Jim wrote on July 19, 2009 07:28 PM: Many of these $25k homes come equiped with a built-in meth dealer!

sad wrote on July 19, 2009 07:06 PM: We are in this situation due to one word-greed! The key players who reaped the rewards in this market out of control(much like the stock market)were the unscrupulous broker/real estate agents,builders, appraisers and lenders.Their incomes based on commissions,fees and other charges were unreal dollars and they all never looked back to see what the over-inflated annual increase in home values would do to a market that could not support it based on the potential homebuyers income in this county.Paperwork that was created to build a base of buyers who did not either understand what they bought for a mortgage/home or believed the sales pitch of rather questionably "professionals". These buyers are the ones who have lost the most here in Las Vegas-THEIR HOMES/THEIR FUTURES! I came to Nevada from a well regulated state who held this industry accountable for their actions to the public they served and I was shocked to see how these Nevada professionals with licenses operated on a daily basis.What could have been a steady upward growth market with solid values based on real numbers went "haywire" and cost us more than just our homes/it took people's jobs and businesses.

Thanks wrote on July 19, 2009 06:29 PM: Thanks: NAACP, Affirmative Action, Community Reivestment Act (mortgages to unqualified), Congressional "Black" Caucus, National "Black" Chamber of Commerce, Acorn and so on! You hurt America.

Happy in Las vegas wrote on July 19, 2009 01:23 PM: I paid 132k for a 3,000 sq ft home with a pool and great floor plan. What is that? $44 a sq ft. Im at Losse and Azure, new shopping centers opening what seems daily, the neighborhood is peaceful and my family is happy. Sink or swim people...
Now sure, I did bail on my $350,000 2000 sq ft home to get here, but in 7 years I'll be floating in my pool drinking a mohito when that ugly blimish falls off my credit. And I'd like to think another family will be happy in my old home, after paying only 100k or so for it.. Life is good. Now let's hope I don't get laid off...

Robert wrote on July 19, 2009 12:57 PM: Not Over Yet:

Those clueless dolts do not think they are getting in at the bottom. It is very hard to call an absolute bottom. On the other hand, people have the tendency to confuse things not getting better with things are getting worse. The real estate market is not getting worse. Although it may not be getting better (which is why one can never trust the publications or mouthpieces for the GLVAR), things are not getting worse. Chris has it largely right. A savvy investor does not have to pick the absolute bottom, only the fortitude to recognize the propensity for increase.

Casinocon made the case for real estate investment today: "all the people who are simply going to walk away from their homes now that they are worth a third of their mortgage. Where will they go?" They have jobs, families, ties to this community now and can get a rental here (owned by one of those investors) for comparable pricing to other communities. If the investor can buy the home for 1/4 to 1/3 of the Investment price adn rent it back to them, the cash flow is there.

Skepticism is fine. Pessimism will leave many people believing that they missed the boat again.

Chris wrote on July 19, 2009 12:26 PM: To all those who believe that Vegas is dying, it's clear you don't have a lot of worldly financial experience. This is my third recession as a professional investor. I offer you one statistic...Vegas is on pace to build 3,500 new homes this year. This is almost one square mile of housing. Therefore, in the worst economy in the history of Vegas, we are still building a sqaure mile of housing. This will lead to some commercial development. I am doing two big commercial projects now. Basically, the Vegas economy is shifting from 5th gear to 3rd gear. 3rd gear is plenty fast. Vegas will experience slow, steady and healthy growth rate over the next 3 years. Please note that I wrote 3 years...not 3 months.

Mak wrote on July 19, 2009 11:44 AM: Answer man, I know a guy who did just as you did and he's owned his rentals only 6 months and is on eviction #3.

You want a statistic, and you can verify this one. In Clark County, there have been 20,000 evictions since Jan 1st. That is an AMAZING stat. Those are completed evictions, and don't count the far more cases where the LL posts a 5 day notice and the tenants either pay or disappear. That is 20,000 only where the constable had to come and finish the job.

In the past 2 months, I've had bounced checks several times too.

As to screening, hah! I screened, background check, rental references, credit, etc. I still got burned. Plus you have to look at your pool of applicants. I was shocked. Every one of them had charge offs, repos, bankruptcy, sometimes judgments, and even multiple prior evictions. That is who is out there looking to rent. And the other thing is most of them have no job if you really dig. They will tell you they have multiple jobs, self-employed, sell things on ebay, have 3 businesses detailing cars, etc. The reality is they are unemployed. A few will even admit it. Or they say they are moving here and have several jobs lined up. All total BS.

Not Over Yet wrote on July 19, 2009 10:05 AM: No market goes straight down. This is a simply a pause in a multi-year downtrend. Bottoms don't happen until there's total capitulation and that has NOT happened yet.

The clueless dolts who think they're getting in at the bottom will be destroyed in the next leg down.

Bottoms only happen when everyone gives up. At that point, there won't be any newspaper articles about this being "a great time to buy!"

The same thing happens with stocks. Fools are rushing back in just in time to get crushed when this bear market rally fizzles out later this year. Were these morons getting in late last year near the low? Of course not! At that point, the news was gloomy. Better to wait to get in after a 20%+ rally is nearly over.

Answer Man wrote on July 19, 2009 09:43 AM: I may be one of the insane investors, as I picked up 9 homes last month, ranging from $23.00 per foot for a 25 year old home, to $46.00 per foot for a 6 year old home in Summerlin. I paid cash for these, and recognize that it's not "Easy money". Bottom line... You cant build for these prices, and it will ultimately come back, once that the banks have released their inventory. In the meantime, I will screen my renters like they've never been screened before, as my $$$ was earning less than 1% in the bank. Anyone that is fortunate enough to buy a home or 2 at these rock bottom prices is CRAZY not to do it, providing you can pay cash for them...

casinocon wrote on July 19, 2009 09:20 AM: 'real estate-owned assignments from the banks are increasing dramatically' - that is the key. The banks have been holding back this inventory, and there are only more to come, as one in thirteen homes this last six months has received a foreclosure notice. The foreclosure process can take much longer. Then consider all the people who are simply going to walk away from their homes now that they are worth a third of their mortgage. Where will they go? Back to their families in other places, perhaps, or they will rent cheap apartment if they choose to stick around to see if they have a job tomorrow. Why would investors (if they had any brains) buy something just to see it lose value? Vegas is dying. Prices will go lower.

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