Altos Research Real Estate Insights - Las Vegas real estate

Fighting the Good Fight

nospam@example.com (Mike Simonsen) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:17:52 -0700

I twittered this yesterday, but since it's possibly my favorite press coverage my company has received, I figured I blog it today too.

Apparently Hulk Hogan is getting a divorce. He needs, of course, to understand what's happening in the housing market, especially in Las Vegas where he and his soon-to-be-ex have a condo. Where does a pro-wrestler-turned-reality-tv-star turn for the best insights? Why "prominent research firm, Altos Research" of course.

He also pointed out that Linda Bollea obtained an appraisal before his order to close on the property, and that Terry Bollea obtained his own appraisal several weeks after the order. Terry Bollea's appraisal came in at $1,000,000 less than Linda's.

In a statement issued late Friday, Terry Bollea's attorneys said they, "are gratified" by the ruling, adding, "...the sole justification for this transaction offered by Linda Bollea and her attorneys--that it is a good investment--redefines cluelessness...Nowhere is this more true than in Las Vegas, which the prominent firm Altos Research just this week called 'the weakest U.S. housing market.'"

Glad to help, Hulkster. Glad to help.

Las Vegas Existing Home Inventory Levels Stabilizing?

nospam@example.com (Mike Simonsen) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:53:20 -0700

AltosChart of the Day: After an intense run-up in inventory levels in the Las Vegas market last fall, we've now seen several month of stabilization. Still all kinds of craziness to shake out there, but are we seeing a the first inkling of the bottom? Prices show no signs of coming out of their swoon yet. So you be the judge.

Las Vegas area existing home inventory. May not include some foreclosures and other general craziness. Data as of March 28 2008

Altos Links:

This is data for the whole Las Vegas MSA. The latest data will be in our forthcoming National Real Estate Report later this week.

Here's the Las Vegas Real Estate Report for the city.

US Housing Market - Forbes' Top 10 Markets for Bargains

nospam@example.com (Scott Sambucci) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:54:57 -0800

Forbes Magazine released its "Best Cities for Bargain Hunters" yesterday. They based their criteria on markets that have sound economic fundamentals, not necessarily markets hit only by the lending and mortgage events. Here's their list in reverse order. You can research the market trends for most of these markets here at Altos Research.

If you're a home buyer or seller, our "Market Reports" are a great way to keep up-to-date with your local market. We also have free research available on our main website. Just click on the city name -

10. Houston, TX

9. Richmond, VA

8. Jacksonville, FL (coming soon!)

7. Las Vegas, NV

6. Seattle, WA

5. Phoenix, AZ

4. Charlotte, NC

3. Orlando, FL

2. Raleigh, NC (coming soon!)

1. Salt Lake City, UT

Denver vs. Las Vegas, Phoenix

nospam@example.com (Scott Sambucci) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:59:43 -0800

Over my morning cup of coffee(s.. that is...), I was reading a bit about the Denver real estate market. John Rebchook keeps a blog on the Rocky Mountain News, and wrote yesterday about local prices in Denver and possible collusion to prop up the market. He offered some examples for relativity, including a mention about Las Vegas and Phoenix. For me, the alarms went off - "AltosChart alert! AltosChart alerts!"

Looking at price in these three cities since the Spring, we can see that single-family homes in Denver held very strong throughout 2007 when Phoenix and Las Vegas were getting hammered, until the the fourth quarter, when Denver joined much of the rest of the nation with a strong downward pricing trend.

It's interesting to note though, that early in 2008, there's a bit of an uptick - some relative strength for single-family homes in Denver compared to Las Vegas and Phoenix.

I was interested to see how single-family homes compared to the Townhome/Condo market in Denver. Looks like the Condo market never weakened in 2007 and is even stronger in early 2008.

We're on pins and needles to hear from some of you in the local market as to what the reason might be? Does John's article make a good point, or are things just plain good in Denver?