Las Vegas Real Estate Blog

Astoria Homes seeks to understand the home buyer and owner. They claim to provide attainable homes in the most desired locations. They offer prices below the typical sales price in the best parts of town.

They tout the ability to maximize living area by getting the most square footage out of every room. The trim expenses by building with energy smart materials and methods. Their appliances and materials are top-of-the-line and quality rich. They hire qualified teams for design and construction. They offer a 10-year warranty on their craftsmanship.

They have a design center where buyers can choose features, options, and upgrades. Astoria strives to tailor a home to the new owner.

As a builder they focus on a great community with great amenities. Some include swimming pools, parks, ball courts, etc.

From great designs to financing options to great customer care Astoria offers some great housing benefits. Ask an agent in Las Vegas to help you get started.

The number of home listings in Las Vegas has continued to grow since the beginning of the year. More and more homes have been put on the market. Local authorities in the valley suggest this increase will create a new norm. Expect the current number of homes to remain steady. Many believe this 6-7 months of inventory still represents a very healthy market. Steady prices support that theory.

So, what is a listing? Getting back to basics for all potential sellers, a listing is a contract. A home seller agrees to allow a brokerage (and respective agent) to market a home to find a buyer for it. The seller may pay the representing broker/agent in a number of ways. A common method of payment is to pay a percentage once the home has successfully sold and escrow has closed meaning there is a new owner of the home. The contract between seller and brokerage has a period of time associated with it. This period gives the brokerage a fair time to put a marketing program in place. They will spend money out of pocket to provide exposure. They provide professional services and knowledge that helps to protect a seller during the process.

In Las Vegas, it is common to find an agent who specializes in listing properties. Working with a team will usually provide a seller with a handful of professionals whose collective experience will make the process smoother, with less hiccups.

In a market with a growing number of homes for sale, it is important to choose agents who will help price the home correctly and take care of all of the details involved.

I enjoy watching the purchase of large real estate. Jamie Foxx reportedly purchased a $10.5 million home in Thousand Oaks. The Hidden Valley purchase felt "right".

The home is located on 40 acres, has 10 bd, 12 ba, a library, and a whole slew of other rooms.

Purchases like this shed light on the recently reported "slow market." There are still many purchases happening in luxury homes, especially in Las Vegas. Those who can afford the highend homes are not as fearful of the downturn.

In the middle of all of the loan program issues the Las Vegas interest rates jumped up considerably.

The RJ reports:

"The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose 10 basis points to 6.42
percent, a Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders found. A basis point is
one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.

The 30-year rate hasn't been this high since the last week of January, when
it was 6.42 percent."

There are few predictions whether or not rates will continue to rise or drop. Enough factors have been shaken up recently to have a good gauge. We'll continue to watch the rate trends to see where they go.

Important as teachers are their pay seems not to match up with the standard of living in the Las Vegas Valley. Teachers have to get creative when finding financing that makes sense for them.

Married teachers often find both spouses in the work place. Single teachers will find roommates to split the costs to own a home. We worked with one teacher who just made it part of her plan to consistently share her home with a renting roommate. One young man actually made a profit on his home by renting out to 4 others. The house was large enough to cater to a larger group.

Some teachers will buy only what they need and find they can afford it. Some consider condos while others look for rehab projects as investments. Over a summer they will fix up the home and roll the equity into the next house they buy.

There are options out there. It just takes finding the right one. A Las Vegas Realtor® can help a lot to sort through the posibilities.

Information about Nevada


State Bird
The Nevada State Bird is the Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides). It was selected in a 1967 session of the legislature.
NRS 235.060



State Flower
The Sagebrush (Artemisia tridenta), an enduring plant occupying vast areas of the Great Basin serves as Nevada's official state flower and emblem. It was adopted March 17, 1917.
NRS 235.050



State Tree
Both the Single-Leaf Piñon and the Bristlecone Pine share the state tree title.
NRS 235.040

Part of being qualified to purchase Las Vegas real estate or sell to someone who is qualified is to make sure you (they) can pay for the property. Most Las Vegas buyers will be leveraging their finances by securing a loan to finance the purchase. Finding the right Las Vegas lender is an absolute must or your transaction is at great risk.

If there is one part of a real estate transaction that can get sticky and eventually kill a deal it is the financing. It is easy to find a home. The right agent will help you negotiate the terms. However, it is not as easy to line up the funds. It would shock many people to learn how often a transaction falls apart because the lender or person securing the financing could not get his/her job done.

Without question make sure your lender can perform and fulfill the commitment to get a great loan for your situation. Fees for a great lender will depend on your credit, how well you know the lender, etc. You will likely pay 2-3% of the overall sales price to acquire the loan.

It is a great idea to find a lender you like and get pre-qualified before looking for a property. If your real estate agent is savvy he/she will require you to be pre-qualified before beginning the search. A great seller's agent will also investigate the buyers qualification when an offer is made.

Las Vegas financing Information

Contact us so we can refer a great Las Vegas lender to you.

The New Trump Tower luxury condo-hotel is one step closer to completion. Trump and his new Apprentice winner were in town as they hoisted the American flag to the top, which topped off tower 1.

The tower is 64 stories tall, the largest residential building in Nevada. The building is scheduled for completion for 2008.

There are several high rise projects going up in Las Vegas. Trump expressed the risks involved in today's market. Surprisingly, Trump and multiple of the other projects have had units sell at decent rates. As the buildings draw near completion it will be exciting to watch the units close escrow.

One thing for investors to consider: there will be many units on the market at the time of close so selling as soon as possible may not bring an initial profit. Plan to hold the units for some time. Get in touch with a Las Vegas Realtor who knows the market before jumping in.

Pardee Homes is proud of the many awards they have won. They claim to be America's best builder. They tout beautiful design, quality construction, fair business practices, among other qualities. Headquartered in Los Angeles Pardee has several offices located throughout the southwestern portion of the country.

J.D. Powers and Associates ranks them toward the top in customer satisfaction and service. They are environmentally sensitive and energy conscious. They prove a home can be smart, comfortable, and good looking.

Pardee understands that improving community is important. They participate philanthropically in many ways. They have built a strong, generous culture.

Las Vegas Realtors® can help you find a great new Pardee Home.

Older homes tend to need a facelift and other improvements, especially in some of the high traffic areas. One place we notice often has needs of a touch up especially when preparing to sell a home: kitchen cabinets.

New kitchen cabinets can be expensive so we sought out tips on resurfacing existing cabinets and doors. We found a couple of articles with tips and advice on what to do to repair/improve the old surfaces preparing for a home sale:

• DYI Network: Staining Wood Cabinets
• Home123: Do-It-Yourself Cabinet Refinishing Ideas
• Homedoctor: Cabinet Refacing

It seems there is quite abit of effort that goes into restaining cabinets but the sweat equity can pay off.