I Handle Lease Listings
Many investors today here in Las Vegas who bought property prior to 2009 are facing the same dilemma. Should I rent out my home or short sale? Should I walk? I began handling lease listings in 2005 due to an overwhelming response from my clients who wished to rent their homes but were not happy with any of the management alternatives they could find. For folks who want assistance finding tenants but want to self manage and have their rents without delay this is a great alternative.
What's Going On in 2018? TRADITIONAL SALES
I have been asked so many times about 'what's going on in the market?'. This is the time to sell if you have been waiting to sell a traditional sale! If you bought in 2005 this is still not the time for you (sorry) but if you couldn't sell traditionally several years ago it is now time to visit this again! Or if you were lucky enough to buy between 2009-2011 you are about to be very happy. Short sales & foreclosures continue to dwindle as time go by. This makes being in a 'normal' sale w/a seller who has actual equity, even just a little, a breath of fresh air for buyers & buyer's agents alike! I believe the banks & servicers, especially Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, have become more likely to want above market value, a contribution from the seller & have added tougher requirements to their approval process however some banks are still offering big relocation incentives to short sale sellers & have a completely streamlined approval process; it just depends on the type of loan, servicer & investor . So many people have already done these short sales that it is my opinion that we are not going to be doing short sales in the mainstream moving forward like we have the past several years. As we move away from short sales as the 'norm' I think the bank's short sale departments will become smaller & the process will become a lot less streamlined like it has been in recent years. The market is currently mostly traditional sales with foreclosed homes & short sales making up only a fraction of listings. Will this change? Only if the market becomes flooded with 'hidden inventory'. If this happened we would definately see a dip in home prices. The operative word being 'IF'.
Short Sales & The Shifting Market
Las Vegas had been #1 in foreclosures and unemployment but we aren't anymore. I do believe that our housing market is STRONG and that the job market is still growing stronger every day. We had a %30 increase in values in 2013 and since then it has been around %3 to %10 a year depending on area/type & size of house/upgrades. This is the 1st 'normal' market we've seen in Vegas in many years. In 2013 I could use the last sold comp & list $10k higher & buyers were willing to pay this across the board; the past few years buyers not only were not willing to do this but wanted to pay less than last sold comp even though the market appears to have stabilized. This is one of the aspects that makes the current market so confusing for so many. Buyer's see on the news that prices are low and when they go on consumer websites there seems to be a wealth of available, gorgeous homes at rock bottom prices (don't get me started on the evils and misconceptions of consumer websites- I can riff about that all day). I think it will take many years for Las Vegas to make a full recovery but for a lot of homeowners the lack of inventory has made it possible for them to get back in the market and compete with the dwindling short sales and foreclosures!
