre- and post- foreclosure) rehab and sell transactions and we have satisfied customers for each of those transactions.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can invest in Las Vegas...the best area to buy investment real estate in the world right now...please contact me any time. If you would like to see some of the properties that we currently have available CLICK HERE.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Las Vegas Home Sales Fall in 2010...But For Interesting Reasons


The Las Vegas Sun ran a front page article Monday, January 17th entitled “Home Sales in Las Vegas Slide in 2010.” The article reveals that “the sale of new single-family homes in Las Vegas in 2010 fell by 4.2 percent from a year earlier to its lowest point since the mid-1980s.” This statistic applies to new construction only. The article also notes that the sale of existing homes fell in 2010 for the first time in three years. Both of these statistics according to Home Builders Research.

4,753 new construction single-family homes were sold in Las Vegas in 2010. This is 207 properties lower than 2009, and the lowest mark for new home sales in Las Vegas in over 20 years. Las Vegas new construction saw its high point in 2005 with 30,829 homes sold.

Depending on which data you use, the sales of existing homes in Las Vegas dropped between 2-5% in 2010.

What is interesting to note, is why home sales declined in 2010. According to Dennis Smith, President of Home Builders Research, the main reasons for the decline were the end of the $8000 Federal new home tax credit in April and “a limited inventory of homes.”

While it may seem counter-intuitive, this comment by Smith is enlightening and lines up precisely with my ongoing reports of sales conditions here in Las Vegas throughout 2010. While demand, especially from investors, has continued to rise for Las Vegas real estate, the available supply of homes has dropped dramatically. According to Sales Traq, the average inventory of Las Vegas homes on the market in 2010 was 12,517, down from 13,926 in 2009. Bank repossessions also fell 10 percent in 2010 to 21,499, down from 24,000 in 2009. This was due largely to a self-imposed moratorium at the end of the year, the firm said. This has resulted in many potential Las Vegas real estate investors failing to close on investment properties in 2010. Some have wasted months chasing short sales, some have found themselves in multiple bid situations trying to purchase one of the limited REOs available, and some have simply temporarily given up looking and waited for the long anticipated “shadow inventory” of foreclosures to materialize.

While these conditions have frustrated potential buyers, I have sold more real estate in 2010 in Las Vegas than ever before. I have developed a buying system that has allowed me to successfully locate and purchase quality investment properties for my investor clients at great prices. If you are interested in purchasing great, turn-key investment properties in Las Vegas, or simply want more information on this volatile market...please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Monday, January 10, 2011

Las Vegas Foreclosure Listings Present IRA Investment Options

The recent wave of Las Vegas foreclosure listings have created unique opportunities for those looking for IRA investment options that include purchasing Las Vegas real estate. Over the last two years, Las Vegas has led the nation in foreclosures. Because of this wave of supply, property prices have plummeted as much as 80% in some areas of the Las Vegas valley. It is now possible to acquire single family homes that are only 3-5 years old for as little as $35,000.

It is interesting to note, however, that while property prices have dropped significantly in Las Vegas during the last three years, rents have declined only moderately. This has created levels of positive cash flow for Las Vegas investment properties that hasn’t been seen in decades. It is now possible for investors to roll over their 401K or IRA accounts into self-directed IRAs that allow them to buy investment property tax free and without penalty. These IRA investment options are extremely attractive for investors looking to purchase secure properties with solid appreciation potential and strong positive cash flow.

We are currently purchasing short sale and foreclosure listings, rehabbing them, and selling them to investors with long term renters in place. These turn-key investment properties are generating average CAP rates of around 12%. A typical example would be 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhome constructed in the last five years that rents for $1100 per month and sells to an investor for $76,995.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these turn-key investment properties or would like to hear more about Las Vegas foreclosure listings or IRA investment opportunities in the Las Vegas real estate market, please contact Glenn Plantone:

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Real Estate Investing in Las Vegas Returns to Historic Trend


Real estate investing in Las Vegas is back on the historic trend lines according to the latest market data to be released by title companies. This is both good and bad news.

What this means is that real estate prices for single family homes in Las Vegas, which shot up disproportionately for three years beginning in 2004 and peaking in 2007, have now returned to the trend line that they always “should” have followed.

This may be bad news for some homeowners who purchased during the 2004-2007 price boom and were hoping for a speedy market recovery to recoup their recent losses. Instead, what will most likely occur, is a slow, but steady rise of real estate prices here in the Las Vegas valley that mirrors the average national appreciation rate of approximately 5.4% annually over the past five decades. At that rate, many of these distressed Las Vegas homeowners may have to wait 10 or more years to see their properties return to their purchase price.

However, this return to the average trend lines may be good news for new investors flooding to the area to try their hand at real estate investing in Las Vegas. Now that the average trend line has been reached, it seems unlikely that property prices will drop much further. And, because rents have not declined nearly as much as property prices, rental units are cash flowing better than ever in the Las Vegas valley. This creates a perfect investment opportunity where investors can receive monthly positive cash flow on their properties and expect steady, yearly appreciation.

If you are interested in learning more about real estate investing in Las Vegas, please contact Glenn Plantone.

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com


www.viewpointequity.com

Thursday, December 9, 2010

New Ways for Las Vegas Mortgage Brokers to Earn Commissions

The credit crunch and economic downturn have affected everyone here in Las Vegas, but perhaps none so much as those looking for financing for a home and those who make their living locating that financing. If you are a Las Vegas based mortgage broker or other finance professional and have had to turn clients away because they cannot meet tightened credit guidelines...we have a solution, for you and for your clients.

We specialize in purchasing quality, newer homes in great neighborhoods. We acquire these properties for well below current market value through bank-owned REO foreclosures, short sales, and trustees’ foreclosure auctions. We fully renovate these homes so they are turn-key and move-in ready. We then offer them to buyers who, like your clients, want to purchase a home but are not quite ready to qualify for traditional funding at this time. We offer lease option contracts of anywhere from 1 to 5 years based on your recommendation of how long it will take your buyer to improve their credit and become eligible for traditional financing.

This is not a theoretical scenario. I am the #4 ranked buyers agent in all of Las Vegas and my team and I have sold over 100 homes and completed over 25 of these lease option placements this year alone!

We have truly been able to create a win-win situation for everyone involved. Your client is able to immediately take advantage of historically low home prices by locking in a purchase price that is 50-60% below values of just a few years ago. By putting down a small deposit of between $3500 and $5000 at the beginning of the lease term (100% of which is credited towards the purchase of the home at the end of the lease period) and receiving a rent credit of between $100 and $300 per month, your client is able to quickly and easily save their down payment while living in their own home.

The best part is that you, as a Las Vegas mortgage professional referring a client into this program, are able to make money three times throughout the transaction. First, we will pay a referral fee of between $1000 and $2000 for every lease option tenant we place into a home. The exact referral amount is based on the amount of the lease option deposit fee we collect. Second, once we place a lease option tenant into a home, we immediately turn around and sell the home to a buy and hold investor as a turn-key investment property. You will be able to work with this investor to obtain financing on the property. (Usually this is via a 25% down investor loan.) Lastly, at the end of the lease term, you are able to put your client into a conventional loan in order to purchase the property.

Don’t turn clients and commissions away any longer! Start earning money on every potential lead. For more information on this wonderful opportunity, please contact Glenn Plantone at Wynn Realty:

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com




Monday, November 29, 2010

Bank of America to Resume Foreclosures After Final Quarter Hiatus

Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage service company since acquiring Countrywide in 2008, announced that they will resume foreclosing on homes Wednesday, December 1st. This comes after the banking giant self-imposed a foreclosure moratorium in the wake of the “robo-signing” scandal that received wide spread media attention in 2009. While this news is undoubtedly another blow to beleaguered homeowners, it comes none too soon for investors looking to purchase post foreclosure properties. In the final quarter of 2010, investors have found slim pickings at Trustees’ Sale auctions across the country.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also made an announcement on November 24th that they will resume the auction sale of homes that have loans serviced by Bank of America, Chase, PNC Financial and others.

The last several years have seen several cessations and moratoriums on foreclosure proceedings that have caused the pool of available investment properties to dry up until the next wave of foreclosures begins. Many agents have struggled during these times to find suitable properties for their clients. My unique approach to securing homes for my investor clients has insured that we at Wynn Realty Group have actually thrived during these past several years of market flux.

We focus on purchasing properties wherever the best deals are available at the time. This includes Trustees’ Sale acquisitions, short sales, traditional listings and REOs. Once we purchase a property, we perform the necessary rehab and find a lease option tenant. We sell the properties to our investor clients as turn-key, hands off investment opportunities. The properties are already rented to a lease option tenant with CAP rates of between 10-14%. This provides investors with a low risk, low maintenance property with high appreciation potential and built in equity. We also offer partnership opportunities for investors looking to finance our rehabs for an even larger annualized rate of return.

As an example, we recently purchased a 4 bedroom home, 1800+ square feet, only three years old for $84,100 at the Trustees’ Sale. We resold the property only 17 days from the purchase date for $110,000. This particular home did not need any rehab and my investor partner made an amazing 288% annualized return on his money.

A second deal was a 1454 square foot town home with 2 car attached garage (also built in 2007) that we purchased for $70,100. After a quick clean up, we placed a long term renter in the property and resold it 40 days from acquisition date for $88,000. We partnered with an investor on this deal who saw a $6000 return on his money in a little over a month.

We can fully document all of the 24 flips that we have completed just this year alone! If you are interested in purchasing turn-key, high quality investment properties with renter in place; or if you like the idea of partnering on our rehab projects, please contact me to talk about real estate opportunities here in Las Vegas.

Wynn Realty Group and Glenn Plantone - Go With the Flow!

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Monday, November 8, 2010

Glenn Plantone is the 4th Busiest Buyers’ Agent in All of Clark County, Nevada!

Based on official escrow data for Clark County, Glenn Plantone is the 4th Busiest Buyers’ Agent in all of Clark County, Nevada for the third quarter of 2010. In the third quarter, Glenn closed on 17 properties for his buyers. (This doesn’t count the additional properties that Glenn listed and sold as a seller’s agent.)

Glenn Plantone specializes in identifying excellent investment opportunities for his investor clients in the greater Las Vegas area. Recent data has shown that over 50% of all current buyers in the Las Vegas market are investors, and this is the niche that Glenn has chosen to focus on. He currently represents buyers from China, Canada, and all across the United States and specializes in helping these out-of-town investors purchase turn-key real estate investments in Las Vegas with CAP rates upwards of 12%.

Glenn has recently moved to Wynn Realty Group in order to spearhead a new branch office completely devoted to understanding investors and catering to their needs. Glenn and his team buy and sell houses, condos, townhomes, and high rise condo units. They do short sale flips and purchase properties for investors at the Trustees’ Sale. They work with owner carried financing and negotiate short sale listings with an in-house negotiator. They also have a property management division dedicated to handling investors needs and making it easy for investors from all over the world to own cash-flowing property in Las Vegas.

Of course, Glenn is always welcoming new clients, so if you are looking to invest in this exceptional Las Vegas market, please contact Glenn for more information. However, Glenn is also currently seeking dedicated, motivated agents for his expanding office. Glenn currently has more leads than he can handle and he needs to bring a few good Las Vegas real estate agents onto the team to help close deals. If you are such an agent and would like to increase your income substantially, come speak to Glenn about working with the company that follows the flow of the Las Vegas real estate market.

Wynn Realty Group and Glenn Plantone - Go With the Flow!

Glenn Plantone
Wynn Realty Group
Office: (702) 656-3264
Mobile: (702) 769-9872
Email: gsplantone@gmail.com

www.viewpointequity.com

Thursday, October 28, 2010

MGM 3rd Quarter 2010

The third quarter of 2010 has officially ended and it’s time to take stock of recent developments at the MGM Signature Hotel/Condo project. I have been following this particular property for over two years and have published a quarterly update throughout that time. This quarter is particularly noteworthy as it has brought the opportunity for fractional ownership in the MGM Signature towers for the first time in the history of the development. (More on that later in this article.)

Beginning with the sales data: In my second quarter, 2010 MGM update, published on my blog August 17th, 2010, I stated, “I am ready to go on record at this point and say that we have seen the bottom of this market as far as pricing on MGM Signature units is concerned...demand has accelerated so steadily for these units that I believe demand is now outpacing supply.” This prediction has certainly come true. In the third quarter, we watched sales of one bedroom units increase slightly from 24 units in the second quarter to 26 units in the third quarter...but the significant change came in the average price per unit sold. In the second quarter of 2010, the average one bedroom unit at the MGM Signature sold for $218,000. During the third quarter, this price went up substantially to $227,000. Another telling statistic is the decline in the number of one bedroom units selling under $200,000 (6 units in the third quarter, down from 9 in the second.) As this article goes to press, there are no listings for one bedrooms under $200,000.

Although the average price for a studio unit in the third quarter remained steady at $155,000, we saw yet another sharp increase in sales volume. 53 studio units (sometimes referred to as junior suites) closed in the third quarter, up from 41 units in the second quarter, which was already up substantially from 36 units in the first quarter of 2010.

There are currently zero bank-owned REO units of either type available for sale at the Signature towers. There are 5 short sales available for one bedrooms and 24 short sale studios listed. The remaining 11 one bedroom and 33 studio listings are regular re-sales.

As I stated at the end of the second quarter, demand is now exceeding supply at the MGM Signature. If you are at all interested in investing in this property, now is a great time to do it. I track all four possible methods of acquiring a unit (short sales, REOs, re-sale, and units purchased directly from the trustees’ sale) in order to get my investors the best possible entry price into the property. As a result, I currently have the lowest priced strip-side studio unit available in the entire property. It is priced at $144,000. (Contact me if you are interested.)

Another option we have just put in place is for those of my clients who have expressed an interest in owning a portion of an MGM unit that they can use for vacations, etc. We have just put together a fractional ownership plan that works perfectly for those who want to invest a lot less money and still control a four week block of time at the MGM Signature. We are currently offering fractional options on two different units. The fractional shares sell for $14,995 and include all maintenance fees and HOA dues for the first year. Each share is entitled to four, separate, full weeks of use of a strip-side unit with balcony. Investors who do not wish to use the unit for the entire share can place the unit in the rental pool and earn revenues on the room for any un-used nights.

If you are interested in purchasing a unit, or a fractional share of a unit, at the MGM Signature Hotel/Condo, please contact me for more details. I have specialized in this property for years and would love to help you acquire a piece of the Strip.

Glenn Plantone
(702) 769-9872
gsplantone@gmail.com