LA or LAS VEGAS or PHOENIX (for sale, rent, condos)

[dreamfollower]

In regard to moderate priced home purchase {Single Family or Townhouse/Condo}, which area would be a better investment in this market ~ LA or Phoenix or Las Vegas? {No Mortgage}

[littleword]

i lived in l.a.(n.hollywood) and vegas (henderson/sunrise mountain), heres my take. there "was" a surge of ppl moving to las vegas and phoenix because of the cheaper housing prices. everywhere u looked new houses/condos/townhomes/luxury condos where being built. since then, the prices in vegas and phoenix have doubled in price and the they are "not" as affordable as they use to be. the bubble has burst and there are for sale signs everywhere u look; if u are planning on buying a house then....renting it out, who will rent when they can just buy a house and pay a mortgage that is only a few hundred more dollars than if u rent? i would say, pick l.a., maybe a fixer upper. u will always find someone looking to buy a house in l.a. and besides, there are way more jobs in l.a.

one more thing i would like to add. its was so funny to me that ppl in vegas, "thought" that a 5-10 year old house, was considered "old". living in ca, a 5-10 year old house is like.......brand spanking new, but in vegas, it was old and out of style. i could never figure that out?

[lukeache]

Phoenix and Las Vegas are two of the WORST cities in this country. They are mostly trash magnet cities. The two cities where "losers" from all over the country come hoping to "strike gold" or restart their sorry ass lives. Phoenix like Vegas is a weird mixture of scam artists, hookers, drug dealers, deadbeats, ex felons, strippers, punks, meth addicts, white supremacists, etc You will hardly find any normal people in these two cities. LA is chaotic and huge, not the city I would want to live in but if I had to choose, LA for sure. There is a reason why homes in LA much more expensive than Phoenix or Las Vegas, LA has tons to offer. For investment, LA without a doubt. Phoenix and LV markets are very volatile.

[elcapitan]

Originally Posted by lukeache

They are mostly trash magnet cities. The two cities where "losers" from all over the country come hoping to "strike gold" or restart their sorry ass lives. Phoenix like Vegas is a weird mixture of scam artists, hookers, drug dealers, deadbeats, ex felons, strippers, punks, meth addicts, white supremacists, etc

Funny description. That's the vibe I always got when visiting those places too....kind of sleazy.

[Mathiasthegreat]

I live in Phoenix.

Let me put it simply:

Phoenix is LA without the beaches and Vegas without the casinos.

Phoenix is the quintessential hell hole.

[littleword]

i hear the following phrase everday living in vegas......."can u spare some change." also.....everybody expects a tip, and i mean everybody. if u get your tires changed, they want a tip, if they bag your groceries, they want a tip, the list goes on.

[WorldOfWarcraft]

I keep hearing in the news that the housing market is down right now and now is probably the best time to buy a house.

I was in Las Vegas last week, and a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 2 story, 2 car garage brand new decent size condo is only $290K, and it was located far away from the strip towards the westside, not sure what the area is called because I am not familiar with Las Vegas. But a close friend of mine owns that condo and they are both sharing the pay for that place.

I dont know much coz I still live at home, but Las Vegas is probably the best best since its growing, and with the housing market down you might as well take advantage.

I'd move to Vegas in heartbeat and get that condo also, but I am holding off coz I don't know what my long term goal is right now, I'm so confused still.

[littleword]

"$290k" lol, when i was there in vegas, u could buy a new 3bd/2ba 2 story 2 car garage for $165k (in the southern highlands (southwest) back in 2001). also, a 5200sqft house (5 bd bad ass house) 2 stories with a basement was selling for $309k (southwest). that same house is selling for $300k and $700k, respectively. coulda-shoulda-woulda, i miss the boat, worse part is......back then i could see the housing prices beginning to go up and up and i didnt buy anyways thats my vegas story.

my whole point about vegas is, it was soooooooo cheap before, that now....its just not as attractive as it use to be, and that is why i recommend l.a. over vegas for longterm investment. if i was to buy properties in or around vegas, i would obviously buy in the southwest, where it is booming bigtime, or i would buy around mt. charleston because of the higher elevation so its cooler year round, or i would invest in pahrump (pahrump is for investment only i wouldnt want to live there, however they do have brothels ).

[dreamfollower]

I agree that LA is the more stable investment and offers the most in the way of a diverse and interesting lifestyle. There really is no comparison to NV or AZ.

The rush to Vegas was a knee-jerk reaction for many caught up in the flipping game. Unfortunately, I think many who jumped on the bandwagon for real living purposes may have ended up holding the short end of the stick. When you purely invest simply for the buck, you kind of accept the risk, but when you relocate in thinking that you are going to have a better lifestyle and then reality hits, it becomes a different experience.

I am going to try my best to settle in the LA area. Thanks for the input. The first-hand opinions were very interesting and appreciated.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Phoenix and Las Vegas are two of the WORST cities in this country. They are mostly trash magnet cities. The two cities where "losers" from all over the country come hoping to "strike gold" or restart their sorry ass lives. Phoenix like Vegas is a weird mixture of scam artists, hookers, drug dealers, deadbeats, ex felons, strippers, punks, meth addicts, white supremacists, etc You will hardly find any normal people in these two cities. LA is chaotic and huge, not the city I would want to live in but if I had to choose, LA for sure. There is a reason why homes in LA much more expensive than Phoenix or Las Vegas, LA has tons to offer. For investment, LA without a doubt. Phoenix and LV markets are very volatile.

This is such a load of crap. I have lived in Phx for 32 years and there are plenty of good people. You will find the kind of people this person speaks of in the rough areas (just as any other city), but go outside of the bad areas and it's fine. Lukeache, I don't know how long you lived in Phx, but you should have found a better area to live if it was THAT bad.