Las Vegas Real Estate Blog

You might think the headline of this article portends good news — we might think that we’d enjoy paying less than we really should to insure our home. We’d feel like we’re getting away with something. But if your house burns down, you’ll be feeling something else: sick to your stomach, as you learn that you were not only undercharged for your homeowner’s insurance, but also underprotected. Let me back up a bit and explain.

In a nutshell, many Americans are not carrying enough insurance on their homes to cover rebuilding them. It’s not enough to base your home’s replacement value on what you paid for it, or what the market price for it is. Consider, for example, an old house. If you buy it, you may not need to make a lot of changes to it. But if you have to rebuild it, you may need to invest a lot of money updating it and bringing it up to code.

Other contributing factors to this growing problem include insurance agents who may not always do a good job of determining how much insurance you need. (Did your agent quote you your price over the phone, without having asked you lots of questions?) And then there’s the rapidly rising cost of building materials. (See “Construction Costs Soaring.”)

As MarketWatch’s Ray Martin has explained: “Most homeowner policies sold today are called ‘extended replacement coverage’ or ’specified additional amount of insurance,’ which only provide coverage up to the dwelling limits specified in the policy plus an additional amount of up to 20% — and not a penny more. And if you have an existing policy with ‘guaranteed replacement coverage,’ expect a notice from insurance company upon the policy anniversary that your current coverage will be replaced with this more limited form of coverage. This development places more responsibility on homeowners to ensure that they have adequate coverage.”

If you haven’t examined how much your home is insured for lately, do so. And perhaps do a little research on the side, too. One helpful tool might be a property value report from a website such as www.insuretovalue.net. For free, it offers a replacement cost report and a competitive insurance quote. For a few dollars, it offers an estimated replacement cost report for your home, based on the property’s characteristics and local pricing levels.

(Source: Selena Maranjian, Motley Fool)

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 11%

According to the PMI U.S. Market Risk Index, home price appreciation slowed in 32 of the nation’s 50 largest housing markets, and many markets face an increased chance of price declines.

The continued strength of the economy, however, bodes well for a “soft landing” of the nation’s housing market, according to Mark Milner, Chief Risk Officer of PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.

The median Risk Index value increased 25%, from 134 to 168, and there are now 11 markets with a greater than 50% chance of experiencing price declines, up from 5 last quarter. In the 50-percent bracket, San Diego, CA, now tops the list with a 58.8% chance of price declines, followed by Santa Ana, CA, Boston, MA, Long Island (Nassau-Suffolk), NY, Oakland, CA, Sacramento, CA, Riverside, CA, Providence, RI, Los Angeles, CA, San Jose, CA, and San Francisco, CA. Nationwide, there exists a 26.1% probability of an overall house price decline, as measured within the next two years and across the 50 largest housing markets, up from 21.8% last quarter.

Market Risk Index trends include:

– Las Vegas, NV, experienced the biggest change in Market Risk Index score since last quarter, gaining 221 points for a score of 418, up from 197 last quarter, and rising seven positions in the index.

– Because third quarter data reflects the initial impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, New Orleans saw the biggest jump in position, rising 16 spots on the Risk Index to number 26.

– The five least risky areas are Nashville, TN, Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, and Memphis, TN, with Pittsburgh, PA, last on the list with a score of 56, up two points from last quarter.

– Nineteen of the top 20 MSAs saw increases in their Risk Index scores. The exception is Detroit, whose score fell four points.

(Source: RisMedia)

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 13%

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The median sales price of a single-family home in Las Vegas continues to rise, if only slightly, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

The price reached a record $312,500 in December. That’s up less than 1 percent from November, when the median price was $310,000. Prices have jumped 13.6 percent compared with December 2004.

The number of homes sold in December was down 0.2 percent from November for single-family homes and down 2.3 percent for condos and townhomes.

For condos and townhomes, the median local sales price in December was $204,000, up 1.5 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from one year ago. Listings are down 4.1 percent to 2,596 units.

Nationally, housing is showing signs of a slowdown, but that’s not necessarily bad news for the industry, a panel of housing and mortgage finance chief economists said in Thursday conference call.

“Housing activity is expected to slow in 2006, while home price gains slow sharply, in response to a pullback in investor activity and higher mortgage rates,” Fannie Mae Chief Economist David Berson said. “Investor demand is always more volatile than other housing demand. It looks like they’re starting to pull out. There’s a reduced appetite for investors.”
For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 12%

If you want to be broker managing real estate office in Nevada here is the list of requirements:

Broker and Broker/Salesperson License
Applicants must show proof of completion of *64 semester units, comprised of:
Course Topic

Real Estate Law(including 18-hours of Nevada real estate law, not waived by experience)
3 Semester Units

Real Estate Principles
3 Semester Units

Real Estate Appraisal
3 Semester Units

Real Estate, Business, or Economics
15 Semester Units

Broker Management Training(not waived by experience)
3 Semester Units

Non specified units - can be in general studies from an accredited university or college. Non-credit courses are not applicable.
37 Semester Units

UNIT TOTAL 64

Broker license applicants who hold a valid real estate salesman’s license are entitled to receive credit for the equivalent of 16 semester units of college level courses for each two years of active experience as a licensed real estate salesman or broker. The license must be VALID in that state at the time of application in Nevada. This credit may not be applied against the Broker Management Training requirement.
Applicants for a Broker’s license must have been actively engaged as a full-time licensed real estate broker or salesman for at least two (2) of the four (4) years immediately prior to the issuance of a Nevada Broker license. Applicants may apply for a Broker/Salesperson license without meeting the experience requirement.
Applicants must show proof of passing the national and Nevada state exam within one year of the application date. Applicants may use their national examination results from another state but must show proof of those results.

Popularity: 6%

Club Madeira is starting off the New Year with a release of Oversized Home Sites. There are also incentives on select home sites.
-24 Hour Guard Gate (inside The Club at Madeira Canyon) -All Age Delwebb Community
-3 single story models (ranging from 2,096 sq. ft to 2,829 sq. ft).
- 5 two story models (ranging from 3,365 sq. ft to 4,817 sq. ft).
-Homes range from $600,990 to $850,990.
-Maple Cabinets, Granite Counters, Covered Patios, GE Monogram Appliances, Two tone paint and more included features!
-550 homes with a planned 10,000 square foot Club House (pool, tennis, full gym).
-At this time, we have an additional incentive on select home sites.
-$10,000 ADDITIONAL incentive for using Preferred Buyer Program (Pulte Mortgage or Cash sale)
- Association due is $240/month, which includes Guard Gate, Club House and Common Areas. Community has a LID.

Directions: Take Eastern South, stay straight on Eastern to Anthem, turn left at the Anthem Village Center stop sign and take your first left into the Sales Center (11500 S Eastern, Henderson, NV 89052)

Popularity: 19%

Foreclosure.com has announced that total foreclosures for 2005 increased by 12.7%, and new foreclosure filings in December increased by 7.7%, creating the sharpest rise in inventory since March 2005. Competitor Realtytrac says that their December national foreclosure rate showed one new foreclosure for every 1,422 U.S. households, the highest foreclosure rate reported in 2005.

The South region of the U.S. — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — led the country with a 17.4 increase in new foreclosures from November to December and a nine percent increase in new foreclosures. The Midwest region showed the second highest percentage increases, followed by the Northeast and West regions.

Foreclosures jumped 30% in Nevada placing Nevada in the top five nationwide for foreclosures. Nevada reported 1,124 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, one foreclosure for every 772 households.

(Source: Realty Times)

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Wall Street analysts are betting that casino owners will begin to invest more in their race and sports books. In 2005, Las Vegas sports books made almost 20% on average on all bets placed on the Super Bowl. Approximately $2 billion was played on race and sports books and almost $100 million on the Super Bowl alone. The gamble is that with more newcomers betting more money on their favorites for the fun of the game, rather than betting the odds in order to win, casinos will view the sky as the limit.

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 6%

St. Louis-based United Van Lines, which handled more than 226,000 moves in 2005, suggests that people are continuing to move to the West and the Southeast, and away from the East and Midwest.

In the West, Oregon had the highest inbound migration at 63.6% followed by Idaho at 61.9%, Nevada at 60.1%, and Arizona at 60.1%. In the Southeast, North Carolina had the most inbound moves at 61.3%. Other southern states with a large percentage of inbound moves included South Carolina at 59%, Alabama at 58.9% and Tennessee at 58%.

States with the biggest percentage of moves leaving the state were from North Dakota at 67.8%, Michigan at 63.9% and New Jersey at 60.4%.

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 5%

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce recently announced that it plans to oppose a petition being circulated which would limit property taxes.

In regards to limiting property taxes, the chamber believes that such limitation could “detrimentally shift Nevada’s state tax structure.” The initiative, if passed, does not guarantee a reduction in government spending. The chamber stated that the most likely result would be that lawmakers would have to increase other taxes or create new ones to pay for government services and infrastructure. Supporters argue that the measure would curb government spending.

Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment would need to gather 83,157 signatures to qualify the initiative for the 2006 general election ballot.

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 13%

For many people, the holiday season brings presents of jewelry, electronics, and other large-ticket items. Because of this, the beginning of a new year marks a perfect time for homeowners and renters alike to review and update their insurance policies, if needed.

Many policies protect the homeowner from theft or damage of personal belongings located in the home such as furniture or clothing. However, most policies typically have limits of $1,000 to $5,000 for costly items. Some expensive items may exceed your current policy limits.

Individuals owning expensive jewelry, art and electronics should consider the additional of a floater policy. Floater policies provide additional coverage for items that exceed the specified limits of an insurance policy. They may also provide coverage against perils that are not typically covered under a standard homeowner’s policy.

Other recommendations:

• Making a detailed home inventory to ensure existing insurance coverage is adequate.

• Take pictures/videos of valuable items.

• Save all receipts and/or appraisals of large items.

• Store these receipts/appraisals in a location outside of the home for safekeeping.

For more information, contact MillionSaverHomes.com a local Las Vegas real estate broker at 702.212.3513.

Popularity: 17%