Las Vegas/Henderson Real Estate Prices Dropping?

[oldmanTED]

For some time, I have been keeping an eye on real estate prices in Las Vegas/Henderson from a distance. There were a couple of somewhat upscale communities I was looking at. Both communities are currently under development. One is for a wide range of new homes open to all while the other is an adult community for those 55 and over. For those in the region, the communities are located in Anthem, south of Green Valley in Henderson. When I was there in March, the model homes I was looking at were priced in the upper $300,000 range to mid $400,000 range. I have recently received both letters as well as new price sheets indicating these same homes now are currently being priced about $100,000 to $120,000 lower with additional incentives of up to $25,000.

At the time I was there, I sensed a strong feeling that the housing market was a bubble waiting to burst, as much of the buying was speculative as many local residents would find it difficult to earn wages to qualify for loans to purchase at this level. Can those who reside in the Las Vegas/Henderson area shed some light as to whether or not there has been a significant drop in the prices of property in the area? Would appreciate any information. Seriously considering a possible purchase if the price is right. Thanks in advance.

 

[ChuckSims]

oldmanTed, I can tell you Athem Country Club is still high. Can you be exact on which Athem you are talking about? I do notice more sale signs up meaning homes are not selling as fast as earlier in the year. It could be the time of year as who is going to be buying a home around xmas time.

 

[soccerbob]

Ted- There has been some slight drop in prices lately but that's kind of like a $1000 hooker saying she'll go down to $900. She would still be way overpriced and that's what houses are here. Way overpriced. I would live in a cardboard box before I paid $300,000 for a 1500 sq foot home in an average neighborhood. What you're seeing right now is a lot of homes on the market but the average person here in Las Vegas can't afford even the homes at the lower end of the price scale. The investors aren't buying them because they can't "flip" them now that prices have soared through the roof. So there's a lot of homes on the market.

Las Vegans as a whole are about the dumbest people you'll find. All the greedy mongrels are now putting their homes on the market but wondering why they're not getting any offers. Very few people can or will pay the inflated prices for average homes in average neighborhhods. Sure, they'll make a profit when they sell but not as much as they want. These same idiots are the ones that are bitching about property taxes going up. Well, that generally happens when the assessed value of your home goes up. In other words, they want to sell the piece of junk shack that should go for about $150,000 for $300,000 but don't want to pay the property tax on it.

I still hear a lot of "Well that house in Orange County would go for more" This isn't f**king Orange County. They're comparing apples to oranges. But I will be the first to admit that a homeowner that wants to sell should list it for as much as they think someone is willing to pay for it.

 

[oldmanTED]

Chuck:

The developments were Anthem Highlands by Pulte Homes and Solara at Anthem by Del Webb and Sun City Anthem by Del Webb in general. Beyond that, in northwest Las Vegas, Sun City Aliante by Del Webb. Finally, as an overview, have the prices in the entire Las Vegas/Henderson area been dropping, because these prices are now being listed approximately 30% below the asking price in March. Is that the case throughout the region in general? Thank you.

 

[oldmanTED]

Soccerbob:

Coming from my region where the median price of a home for the entire Bay Area is $544,000, and having purchased a home in Green Valley in 1989 for $90,000 and knowing that just 3 years ago homes were available in the $100,000 to $200,000 range in these areas, it was apparent a great deal of speculation was coming in from California and a bubble would be created as the locals could not be the buyers of these homes at these prices. It appears from a far that drops of these kinds of percentages indicates a significant market correction if the new developers are dropping their prices 30% in a little more then half a year and offering significant dollar incentives on top.

 

[Kiss1]

Prices have come down "some." I visited a friend this morning in Sun City, Aliante. Nice community, plenty of homes for sale 225-325 range. Call Jim the Real Estate Agent I used when I purchased our home, he is a straight shooter who can answer all your Vegas RE questions. Tell him "Joe" from Painted Desert said hello.


-K1

 

[ChuckSims]

oldmanTed, Anthem Highlands is the best area of all that you mentioned. soccerbob said it best, people put their homes up at crazy prices, now they are forced to come back down. I was at Athem Highlands in the spring and a 1900+ sq. ft. home was going for as high as $550,00. That same exact model home was $284,000 the year before. If the builder is offering great deals I would definitely take a serious look at it as people are continuing to move to Vegas with retirement money to spend.

 

[oldmanTED]

Chuck:

Those 1900 square foot homes that were selling in the spring at Anthem Highlands for $550,000 are now being offered and some closed at escrow recently for $380,000 including $20,000 in incentives. That is a significant drop in price and indicates speculation may be waning and the prices moving down toward a more reasonable price. Is this the case throughout the entire region or just specific to Anthem and areas of this type.

 

[ChuckSims]

I have read in the paper that other home developments have dropped their prices. I did not take notice as eventually these greedy bastards would price themselves out of the market. So of course they have to come down to get rid of their standing homes. I am surprised they came down that much. Boy, the people that paid $550,000 are no doubt crying about being gouged. The prices will not come down more than that as like I said before, people are retiring from the midwest and east coast with plenty of cash to spend and they will pay top dollar in certain areas, Athem being one of them. I did see an ad in the paper for a home in Athem Country Club two weeks ago. 1800+ sq ft. The ad said, "reduced $549,000". The home had city views.

 

[GreenDoberman]

Wait until interest rates creep up a few percentage points and the masses with ARMs start feeling the crunch. I can't wait to see the foreclosures and bankruptcies that this will produce because the ignorant and uneducated just plain don't get it.

 

[WildBill]

You picked a bad example there OMT. Pulte has dropped prices in a widely discussed move in the local market, something that some pundits even questioned as possibly affecting gaming companies. Talk about getting set down the wrong track. Pulte is the main builder in Anthem and a few other places mentioned here and they dropped prices because they admitted they got far too aggressive. They were pricing homes far above comps and once the market slowed a bit they had tons of inventory that hadn't been selling for weeks. Still don't get the wrong ideas, the reason why housing is going up and is bound to continue going up is the land squeeze they have here.

Despite most people just assuming there is tons of land for development, the secret is the BLM owns almost all of it and won't sell it at the replacement rate needed, nor will that change as there are laws and decrees limiting the sales. As a result some land in the LV Valley is going for about 5 times what it cost just back in 1999. So not only are those houses for 100-200k gone, their yards are gone too as builders squeeze 10 to 12 homes on an acre.

A couple of agents and investors I know in town all say the same thing. To a degree the thinking of Soccerbob is right, people can't necessarily afford it and the sticker shock is setting in. The problem is the endless stream of people coming into town is still endless and wages are booming here, up around 6%. Mix in the continual stream of people, the rising wages, and the lack of land and prices are just taking a short breather as the market essentially resets itself. Some investors have moved on, but even at the 17,000 listings now out there, that only represents about a 4 month supply of homes. Once the slow season, winter, moves on the people I talk to think another boom, albeit less powerful than the last, is almost a certainty to happen. Simple fact is that there are not enough homes being built in the area to handle the population and barring a huge jump in interest rates this won't change. Even worse rents are firming up quickly and could rise over 10% in the next year. If rents go up the investors will be back in force. They haven't disappeared, the house across the street sold a few weeks ago and wouldn't you know it, a for rent sign appeared today. I can guarantee you there is no way that buyer will cover their costs renting it right now, but if rents go up double digits they will soon enough.

 

[oldmanTED]

I would very much like to thank Chuck Sims, Soccerbob, Kiss1, Green Doberman, and Wild Bill for responding to this thread and for their insight into the current real estate price movements as well as future expectations. Just the kind of input I was looking for. As a former resident of the area and still holding property in the valley, and currently residing in one of the most costly areas in the country, I found the price movement over the past few years absolutely stunning. Should the price boom once again continue in the spring, it may very well be possible that in the not to distant future, the Las Vegas Valley will become the most expensive area to live in the U.S., which is beyond comprehension. Should anyone else wish to add their own local knowledge, please feel free to do so. Again, my thanks to all.