Last week and this weekend provided more doom and gloom for the current US economy and Las Vegas. While most people are no longer surprised by bad news, all of this was still fairly hard to swallow. It’s interesting to watch how much the real estate market here has changed.
Three troubling stories have hit the press over the week of March 10, 2008…
-Bear Stearns went down, being bought out by rival JPMorgan Chase for rock bottom. Just to put this into perspective, Bear Stearns had survived the Great Depression yet couldn’t survive the current credit crisis.
-The Wall Street Journal reported that Deutsche Bank will in fact foreclose upon the Cosmopolitan Resort Casino in Las Vegas (waiting to see if this is true or not).
-The press reported that Las Vegas is the mortgage fraud capitol of the United States. It is believed that mortgage fraud has heavily contributed to Vegas’ overall challenged market and had much to do with why Las Vegas home foreclosures are so rampant.
Things to think about…
-The United States economic conditions continue to slide yet Las Vegas land prices on the Strip/Resort Corridor continued to rise in 2007. Some Strip land rose 99% in 2007 alone according to the Clark County Land Assessor. Did some developers pay too much at over $30 million an acre? It remains to be seen. Land is scarce in the prime location Resort Corridor.
-Per Deutsche Bank, Vegas has approx 100,000 new jobs being created over the next 4 or so years. This could change with current hotel and high-rise projects being cancelled or delayed.
-According to several news reports, mortgage fraud has contributed to Las Vegas’ foreclosures. Take away the fraud and Clark County would have less foreclosure problems according to these reports.
-Recently, the top-three price-per-square-foot records for residential real estate (single family home or luxury condominiums) in Las Vegas history were set as three high-rise condos (including penthouses) sold for up to $2,400 a foot at The Harmon Residences at CityCenter. This story got little attention by the national press as doom and gloom is the story to tell.
Keep Cleaning Yourself Las Vegas
Fueled by a challenged US economy, a hard-hit mortgage industry, and doom and gloom reporting, Vegas seems to be correcting itself at torrid pace.
Aaron Auxier, REALTOR®, ABR can be reached at 702-205-1818.
Luxury Realty Group is recognized by the press as a leading brokerage on the Strip. They can be seen on networks and in publications such as CNBC, Forbes Magazine, Details, Wall Street Journal, The Review Journal, Los Angeles Times and USA Today.
Copyright © 2008 Aaron Auxier. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: All information in this blog is subject to change without notice. Subject matter is not guaranteed and is often considered time-sensitive.
