[intrepidnomad]

This is not our parents or grandparents' market. Between the short sales, foreclosures, and a seemingly abundant amount of slack ass or incompetent realtors, it's maddening enough to make one wanna grab that concealed stashed in the dash and point at temple....You'd think being pre-approved is enough to get 'em salivating but think again, it's NOT. I think in this market, cash is king and f anything else. I imagine realtors get all sorts of out of town queries and are probably skeptical of half of 'em but I believe in not wasting anyone's time...I'd like to put my money where my mouth is, that is, if someone will let me!

Okay I'm only half serious. Finally going to make the drive to LV in two days and check every freaking neighborhood out for myself. These forums have been a great source of information (and some of the more colorful personalities make for great entertainment, too, and I mean that in a good way), but as with all advice, you take it with a grain of salt. Also, you have to consider the source. Case in point - if one were to ask how bad traffic is in a certain area, well, define BAD. Coming from an area that's right behind L.A. which leads the nation in worst traffic ever (any current or recovering Washingtonians reading this?), if you think snarled up traffic is driving bumper to bumper at 45 mph or heck, even 25 mph, I'm going to think you're simply a whiny and impatient snot. It's MOVING, for God's sake! However, someone from a small town might think they died and went to gridlock hell...

And then there's other matters. Like gangs. What exactly comprises a gang? Young punks skipping school and throwing pebbles at passing cars? I mean seriously? That's a gang? Now someone familiar with the gang ridden streets of Compton or Oakland would probably think you're out of your gourd.

So if I were to follow just about everyone's advice, here's what I am hearing - "Summerlin, yes. Summerlin, no. Summerlin, expensive. Summerlin, suburban hell. Downtown, ghetto. Downtown, up and coming. Near strip, sleazy. Near strip, crime ridden. Silverado, yes. Silverado, you'll die of boredom. Silverado, convenient. Silverado, too old. Green Valley, nice. Green Valley, more suburban hell. North L.V., ever watch CSI?"

You feeling me? And if you think your realtor will make it any easier for you, ha! They've got their biases, too.

Anyway, just some thoughts on a mellow Saturday night.

[PinkString]

When people refer to CSI and North Las Vegas, they are referring to the old part. The newer part is not like that. But you would have to see for yourself anyway. It all depends on what you want in a neighborhood, if you want a big yard, go for older area's, like east side. If you want newer, small yards, go for the perimeter of the valley which is newer. Especially the far far west and northwest in Summerlin, Centennial Hills and Aliante area.
You may find a good realtor or two on this site that are honest and take you to area's that you actually want if you ask them. Give them your criteria, and off you go. Good luck in your search.

[Spraynard Kruger]

I feel your pain. Buying/selling a home is widely regarded as one of the most stressful occasions next to child birth. The market really doesn't make sense at times. You're not alone out there. And look at the bright side, a lot of people would kill to have your issues right now. Hopefully, you'll team up with a great agent who can get things done...and the right home.

[olecapt]

In the existing market FHA is king...not cash.

There is roughly a $15 per SF differential between classic and REO/Short. This leads to a large demand for REO/short.

Short has a highly variable time frame. The others are straightforward.

Appraisals are and will likely continue to run low...this creates an obvious difficulty on financing. It works out OK the majority of the time.

By coastal CA standards there is no traffic in Las Vegas. Nor by the standards of most of the other big cities. Only a rural type would feel challenged.

Gangs exist. On the big city standard they are strictly small potatoes.

Even the so called "ghettos" here would not qualify in many big cities.

Crime is mostly centered in the center city. Take downtown and the strip and draw a two mile radius. That will catch the high crime areas with the exception of a bump to the NE.

See the crime map. Stay green or yellow.

Crime in Las Vegas

[Endisnear]

Well, I definitely can relate. We moved here in January in hopes of purchasing a house. We spent months looking at houses and made several offers on Short sales and Repo's but we were not successful. We qualified for a Conventional loan and an FHA loan. At the time, it was very stressfull and I finally decided that I had enough, so I stopped looking. Also, I did not want to over pay for a house since the market is still declining. I think it worked out best since I am thinking of relocating back to where I came from.

[007 license to sell]

Here are some housing stats that may be helpful as well.
link to average selling prices of properties YTD:
http://statspak.firstamericanmls.com/LVARStat/StatRpt%20AvgSldPrcYTD.pdf


Current single family listings by status:
http://statspak.firstamericanmls.com...t%20Status.pdf

YTD How single family homes are purchased
http://statspak.firstamericanmls.com...sSoldTerms.pdf

I am sure your wondering where is the bottom for prices of home sales in Vegas. Well even the analysts can't agree even with data taken from key places like recordings at the assessors. Part of the reason could be is that allot of data is behind at the assessors office so it's hard to get hard numbers. Also banks are keeping information of how many homes they really have in some state of foreclosure a secret.
Banks hold off foreclosing as long as they can because if they foreclose that means and immediate loss on their books. Also even though they claim to be working with home owners that are short selling most of the time their not especially if the bank is getting paid through the mortgage insurance that the home owner took out.

The bank will take all the time as well if there is a second loan on a home usually a short sale will never happen and most home owners aren't aware of this.

Also another slow down in a banks response is the mortgage modification, banks are taking months or even longer to respond to a home owner and most of the time the bank will offer a short sale option or deed in lie of foreclosure. Or if they do modify it's the interest rate and term and the home owner is still 50 to 61% underwater. In that case is when a home owner decides to do a strategic walk away if they can pay for it or a home owner can no longer hold on and files bankruptcy.

I could go on and on because there is allot that goes on now with either buying a home and selling a home and as a buyer you need to know both sides so you can understand, so you can be prepared for longer than normal closing or no closing at all.

I guess what you can take from these articles is that Vegas is a great value right now, and it may go down more how much who really knows. How long do you want to wait?

Here is what the different analysts options are:

Analysts disagree on falling house prices Aug. 6, 2010 By Buck Wargo Analysts agree that Las Vegas home prices will keep falling, but disagree on how much.

Economist: Las Vegas home prices to go up slightly in ’11 Aug. 6, 2010 By Buck Wargo An economist says Las Vegas could see healthy home-price appreciation in the next five years.
Good luck in your house hunting

[movinmomma]

Originally Posted by Endisnear

Well, I definitely can relate. We moved here in January in hopes of purchasing a house. We spent months looking at houses and made several offers on Short sales and Repo's but we were not successful. We qualified for a Conventional loan and an FHA loan. At the time, it was very stressfull and I finally decided that I had enough, so I stopped looking. Also, I did not want to over pay for a house since the market is still declining. I think it worked out best since I am thinking of relocating back to where I came from.

I could have wrote what you did word for word. I am very happy we (husband and I) decided to rent for awhile. It got to a point where I said to my husband if this were TRULY a buyers market, would it be this hard to buy? For US it was a no.

[WestieJeff]

Ask anyone who is buying and they will tell you it is not a buyer's market.

I've found that correctly priced properties go under contract within weeks and often have multiple offers.

Yes, there is a lot of overpriced properties out there that are sitting on the market, but buyer's aren't interested in those.

Originally Posted by movinmomma

I could have wrote what you did word for word. I am very happy we (husband and I) decided to rent for awhile. It got to a point where I said to my husband if this were TRULY a buyers market, would it be this hard to buy? For US it was a no.

[von949]

I would think VA loans would represent a higher percentage.

[butterflybird]

I feel your pain, you can read my thread about "house hunting strategy" to see what I'm experiencing. I have yet to a) see any neighborhoods b) be shown a single home
and cash is not king because if it were, I'd be king of the world. I have about 60 properties that I culled from an mls feed over a period of about 2-3 months, then I pulled all the stil active listings from those, and I have about 10-15 that I'd like to look at, with a 2-3 in my top " go see" choice but here i sit, waiting for my exclusive buyer's agent team to set up a showing of anything. good times (not)

And I agree about the way neighborhoods are so confusing, but the only way to sort it out is for you to drive the areas yourself and make your own determination. You'll no doubt see things and get the feel for areas that turn you off or on. But it's all subjective. My idea of an okay neighborhood might be another person's "ghetto" if they are used to living very upscale. A good realtor can def. steer you from situations that you hadn't thought about or knew of, and that's where a great agent is like gold. Newbies from out of town with no friends/family here can't survive without an honest, trustworthy and hardworking agent. As everyone tells me: "good luck"....and I mean that sincerely!