weniki wrote on April 14, 2008 07:42 AM: alan berk, we get it, you are a broken record!

housingdoom, we get it, if we bought in 2006 we are shmucks, idiots, we deserve a public flogging.

my prediction, values in vegas will fall on average 35%, and there will be a rebound.

yes, that sucks for me, that means my home will be worth 124500.00 less that what i paid for it.

the dodger, you are the only voice of reason here. everyone else needs to get a grip.

AceVentura wrote on April 12, 2008 11:29 PM: Holy smokes, I dont know who is the dumber SOB, JB8844 or Alan Z. They are either shills for the RE industry or have been in a drug induced stupor as financial events have developed. Listen to these two fools, and your nest egg will be gone along with your dignity! This time the financial meltdown is the real deal and the word "depression" being spoken in high places. Only idiots like these two yahoos would think everything will come up roses in the short term. We afre looking a years of pain and losses.

Faith? wrote on April 12, 2008 10:41 PM: Isn't faith what those buyers had when they bought the overpriced houses?

Faith is nothing more than a feel good thought.

REALITY is what is happening.

It figures like this wrote on April 12, 2008 10:35 PM: Few people see Las Vegas and the state for what it really it, a $hithole with a bunch of slimy casinos that people dry. Beyond all the visable glitter and glitz is the fact that someone wants to wring you dry.

Everything in the state is over priced and those that bought RE hoping to make a quick score are now bedinning to understand the truth about gambling.

The houses here were and still overpriced cracker box quality with shoddy construction on a tiny strip of land. There are many lawsuits in litigation over the poor construction and defects.

There is nothing that ever justified the $200 a square foot prices other than foolish buyers and smart sellers.

The higher it goes the harder the fall!

jb8824 wrote on April 12, 2008 08:25 PM: Jeez, Investment Banker,

If we 'the public' followed your advice this country would already be facing a 2nd Great Depression. I know things look bad when you're knee deep in overpriced deals, but there is certainly a silver lining for those that did not over-extend in the past few years. If there is one lesson that we all should have learned from 2000-2002 mess is that diversification amongst all asset classes (RE included) is imperative. Remember, this is a faith based system for the most part, have some freakin faith! And people, given the historical returns for RE it is only natural and necessary for this retraction. Sorry you did not see this coming, but it is a very basic economics 101 concept.

Alan Z wrote on April 12, 2008 03:13 PM: oh Pi-Shaw! We will be fine! scout out the papers from 10, 20 even 30 years ago. heck, look into history from the 1800's on, this is a natural occurance, and it will adjust and we will be fine. If you think you wont, then you wont.
I'm not worried. Why should I be. How many people have lost everything and rebuilt. Grow some jingles and live your life.
We had five foreclosures on our block (89031) and 3 of them have already sold. Quit being so pessimistic and start figuring out how you are going to profit from this.
silly whinners......

mark wrote on April 12, 2008 03:06 PM: I agree with all of you to a point but I still think the single biggest cause of all this nonsence is ethically challenged buyers and bankers. (Bankers), what did you think would happen when you lend to high risk people with little or nothing down? (Buyers) This one really makes me mad, just walk away is smart? Just walking away is 90% of this current problem. Selling to deadbeats that just walk away is what cuased this slow down.

Investment Banker wrote on April 12, 2008 03:00 PM: Comments here are very interesting and frankly show how smart the public is over the hype and shilling going on with GLVAR/NAR and the local real estate industry! Folks we are in some real financial troubles and Vegas is not going to be immune to this downturn. Even the biggest BSer in the real estate business Trump sees the dark clouds and grim times ahead. The City Center project is 39 Billion Dollars in the hole! The Cosmopolitian project is effectively bankrupt and gaming revenues are heading south in a rapid fashion. Rember the NASDAQ bubble burst in 2001 and is still down 50% from its highs 8 years later. Financial insiders with whom I have dealings say that this "financial" down turn could last a decade with the Stock market doing acouple of dead cat bounces, but being basically flat to down with inflation rearing its ugly head. Best advise after 35 years in the business, hold onto your cash, dont buy unless you have too, question everything told to you by those "selling" you anything and dont trust any of the real estate numbers for the last 4 years, as they have no bearing to economic reality based upon historic valuations in this market! We are only in the third inning of this game. Unless you excercise extreme caution, you could lose everything you have worked for in the last 25 yrs! Beleive me, I have seen the numbers and they are very scary! One 911 or another Bear Stearns or CITI going down would trigger a depression on a scale noone wants or could stop!

Furious wrote on April 12, 2008 02:42 PM: Housing Doom is right. Those are the numbers I'm reading as well. This is definitely NOT the time to buy. And if someone whispers "prices have never been lower," just remind them that suites on the Titanic would have gone cheap, too, in the final hours. This market has another 30-40% drop before prices stabilize. And they'll drop lower than before the bubble because of the massive inventory. Oh, and don't look for new projects on the Strip to remedy the situation. The paradigm in Las Vegas has shifted and a protracted downturn has only just begun.

Furious wrote on April 12, 2008 02:27 PM: "Unlike some areas around the country, Southern Nevada continues to show modest employment growth and median household income above the national average."

Where is Chris Biaggi getting his information? Certainly not from the official numbers. The latest numbers put out by the state show Southern Nevada unemployment at 5.1%. That's considerably higher than the national average and markedly higher than last year. As for household income, he must be using his own income as a baseline or comparing us to the national average in Chile. Vegas is home to the $7-$8 an hour job. The casinos set the bar at or near minimum wage and local businesses follow suit. If you're making $13 an hour or more in this town you're doing pretty good.

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