The Boy Scout program in Las Vegas thrives. Several districts cut up the valley. Regular Round Tables and other organizational meetings occur regularly and training meetings keep both boys and leaders up to speed.In Utah I was a boy scout master. We had a ton of fun and learned a lot. Here in Nevada I have worked as the Venture Crew Chief. There are many places to camp, explore, and a ton of things to do. As you consider a move to Las Vegas let me know if you have interest in the Boy Scout program. There are other organizations in Las Vegas to be involved in as well. 05/02/2007

Owning a Las Vegas home is a very proud moment for many people. Why is it a proud moment? The Las Vegas market has been one of the greatest markets to invest in over recent years. Many homeowners have been well pleased by the return on their investment in the Las Vegas Valley. Much of this appreciation can be attributed to the booming gaming industry, which provides a great deal of jobs for individuals who live out of state. With as many as 7,500 people a month moving into Las Vegas along with the growing population of investors Las Vegas has proven its worth to its homeowners.A Las Vegas home is much more than just a house. Owning a Las Vegas home can be very rewarding. Homes in the valley are well known for the great appreciation they have received in recent years. New residents move ... 05/02/2007

There are so many choices for housing in Las Vegas today. Builders are still churning out new communities with the latest in amenities.  A lot of times, home buyers will overlook smaller neighborhoods like High Country Estates. This small community is located off of Jones Boulevard in Las Vegas. It is a small, quiet neighborhood of fair sized homes.  The community has been well maintained and many homes have had some upgrades done by their prior owners. Homes feature large size lots and private backyards. Sales activity in the community is fairly active. There are usually a few homes available for sale at any given time. If you are looking for a great home, feel free to contact me at 702-493-8033 or visit my website at www.lvrealty.net. You can sign up to have listings sent directly to ... 05/01/2007

There has to be good news somewhere in the real estate galaxy if you look hard enough. Finally we found some. Vacation home sales moved up 4.7% in 2006, as reported by NAR. The sector now consists of 14% of all home sales, improving from 12% in 2005. The nation's demographics are driving the market. The buyer usually is in his mid 40s or over, with a median household income a little better than $100,000. This is generally considered the prime buying age. Besides using the property as a vacation home, there were other practical reasons to the acquisition. Some 28% said they would use it as a primary residence after retirement, others saw tax benefits in it and 18% had plans to rent the property out. Some other numbers stand out from the survey and are worth commenting on. Almost a third ... 05/01/2007

That's an intriguing thought. Moral hazard. What is it? It's a term in economics and insurance that explains how people behave carelessly when they are safeguarded or insured in some way. Let's take an example from the real estate business. If companies make flood insurance available, people will feel it's now okay to build homes on flood plains, because they are covered. Otherwise they wouldn't, goes the theory. It applies to the mortgage business in a logical manner. A few years ago lenders eased on their underwriting standards to make more money. Well, when you do that, the whole process also becomes more risky. We know that most of these home loans were sold rather quickly in bundles to the secondary mortgage market. This is where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate, among other priv... 05/01/2007

Weekly Snapshot 4.30.2007The Las Vegas real estate market area introduced the lowest number of new listings this past week sinceFebruary 5. That is the good news. The bad news is the pending index (homes under contract relativeto available homes) is at the lowest point year to date. The index point suggests buyers are not asactive or are fewer in number at this point. Sellers need to be the best value in the marketplace. Withso many options for buyers, it is amenities and square feet at the best value are the homes positioned tosell next. New to the Snapshot, Henderson sub-market and rental market.The last 7 days of the Las Vegas valley marketplace...Active Listings ALL 24083 ::: SFR 18687 CN/TH 5508~up 112 from last week || up 44277 (28.7%) since 1/1Henderson 4012 ::: SFR 3220 CN/TH 79... 04/30/2007

It's a topic that is often overlooked here in Las Vegas. And across the land. If so and a disaster strikes, the consequences can be financially ruinous. The insurance industry highly recommends that homeowners go ahead and review annually their existing policies with an agent to make sure it meets the current conditions. Although it could be thought of as an industry money-making message, it actually is in your best interest.There really are three main areas to focus on. First, of course, is the home itself. The structure. Secondly, there are the possessions. And the third area is the liability coverage. Please click here for a deeper discussion. 04/30/2007

South West Ranch is located near the southern tip of Summerlin. It is surrounded by many of the fine amenities of Las Vegas. Access to these amenities is provided by main roadways nearby. Great shopping centers, business parks, trails, parks, etc. are all around.South West Ranch Homes and Real EstateSouth West Ranch real estate consists of a large range of homes. Sizes and prices vary considerably depending on the neighborhood. Some homes begin in the low $200's and others up to the $800's.South West Ranch homes are built by various builders and the styles vary according to the many plans the developers offered. Most homes are two story and their features are traditional. Some are upgraded and some are like a blank pallet.South West Ranch is a great neighborhood for a starter home, inve... 04/30/2007

The drought in the West, more specifically in the Rocky Mountains, brings sometimes competing states to the table trying to find solutions to it. How to manage the dwindling water resource equitably in the Colorado River basin. Nevada and the six other states, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and California, reach an agreement on a plan that will keep Lake Mead's water level from falling should the drought get worse. The plan goes now to Washington for approval.The plan has several steps that are too detailed to go into in this blog, but can be accessed here. I'm optimistic that they'll help in the struggle to supply the Southwest with enough water so that the current growth pace is sustainable. I'd also propose that this alliance of states would work more diligently on othe... 04/30/2007

Canyon Trails at Rhodes Ranch is snuggled in the southwest Las Vegas valley foothills. They feature great peek-a-boo views of the mountains to the west and to the north!View Map (Satellite Hybrid)Schools (4/16/2007) Zoned are: Sierra Vista High School, Fertitta Middle School (soon to be Faiss) & Wayne Tenaka Elementary school. With extreme growth in the valley schools change quickly and for no rhyme or reason so it is always best to check online for current zoning with Clark County School District.There are exactly 291 homes in this neighborhood ranging from 1105-1759 square feet. The builder was Astoria and these homes were built between 2001-2003. We can help you find rentals, buy or sell in Canyon Trails! As always: we provide no cost buyer's agency and renter's assistance! Canyon Tr... 04/29/2007

Now that the subprime woes are generating fat headlines across the land, a debate is roiling around what to do about it. One idea that has received a fair deal of attention is the loan suitability requirement. Which means that lenders can only put borrowers in loans that are suitable for them. That they are able to repay. Some consumer advocates also propose that the borrower should have the right to sue if there is any breach of this fiduciary duty. Hmmm.Frankly, I do have deep reservations about a loan originator being called to make subjective judgments about which mortgage program best suits an applicant. That would translate into him taking the responsibility of making a financial decision for someone else. Just doesn't sound right. Would that potentially open the door to allegatio... 04/28/2007

In Las Vegas the Avg monthly apartment rent is up 5.3% to $852. Avg apartment occupancy rate in Las Vegas is down slightly to 95.6%. Las Vegas Commercial Building Permit Value is up 30.5% in the last year. Office space demand is down 19.3%. Office vacancy is up 2.1%. Las Vegas Industrial  vacancy is down 0.2%. Overall the Las Vegas real estate market is doing phenomonally in comparison to the sceptics predictions. See as how we are flat and not bass ackwards says a lot. 04/28/2007

Las Vegas Housing Building Permits are down 13.3% to 33,900. Las Vegas New Home Sales are down 24.1% to 29,600.  Las Vegas Resale homes are down 28.4% to 41,900.  Total homes sold in Las Vegas 71,500 down 26.7%. Funny enough New home median sales price is up 9.5% to $339,500 (Got to love those new home builders). Median Las Vegas resale prices have also increase 0.5% to $286,500. All of these stats are for the year 2006. 04/28/2007

Here are the newest Las Vegas Stats:The Las Vegas Population is up 5.3% frowing form 1.8+m to 1.9+m. Las Vegas gained a net 97k people in 2006. The avg. house hold income went up 12.2% up to $53+k. Las Vegas Has been ranked as the #2 job market in the nation right behind Orlando, Fl. Unemployment rates stayed steady at 4%, again top in the nation. UNLV enrollment went down slightly to 27,900 last year. Remember that that is not the student count just the enrollment count. The Las Vegas home sales have dropped 28.4% over the last year. 04/28/2007

It very well may be. The most urgent reason to do so is if the homeowner has an adjustable rate mortgage, or an ARM, and it's about to reset upward. That way the payments can be kept from changing too much or not at all. To cash out some of the built-up equity for a home improvement project or something else could be another good reason to do it. And there still are older loans with high interest rates that could benefit from today's low levels.There are a few things that need to be taken into account, though. Is there a prepayment penalty on the existing home loan? That's vital to find out. These penalties usually equal 6 months of interest payments and are set off in case of a refinance, or even a sale of the house. They often are in effect during the first two or three years. All the... 04/27/2007

Ahhh, one of our favorite times of the year!  Once the temps crack the 80's, it won't cool down until Halloween with the exception of a brief summer thunderstorm.  The seven day forecast for us in beautiful Las Vegas is mid-90's, so the pools will warm up, people will stay out late, the club scene will be happening, crowds will be strolling the strip until the wee hours of the night and the resort pools will be chock full of sun-lovers.The real estate market here is still fairly balanced, it's just that the crazy days are over.  We closed on more than 3000 total units in February - That's a lot of transactions.  It's true that the regular Las Vegas real estate market had been flooded with starter homes, too much development and individual investors, but the builders have scaled back on ... 04/27/2007

Mortgage lenders today are setting higher loan qualification standards for borrowers with weak credit files. Since they're facing mounting defaults in the subprime segment, they have to. Now there's another issue to contend with. When they study a credit report, the one compiled by FICO, are they really looking at the applicant's true financial background, or has it been artificially boosted by someone else's excellent credit file?This is what's happening. Companies are turning up on the Internet that offer to marry a stellar credit file with a file that is so-so, or worse. In essence, the high-quality information is shared and that'll help the poor file. These online stores argue that this maneuver will enhance a FICO score from 50 to 250 points. That is a lot. Now, is this legal? It a... 04/27/2007

If you live in the Las Vegas area and are an animal lover, there is a meeting you should attend. I had put up a post about it on my other blog.  The Clark County Animal Advisory Committee is having a public meeting.  The time and address can be found at the other post, but the item up for discussion boils down to requiring Pet Stores and private breeders to sterilize any cat or dog before being able to sell the animal.   All pets will also need to be chipped prior to sale.  This would go a long way to reducing the population of unwanted animals in our city. You can get directions here.Please help get the word out and show much Las Vegans value and love their animals. -Charles 04/26/2007

The Las Vegas desert landscaping found in the yards of Las Vegas homes can be a big shock to people looking to relocate to the Las Vegas valley.read more... 04/26/2007

Good news at last. It took a while. The last several weeks have been tough. The real estate headlines just about everywhere have oozed with subprime troubles this and foreclosure that and home values are dropping and so on. Followed by long and dark narratives about new regulations and who is to be blamed for what. Now the beam of light is shining on a new home loan program from Washington Mutual. At least for the time being. It's called Mortgage Plus. People who are looking for more flexibility and control are going to be dancing in the streets. It actually combines a first mortgage and home equity line of credit into a single loan. The borrower can reset the interest rate twice a year, for free for the first time and then it's $250. He can also pick between fixed and variable rates, f... 04/26/2007