There’s some good and bad news regarding foreclosures. The good news is that the number of properties entering the foreclosure process dropped 10 percent in April from the previous month. The bad news is that it was still up 33 percent from the same month a year ago.

Nevada documented one foreclosure filing for every 172 households. This represented a 157% change from a year ago at the same time.

Overall, the report by RealtyTrac found that Georgia, Colorado and Indiana posted the highest quarterly foreclosure rates. Texas, Florida and California reported the most first-quarter foreclosures.

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

Popularity: 13%

There is no question that condotel are gaining in popularity all across the country. There are benefits.  For example, developers can sell some or all of the rooms and monetize their investment up front and owners, can generate a potential income stream from renting the room out when not using it.  However, there are risks.  By dividing project ownership into individual components, new levels of complexity over the traditional hotel project are created.  Condotels gain popularity with today’s vacation crowd provides a closer look at the pros and cons of owning a condotel.

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

Popularity: 5%

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is reporting that homebuilder sentiment slumped in May to its lowest since mid-1995.  Rising mortgage rates, declining affordability and the retreat of speculators are factors being cited for the slump.  The NAHB is predicting that new home sales will drop 12 percent this year from record sales of 1.3 million units last year. Among regional readings, the Northeast declined three points to 47, two points in the Midwest to 30, six points in the South to 51 and eight points in the West to 61.

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

Popularity: 23%

There’s a great article on the Reuter’s News Service by Laura Sterns called, “Finance:  Home Improvement”.  It provides a list of great do’s and don’ts when starting any home improvement project.  Many have been learned by the author first hand in her over two decades of remodeling her home.  To read the article, click here.

Popularity: 20%

As a group, Baby Boomers have been relatively diligent about saving for retirement.  However, traditional sources of retiree income such as Social Security benefits, pensions, and savings may not be as dependable as in the past. Fewer and fewer people are drawing pensions, and the future of Social Security remains up in the air.

That means that many will have to turn to alternative means to finance their retirement.  One possibility is using the equity in their homes. If you are a Baby Boomer and looking for ways to utilize the equity in your home for retirement purposes, consider these ideas:

(1)  Sell the house, downsize or rent something smaller.

(2)  If you have the space, rent out rooms in your home.

(3)  Secure a “reverse mortgage”.  These loans provide a lump sum or fixed monthly payments to borrowers who are at least 62 years old, but ideally more than 70 years old. The downside is that these loans currently have high upfront costs and limited payouts.

(4)  Get a fixed term, interest-only home equity line of credit.

(5)  Create a private trust.

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

Popularity: 13%

This one will make you scratch your head.  Today, I heard that the mortgage industry has come up with a new mortgage product.  One designed to keep payments low and help first time home buyers.  Their brilliant epiphany?  A 50-year mortgage.

At first glance, you might think this is down right nutty.  Consider this — if the average home buyer is 32 years old, never refinances or make extra payments, they wouldn’t pay off this type of loan until they were well in their 80’s.  What’s the payoff?

According to some lenders, it’s a perfectly rational way to avoid an interest-only or payment-option adjustable-rate mortgage.  Additionally, regulators and consumers worry that foreclosures will surge in coming years, especially among homeowners who got interest-only and payment-option ARMs.  The 50-year mortgage provides a viable alternative.

Critics believe that for all intent and purpose it is just another form of a interest-only loan once the amortization calculations have been ran.  They further believe that people attracted to these types of loans are just pushing the envelope in terms of trying to get more house then they can actually afford.

In one article, a mortgage consultant pointed out that while a 50-year loan has lower monthly payments, the total cost is astronomically higher than that of a 30-year mortgage because you’re stretching out the payments for two decades longer. It’s impossible to guess how much higher because the rate moves up and down annually for the last 45 years of the loan.

I guess if anything, it sounds like a great marketing gimmick for mortgage lenders…

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

Popularity: 13%

While there may not be as many prime real estate deals as the house discussed below, buyers still do have a large selection of homes to choose from in the Las Vegas Valley.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors recently announced that the inventory of homes for sale was at 18,467 in April, a 29.3 percent increase from a year ago and nearly double the number from two years ago.

Additionally, realtors are selling 80 percent of the inventory within 90 days which is a good indication that people are still buying.

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

Popularity: 13%

When I saw this listing I had to laugh. The house is located in Las Vegas, NV and listed by RE/MAX Advantage. Sales price only: $639,000. Check it for yourself.

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

Popularity: 16%

Golf Digest ranks “America’s Greatest Golf-Home Towns” in its Real Estate Special Report in the upcoming June issue.  According to estimates from the National Association of Realtors, Americans bought more than 1 million vacation homes in 2005, and golf was a deciding factor in nearly a third of these purchases.

In the West category, Las Vegas comes in 2nd after Scottsdale, AZ as one of the top five golf-home communities.  LV is followed by Palm Springs, CA; Maui, HI; and San Diego, CA.

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

Popularity: 21%

The construction is in progress and there are still some units available. See info about Trump Tower Las Vegas.

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

Popularity: 15%