Las Vegas Real Estate Analyst Give Predictions at Crystal Ball…What’s in store for the valley’s housing market

01/22/2010 · Leave a Comment

I always say my crystal ball’s been broken. Shattered into a bazillion tiny pieces… If only I could look into the future and see what’s in store- especially when talking real estate.

Things were a bit easier to predict in the late ’90’s. Prices continued to tick up slowly. Sales happened regularly. Buyers and Sellers were happy with a mostly win-win situation for both.

Fast forward 2004′ish. At the time, I was working directly with a Builder/Developer in the NW part of the valley. The buzz everywhere was that you had to buy a home, heck many conversations included talks of multiple homes…

As builders released homes on the market we saw buyers rush in to take advantage of the craze. I actually saw a phase release of new homes where the potential buyers camped out for 8 days. Yep, you read correctly, they slept in their cars, trucks and even RV’s for EIGHT DAYS. All in hope of securing a home.

My-oh-my have things changed, huh?!

So here we are… 2010. What’s in store for the future of the Las Vegas Valley Real Estate Market? I don’t have to put my tush on the line with predictions this time around- I’ve left that for the analysts… Although what they’ve had to say is right about on the mark with my exact thoughts.

Every quarter a group of experts hold the “Crystal Ball” seminar and offer area Real Estate Professionals with their forecast for what they believe is in store.

This quarter was no exception. The experts included: Larry Murphy, co-founder of Salestraq. Mr. Murphy is considered The Source for residential home data for Southern Nevada. He is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Todayand the Las Vegas Review Journal. Steve Bottfeld, president of Marketing Solutions- He is regularly quoted in national publications and has two books being considered for publication. And last but not least,Rita Brandin, Senior Vice President and Development Director with Newland Communities.

So what do these experts think the future holds???

In a nutshell, we might not have hit rock bottom yet, but it looks close. Chances are, we will see the bottom months after it actually happens because home pricing is going to be flat for a bit…

Foreclosures aren’t going away. Unlike the flood of bank owned homes that the media keeps telling us to expect, the forecast says they will continue to trickle into the marketplace- seeing about 2,000+/- more than last year. Short Sales are here for a while. I’ve talked about that a lot. Good news- the banks and lenders seem to be making our job as Real Estate Agents a tad easier when negotiating these types of sales for our sellers. Lines of communication have improved and responses have been quicker- for the most part. This is also great news for buyers looking for a bargain!

With all of that said, it looks like we’ll continue to see tremendous values for buyers as well as a continuous flow of sales. The issue: Inventory. We only have about a 3 mo. +/- inventory of homes available to prospective buyers. What does that mean? If no new homes were listed for sale, there wouldn’t be anything available in 3 months!