Las Vegas Condos - Las Vegas Condominiums » market news

Thinking of Buying a Condo? Cash is KING

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:20:12 +0000

With prices at historic lows, a lot home buyers are taking a long look at buying a condominium instead of a traditional single family home. That combined with the First Time Home Buyer tax credit helped spur sales at most communities. But that was then, this is NOW. The days of the luxury condos selling for $30,000 are over. Savvy investors and first time home buyers have snapped them up. If you are thinking about buying a Las Vegas condo in today’s market, there are some new realities to face and if you are thinking about selling your condo….well the news could be better.

Over the last 2 years, mortgage lenders have grown increasingly wary of condominiums. The FHA approved project list has grown positively anorexic. Most of the popular Las Vegas communities are no longer approved at all, ergo you will need to pay CASH. So given the circumstances, you might think that condo owners would be more inclined to wheel and deal. Sadly you would be incorrect in making that assumption. For example, I have a client making an offer on a two bedroom condo in the Carlisle community in Summerlin. Because you can’t get financing for the community, he is paying cash. The property has multiple offers on it, so he is offering several thousand dollars over asking price .

Is this the new norm for the condo market? For the rest of the year and part of the next, quite possibly. So if you are planning on buying a condo in the near future, plan on paying cash.

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CityCenter Funding Resolved

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:34:00 +0000

The drama surrounding project CityCenter has finally come to an end. For the past several months the future of CityCenter was up in the air due to financing issues. Their partner, Dubai World had gotten into a disagreement about the project and MGM Mirage was forced to cover the additional payments. Things came to a head when Dubai World filed suit against MGM Mirage over the project.

Now all those issues are just water under the bridge. According to sources late Wednesday night MGM Mirage and Dubai World reached an agreement. There is a new revised partnership agreement has resolved the issues between Dubai World and MGM Mirage. Dubai World will reimburse MGM Mirage for the equity payments it was forced to make to lenders on behalf of the partnership during the litigation. Dubai World and MGM Mirage will fund the remaining $800 million in equity contributions to CityCenter through letters of credit. The project is still on schedule to open in phases starting later this year. Roughly half of the high rise condos in CityCenter have been sold to date.

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Sullivan Square still hanging on

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:29:01 +0000

Sullivan Square started out as an unknown project several years ago. The developers started putting out television ads, very artsy targeting the upper middle class. One of its selling points was that the entire community was going to be green and thus eligible for special tax breaks as well as being great for the environment. Last summer the Sullivan Square developer filed suit against its equity partner in the deal, Harcourt Developments, a private company from Dublin, Ireland. The suit was over some $800 million in financing for project.

The case ended up in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Judge Mark Denton. Earlier Judge Denton granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on behalf of the individual Irish defendants, along with several of the causes of action in the plaintiff’s first amended complaint (Judge Denton threw out most of the original complaint in December of last year on a technicality). Allegations of conspiracy, negligence, intentional interference and consumer fraud were also dismissed with prejudice. However, he did not grant the motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction on behalf of Harcourt being operated by Irish defendants. So some of the causes of action in the amended complaint are being upheld including the crucial one, breach of contract.

Regardless of the outcome of the court case, its doubtful that Sullivan Square will be completed, at least in its original form. Should the case be won by the developer, considering the market downturn, Sullivan Square will not be able to retain the prices they had a few years ago. Buyers looking for a green condo will be forced to reconsider CityCenter.

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CityCenter Seeking Additional Financing

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:35:54 +0000

This seems to be a recurring theme for hotel and condominium projects in Las Vegas (and elsewhere, I’m sure): Trouble getting financing. “Necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows” That certainly applies here, since MGM Mirage is in talks with Deutsche bank who happens to own the adjacent property next to CityCenter, the Cosmopolitan. In another twist of the coincidence, Deutsche Bank is looking for someone to operate the Cosmo once it is finished. It’s estimated that MGM Mirage will need another billion dollars to finish the project, which is scheduled to open in October of this year. This is the latest problem to plague CityCenter (see my prior post, CityCenter losses some condos).

The rumor is Deutsche Bank would provide MGM Mirage with the additional funds they need for CityCenter. MGM Mirage would then either run the Cosmopolitan for them or the bank would trade the Cosmopolitan for a stake in CityCenter. Either way, it seems like a good deal for both parties if its true.

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Monterey Condos Back in the News

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:11:25 +0000

The Monterey condos community located in the Las Vegas Country Club was back in the news last week. A cleverly disguised article (ad) in the RJ announced “special pricing” over the weekend. The article went on to tout the various features of the community which are actually very nice. The community has five pools and spas, a fitness center, 24 hour gated security, in other words, all of the extras that you would expect from an upscale condominium community.

So why should you choose Monterey over the dozens of other Las Vegas condo communities? Well, that depends on your reason for buying one. If you work on the strip or are looking for a second home, then the Monterey community is a good fit. It just a few minutes from the Las Vegas strip and the units are priced to move. As for a second home that will be vacant most of the year, Monterey has good security at the gate, 24 hours a day plus a roving security patrol inside the country club.

If you are thinking about buying a condominium, feel free to give me a call at (702) 493-8033 or use our email form below. I’d be happy to help you in your search and offer suggestions. Thanks for stopping by.

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Fontainebleau Going Forward

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:22:30 +0000

In a town of long odds, completing a construction project isn’t a safe bet. Several projects around the valley have stalled or went bankrupt due to the inability to gain financing. However, it looks like the Fontainebleau Resorts will not be one of them. The resort is planned to open in October of this year.

The secret to their success was the $4 billion in financing they received in 2007, before the credit market crisis. The company is a collaboration former Mandalay Resort Group executives and Turnberry Associates.

The Fontainebleau will feature 3,815 rooms, as many as 1,000 condo-hotel units, 28 restaurants and lounges, a 60,000-square-foot spa, and at least four outdoor pools plus a topiary garden and a bar with an open kitchen. There will also be Champagne and caviar service poolside.

Turnberry Associates have ridden out tough real estate cycles before. Their list of high rise condos in Las Vegas include Turnberry Place, Turnberry Towers and Signature at the MGM Grand.

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CityCenter loses some Condos

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:39:36 +0000

CityCenter, long thought to be the one bullet proof project in Las Vegas announced that one of the component towers, the Harmon Hotel & Spa will not have any condominiums as originally planned.

Citycenter CEO Robert Baldwin said stated that by removing the condos it removed “the need for substantial redesign…resulting from contractor construction errors.”

That is itself is interesting, given the size of the project, the cost and the fact that CityCenter will be applying for LEED certification to make it the largest green project in the world. Another reason CityCenter needs the LEED certification is of course, money. They are one of just a handful of projects grandfathered into the original Nevada green construction tax break. Coincidentally, the Harmon condos were the last units released for sale. According to MGM Mirage (co-developer of the project with Infinity World Development Corp.) only 88 of the 200 condos had been pre-sold. Those buyers were offered condos in the other buildings and if declined that option, are being given a refund of their deposits. CityCenter is scheduled to open in December 2009.

Other Condo News

Another high rise project is back on track after the original developer defaulted on the construction loan. The Cosmopolitan went into foreclosure in January of 2008, putting the project into limbo. Developer Ian Bruce Eichner defaulted on a $760 million construction loan and Deutsche bank began foreclosure proceedings. In an unexpected move, Nevada Property One, LLC (an affiliate of Deutsche Bank) bought the property and retained the original contractor to complete the project last September. Construction is ongoing and the project is due for completion in 2010.

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Mira Villa going Forward

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:44:12 +0000

Mira Villa condos in Summerlin had an unsure future. The developer, Westmark Homes went into bankruptcy and the future of their current projects were in limbo. Last month a bankruptcy judge approved the completion of construction. real estate approved by bankruptcy judge to complete construction. The decision includes the completion of the 113 units, plus $37 million in post bankruptcy financing and $10 million in mechanics’ liens. Construction on the project had been halted for nine months.

The project deadline is Januargy 6, 2009 at which time the building premits will expire. The new general contractor for Mira Villa is Isaac Construction.

Mira Villa is located adjacent to the Badland golf course in the Canyons village in Summerlin.

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Condo Sales Up in Las Vegas in November

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:16:12 +0000

An article in the Las Vegas Review Journal stated that home and condo sales are up, way up as a matter of fact. Strangely you won’t see much else in the media about how robust the Las Vegas condo market has become this year. According to statistics provided by the Greater Association of Las Vegas Realtors, 392 condos and townhomes were sold in the month of November. The median price sales price was $90,750, that’s down nearly 50 percent from a year ago. Statistics are based on resale condos only, excluding any private sales not involving a Realtor.

Foreclosures are having an impact on the market, adding inventory and driving down prices. If you are thinking about buying a condominium, call me at 702-493-8033. I’ll email you the latest condo listings that match your criteria. Thanks for reading the Las Vegas condos blog.

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