Vegas: The New Frontier

Unless you have been living in Siberia, you know that Real Estate is on fire in many places around the country. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a city where this was not the case. Las Vegas is one of those places that property values keep spiking upward, with no end in sight. The real spike came over the past 18 months. The city remains a juggernaut, chewing up raw land by the minute.

Unlike many other markets, which are being falsely inflated by nothing more than buyer frenzy, Las Vegas has many solid factors behind its ascent. When so-called analysts speak of a possible Real Estate "bubble", Las Vegas is not one of the places included. Looking at the factors behind the growth leads one to the understanding of how undervalued Las Vegas really is.

Solid Indicators

I. City Growth - Las Vegas has been growing by leaps and bounds for decades now. It is not some flash in the pan city that has started to grow just recently and not one that will stop any time soon. There are currently 6,000 new residents each month. Going by the actual numbers and not faulty percentages, Las Vegas is one of the top growing places in America.

II. Land Scarcity - One of the main factors behind home appreciation is the land value. When land in a desired area is in short demand (or completely accounted for), value goes up. The city of Las Vegas is running out of land. At first glance it might seem like there is a lot of land left, but when you factor in how fast the city grows, land is in short supply. It has been estimated that the city will be out of land within 4-5 years. Hot areas like Summerlin have all their land accounted for.

III. Job Growth and Diversity - Las Vegas leads the nation in getting educated workers to move to the city. Tech oriented jobs are on the rise. Qualcomm recently broke ground on a new facility in North Las Vegas citing their belief in the area and the work force. The Las Vegas area is experiencing tremendous job growth and will continue to do so.

IV. Home Sales - Even with the glut of new home developments, Real Estate is still climbing upward and being eaten up at a furious pace. The resale market alone experiences over 3,000 sales monthly of homes and approximately 700+ condos monthly. The new development market is very hot. People literally camp out waiting for a new developer to open up the waiting list. It is not uncommon for new developers, who have not even built one model, to have a waiting list of 6-8 months almost instantly. New high-rise condo developments, like Donald Trump's new towers are being sold hand over fist.

The median home value in Las Vegas has climbed just passed $300,000 and it will go higher, much higher. As of this writing, the market is favorable to buyers, but that will change as soon as next year when inventory falls. If you would like to learn more about the Las Vegas market, view more articles at my Real Estate (JakeTruman.com) web site. I fully expect the median home price in Las Vegas to top $500,000 in the coming 2-4 years.

Copyright 2005 JakeTruman.com

Jake Truman is a Real Estate & Stock investor and Credit informer. Website: Real Estate. He has published a book on Credit Help, which is available at his website.