About Henderson's Annet Highlands

Economic Conditions for the Las Vegas Valley November 2008

Housing Conditions:

• Foreclosure/Short Sale Listings (1/12/2009): Total Listings 21034; Short Sales: 6580, 31% of all listings; Bank Owned Listings: 8072, 38% of all listings. Short sale and REO listings consume 70% of total listings
• New Home Sales (November 2008, units sold): 607 Year Change -56.3% (excl condo conversions, highrises)
• New Home Sales (November 2008, median price): $248,341 Year Change -10.5% (excl condo conversions, highrises)
• Existing Home Sales (November 2008, units sold): 2518 Year Change +79.0%
• Existing Home Sales (November 2008, median price): $173,900 Year Change: -31.5%
• New Home Permits (November 2008): 180 Year Change -44.8%
• Rental Rate (MLS Monthly Average December 2008): $1594/month

My analysis: Distressed listings (foreclosures and short sales) are 70% of total listings. Credit markets must be watched, it's hard to remain optimistic with all the bad news on Wall Street. Resales up units sold 79% year over year, this is due to prices falling dramatically year over year. Builders cannot compete with bank owned listing prices, thus sales remain lackluster.

New Residents/Employment Conditions:

• New Residents (December 2008): 4656, Year Change -26%
• Total Employment (November 2008): 927,600 Year Change -0.5%
• Unemployment Rate (December 2008) 7.9%, Year Change +51.9%

My analysis: The tourism, gaming and convention numbers need to improve before these numbers improve. New Resident Count will go down if no new jobs are created.

Tourism/Gaming Conditions:

• McCarran Airport Total Passengers (November 2008): 3,234,352 Year Change -14.7%
• Gaming Revenue (November 2008): $702,587,313, Year Change -15.2%
• Visitor Volume (November 2008): 3,132,021, Year Change -10.3%
• Convention Attendance (November 2008): 503,545, Year Change -16.4%
• Hotel/Motel Occupancy (November 2008): 79.2% Year Change -8.9%

My analysis: Rising gas costs & flight cuts have hurt our incoming visitor count. Conventions, Visitor Volume, Airport Traffic all down double digits. Gaming revenue takes a hot. October, November and December's numbers need to be watched carefully. Hopefully low gas prices and incredible discounts from hotels and airlines will flip those numbers around. Conventions may remain dismal for a while due to lack of business credit available.

Sources: Salestraq, Home Builder's Research, Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, Nevada State Gaming Control Board, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas Convention & Visitor's Authority, Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. My analysis is my humble opinion.