Blood in the Bellagio Fountains ...so to speak

Now that's a visual image of Las Vegas real estate with blood in the water!
In the Las Vegas valley, the new construction homes being sold are smaller and cost less, Buck Wargo of the Las Vegas Sun has just reported. “The price per square foot (new construction - gh) fell to a new low of $91.17, which is 12.4 percent below the $104.05 square foot price in April 2010,” he says. 313 permits were issued in April, “34 percent fewer than April 2010. For the year, 1,141 permits have been issued, which puts the region on track to fall below the 3,776 issued in 2010.”
Read Buck Wargo’s entire article at http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/may/16/las-vegas-existing-home-sales-brisk-prices-continu/ (used with permission). It has some great data that MLS doesn’t capture.
Bottom line, Mr. Wargo concludes prices have fallen by about 14% since this time a year ago, MLS listings fell by 9% between March and April this year, and the median price of resale homes is currently about $107,000 and $70 and change/sq ft. The double dip we feared seems to have occurred. Question is, has it stopped dipping?
Emails from new home builders continue to tout very high realtor commissions – 6% at some builders recently. As I have mentioned before, when the market is strong, some builders almost quit paying commissions because they feel they don’t need the Realtors. But lately, as they did back when the crash unfolded, they are offering the moon.
On the street, some lenders don’t want to lend. I have had a recent transaction with conventional loan, fall out because, weeks into the work, and after losing the first house to problems discovered by our home inspector (as he should) and after the second house in contract had passed inspection, the lender cut the amount they had promised to lend and destroyed the deal, thank you. They handed us the ball, let us run with it, and then tackled us. At least I didn’t pick’em. Nationwide may be on your side, but the banking industry is a separate question.
If you need an ethical lender, I can recommend someone.
So, prices are very low, and could still go lower. Sales volume is huge. Listings are down, and if you exclude short sales as I recommend, inventory is tight! Over half of LV offers are cash. If you are not aggressive with your highest and best offer, don’t bother. This is Vegas. The world is shopping here right now. If you hedge on your offer with sale numbers so high, somebody else with cash probably wants it more than you. The fountains dance about every 20 minutes.
Good hunting.