Recent Articles on Arizona and Nevada Housing

Haven't had much time to keep up with the news and post, but here's some current articles on Arizona and Nevada housing issues:

Phoenix and the mortgage "relief" deal:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1207biz-foreclosures1207.html

Arizona is likely in a recession, a top University of Arizona economist said Friday:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/70935.php

"Perfect Storm", UA economists with Arizona and US predictions:
http://uanews.org/node/17237

Biggest house price drop yet - Flagstaff news:
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/12/09/news/20071209_front%20page_17.txt

Foreclosures and Las Vegas:
http://lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7462802

Las Vegas home builders cut staff (even the infamous Rhodes is listed):
http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/12/07/realdev.html

Las Vegas builder sells 92 home subdivision as rental community:
http://www.globest.com/news/1050_1050/lasvegas/166570-1.html

Mortgage crisis tarnishes Las Vegas boomtown image

After years of robust growth, the housing market in Las Vegas has been beset with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, as well as a drop in prices and declining sales. (Adam Tanner/Reuters)

By Susan Milligan
Globe Staff / December 2, 2007

HENDERSON, Nev. - In America's ultimate boomtown, the signs of economic trouble literally show up in the streets, with "for sale" sign after "for sale" sign stuck in the front yards of homeowners who lost their houses because they couldn't afford to pay their mortgages.

Las Vegas, a national symbol of growth and opportunity, now suffers the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Nearby Henderson - full of gated communities as well as moderately priced housing - now has more than 300 properties in foreclosure or preforeclosure and some streets have as many as six houses in the process of being sold because the owners couldn't keep up the payments.

The subprime mortgage crisis was caused when lenders gave often-risky loans to buyers who would not be approved for mortgages under normal standards, either because they had bad credit or lacked the financial records - such as proof of income - to get a standard mortgage.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/02/mortgage_crisis_tarnishes_las_vegas_boomtown_image/?page=1

Third Quarter Foreclosure Activity

Here is Realty Trac 3rd quarter report showing the percentage of households in foreclosure. By state Nevada is 1st, California is 2nd and Florida is 3rd. Arizona is at 7th at one foreclosure for every 112 households (Nevada at #1 has one foreclosure per every 61 households).

http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=3567&accnt=64847

There is also a colored map showing which counties in each state have the most foreclosures. Mohave, Maricopa and Pinal appear to have the most in Arizona and of course Clark county is the highest in Nevada.

http://www.realtytrac.com/blog/photos/foreclosurepulse_photos/images/3397/original.aspx

I put this in the comments, but the link doesn't seem to show up. Here is the chart by metro area.

http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=3609&accnt=64847

Coyote Springs

This is an interesting Q&A with the developer of Coyote Springs, a huge subdivision north of Las Vegas.

http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/10/19/qanda.html

Las Vegas Articles

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7217324

Jonathan Humbert, Reporter
Nevada Faces Budget Shortfall
Oct 16, 2007 03:36 PM MST

Nevada could be facing another budget shortfall which means state leaders are facing tough decisions about what services and programs to cut.

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http://www.lvrj.com/business/10571036.html

Oct. 16, 2007
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR SEES DEALS
By MARGARET ANN MIILLE REVIEW-JOURNAL

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http://www.lvrj.com/business/10571071.html

Oct. 16, 2007
To sell homes in down market, use strategy, observers say
By JENNIFER ROBISON REVIEW-JOURNAL

A foundering market with falling prices and more than 30,000 homes for sale in Southern Nevada. It's enough to paralyze any prospective home buyer. So how do home sellers convince skittish consumers that their place is a safe bet and that now is a solid time to buy? Realtors say pushing consumers off the fence requires a combination of emotional appeals and economic inducements. And for some sellers, the best answer is to sit out the market altogether.

The United States of Subprime

Data Show Bad LoansPermeate the Nation;Pain Could Last Years

By RICK BROOKS and CONSTANCE MITCHELL FORD
October 11, 2007; As America's mortgage markets began unraveling this year, economists seeking explanations pointed to "subprime" mortgages issued to low-income, minority and urban borrowers. But an analysis of more than 130 million home loans made over the past decade reveals that risky mortgages were made in nearly every corner of the nation, from small towns in the middle of nowhere to inner cities to affluent suburbs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119205925519455321.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

Las Vegas Housing Market Bits and Pieces

Some bits and pieces on the Las Vegas housing market. A lot of these articles say the same things I've been saying regarding prices and speculation:

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http://www.lvrj.com/business/9660427.html

Southern Nevada's economy, dragged down by the slumping housing industry, posted another month of modest performance.
New and existing home sales dropped 40 percent and new home permits are off by 45 percent, contributing to a 0.11 percent decline in the Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators.......

"My contention is that the lack of white-collar jobs and relatively high housing costs would eventually slow down the migration, but without good data, it's hard to know for sure. Affordable housing was one of the big draws and now that's pretty much gone, for now."

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http://www.lvrj.com/business/9638272.html

"What continues to drive the national numbers," Duncan said, "is what is happening in the states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Were it not for the increases in foreclosure starts in those four states, we would have seen a nationwide drop in the rate of foreclosure filings."

Duncan counted 34 states with declining rates of foreclosure.

The same four states have more than 19 percent of the nation's subprime adjustable-rate mortgages.

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http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/09/07/feature2.html

The high-rise and mid-rise condo markets continue to weaken as demand has softened and supply continues to increase - a problem that will worsen as more and more projects come on line in the next year, analysts said. Given the current pace of sales in the resale market, several years of inventory remain.

Those who already closed on their condos with the intention of flipping them aren't finding the buyers they expected. The rental pool for the high-end units is shallow, and the rent owners can charge is limited. That could lead to defaults in the high-rise market.

"I think a lot of folks bought intending to sell. They never thought to live in it or buy it to rent," Restrepo said.

"I hear from condo owners every single day. They bought it to flip it and they can't sell it," added Eric Smith, owner of Colorado-based Corporate Housing By Owner, which works with condo owners who lease their units for short-term corporate housing.

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http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/09/07/realty.html

Las Vegas Realtor Eric Young prides himself on being a numbers guy, and when it when comes to the local housing market, the numbers paint an awful picture...

Young, who tracks average sales prices by square footage, reports homes of up to 1,250 square are 7.5 percent off their peak; homes of 1,250 to 1,499 square feet are off 8.5 percent; homes 1,500 to 1,749 are off 8.9 percent; homes 1,750 to 1,999 are off 9.6 percent; homes 2,000 to 2,249 are off 7.7 percent; and homes 2,250 to 2,449 are off 8.9 percent.

In the last six weeks, the average home prices are down 2.6 to 3.5 percent, Young said. The GLVAR is expected to release its statistics for August by Monday at the latest.

The price per square foot that many homes are selling for today is the same as it was in early 2004 when the market was still appreciating, he said.

"It is far worse than the numbers are showing," said Young, echoing what a few others have been saying about statistics on the housing market. "If you start to dig into the numbers, the research shows the prices for the same home are declining greater than the averages are showing."

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_lasvegas0909sep09,0,1389227,full.story

"Houses were really cheap. Loans were really easy," said Lewis, who moved from California. "These were investors who didn't ever live here. Now, they're totally walking away."

Under pressure to respond, lawmakers are struggling to fashion relief for strapped homeowners while avoiding an undeserved bailout for quick-buck artists caught in the same squeeze. Even as President Bush in a Rose Garden ceremony Aug. 31 proposed aid for those threatened with losing their homes, he promised the government's role will be "limited."

Yet, if Las Vegas is any indication, sorting out the sympathetic hardship cases from those who gambled and lost could prove impossible. While the term "investor" brings to mind Warren Buffett, Vanguard or Fidelity, most of the real estate sharpies here were small-timers. The typical speculator bought "one-sies and two-sies," before finally "getting caught with their pants down," said Frank Nason, president of Las Vegas real estate firm Residential Resources.

Those who failed to cash out ahead of the bust have left owner-occupants such as Lewis stranded in a lonely landscape. Almost half of the 30,000 homes listed for sale in the Las Vegas metropolitan area stand vacant, said Nason, making it that much tougher to sell the rest.

"It's kind of a downward spiral," he said. "In the next year or two, it could get a heckuva lot worse.".........

The Mortgage Bankers Association, reporting last week on the rise in delinquencies and foreclosures, cited the higher risk of so-called investor loans made to buyers with no plans to live in the properties they purchased.

Nevada had more of those loans than any other state, and almost one-third of them were at least 90 days past due as of June 30, compared with 13 percent nationwide.

Clock is Ticking on Las Vegas' Water Supply

Edward Lawrence, Reporter
Clock is Ticking on Las Vegas' Water Supply
Aug 17, 2007 03:43 PM MST

The news coming from the Southern Nevada Water Authority Thursday about the valley's future water supply is worrisome. Unless we act quickly, there will be no water for hundreds of thousands of Las Vegas Valley residents in just three years.

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=6943263

There is a video on the page also. And here is a link to a blog with comments from readers.

http://blogs.lasvegasnow.com/2007/04/nevadas_water_s.html

More Housing Articles

Las Vegas...
http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/08/03/feature1.html


Credit crunch hurts housing

By Brian Wargo / Staff Writer
Meritage closed its model homes at the master-planned community of Inspirada in Henderson.

In a sign of a struggling housing market, Meritage Homes has shuttered its sales center at Inspirada after making no sales. The homebuilder has opted to go back to the drawing board and design homes that are more affordable and better fit the buyer's lifestyle.


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Builder Incentives....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118661750287092393.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Anxious Builders Pile On Incentives
Perks, Price Cuts Become More LavishAs Developers Grow Increasingly Desperate;Would You Like a Pool With That?
By JEFF D. OPDYKEAugust 9, 2007; Page D1
With the housing market looking increasingly frail, home builders and real-estate agents are going to new extremes to attract buyers, dangling lavish incentives and slashing prices.