Navigating the Nevada Real Estate Market

The housing bubble may have burst, but if you are thinking of buying real estate in Nevada, you are in luck. Whether you are moving to the Silver State for your career or live there and are in the market for a new house, now is the time to buy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nevada is the fastest-growing state in the nation. The Las Vegas-Paradise metropolitan area has been seeing one of the biggest population influxes nationwide. A combination of factors is causing this, and acting at the right time is more than a roll of the dice.

• Statewide stats: Nevada leads the country in foreclosures, and has for years. The latest RealtyTrac statistics show that foreclosures in Nevada top three times the national average. Statewide, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reports, home values plummeted by 5.9% last year. This is by no means happy news, but if you are moving to Nevada you may stand to benefit. The Nevada Appeal quotes economist Bill Anderson as saying that the housing market will likely recover alongside a boom in construction of new job-creating mega-resorts.
• Real Estate in Las Vegas: Las Vegas is the biggest population center in Nevada as well as the fastest growing. The Las Vegas metropolitan area offers a vast array of suburbs and neighborhoods with homes ranging in price. The median home value for Las Vegas is $406,100, according to Yahoo! Real Estate. However, single family homes are only part of the story, according to The Las Vegas Business Press. Luxury high- and mid-rise condominium towers are sprouting up throughout Las Vegas despite the housing slump. The Business Press reports that nearly 100 luxury condominium complexes are under construction from the strip to the suburbs, and more are on the way. And at an average of $792 per square foot, they aren't cheap, either. Yahoo! Real Estate reports that a total of 18,445 homes were on the market as of March 24th, 2008; 1,011 of them new. As for foreclosures, Vegas has 8,049.
• Henderson Real Estate: The median home value goes up from there. In Henderson, which has beaten out Reno to become Nevada's second-largest city, the median home value sits at $482,500. As of late March, 2008 there are over 1,700 foreclosures in Henderson and a total of 4,259 homes for sale, 273 of which are new.
• The Reno Market: With its population pushing 200,000, the median home value for the “biggest little city in the world” is $439,100. Ninety-eight out of 3,105 homes on the market as of March 24, 2008 are new. There are currently 615 foreclosures in Reno, according to Yahoo! Real Estate; in 2006 there were 105.
• Carson City: This silver-mining boom town turned state capital has a median home value of $367,400, according to Yahoo! Finance. Although still high, it is significantly smaller than median home values of other major Nevada cities. There are 555 homes on the market as of March 24, 2008; 2.9 percent fewer than the previous month. Five of these homes are new and 67 are foreclosures.

Nevada Real Estate: Gamble or Guarantee?

As with any real estate market, whether you win or not depends on how you play your cards. Another major factor is timing. No one can deny that it's a buyer's market in Nevada as well as nearly every other state in the nation. Factor in Nevada's being the fastest-growing state as you weigh buying real estate in Nevada and you'll see that the odds are in your favor, but not for long.