Mesquite, NV

I joined the Mesquite Nv Chamber of Commerce in December '07. They have a section on relocation to Mesquite, Nv where consumers can sign up for a welcome package or ask for information about Mesquite. That request is then forwarded to real estate and other companies who are members.

The chamber sends a welcome package with general information. I then email and call them with more detailed info about the real estate market. I have had very good response from the people I contacted. Some are long term, they may want to retire in 1-2 years, and some are planning a trip here soon. I met with one couple last week, they were delightful people, plan on buying in June. Some folks just have a question about the area.

The Mesquite NV Chamber of Commerce is friendly and jam-packed with information about our area. What a wonderful way to meet newcomers to your area and share information about your city. If you haven't checked with your chamber to see what benefits there are for you and your clients, do it now!

It is a tough market, tough on the people in the market. It may look like it is about land and buildings and money but it is really about the people. It is about where they live, work, play, and raise families.

In over thirty years of working with people and their real estate, I have never seen so much fear and pain. It is hard to watch. People are the reason I love the real estate business. The opportunity to meet and help so many interesting and different kinds of people makes all the rest of it worth it. All of the hard work and problems that must be solved.

I have sold vacant bank owned foreclosures, but I did not know the people that lived there, until recently. Today, I know too many people who are being told they must move out. Too many people who are being pushed into bankruptcy. Too many people being humiliated, whole families of people.

Of course it was people who created the current market conditions. People from Wall Street to Main Street and some of their less admirable motivating desires drove this market. History is full of greedy disasters.

The concept of negative equity has always been around, but rarely seen. Lending guidelines generally kept people from getting into payments they really could not afford. So generally speaking something bad had to happen to cause foreclosure and bankruptcy. A failed business, health, substance abuse, something went wrong.

Not today, no nasty reasons required today. It is simply people caught up in the fact that; too many people bought too much real estate, with too many bad loans. In the process paid too much for it.

It is a whole lot less fun to consult without good answers when the questions are about "how can they get out from under this thing." Questions like, "where are we supposed to get the money to sell this house?" or "What is going to happen if we can't make these payments?"

The forces in the market, supply and demand, will find a balance. The market will find its bottom. Opportunities are being created, but these opportunities are coming at a high price, a price paid in people as well as dollars.

Chris Miller

Mesquite GMAC Real Estate

Mesquite NV 89027

702 346-9050

Mesquite Market

Lincoln County Land Market

Nevada Ranch Properties

chris@mesquitemarket.com

Pulte Del Webb - Sun City Mesquite! This active adult senior community in Mesquite, Nv for 55 plus residents was the best-selling Del Webb new home community in the U.S. in 2007. Designed for seniors wanting to retire or buy a second home, Sun City Mesquite by Del Webb is easily the best selling age restricted community in Nevada and it did not even open until June 2007!

People came from all over the country and Canada for the grand opening of Pulte Del Webb Sun City Mesquite in June 2007. Of the people who bought in 2007, approximately 40% were from Nevada, 15% from Utah, and 12% from California. I guess Sun City Mesquite is not a secret destination!

These energy-efficient new single family homes in Sun City Mesquite have options for 18" tile and granite countertops in the kitchens. All homes have 2-car finished garages attached to the home and some plans offer a 3 car garage, extra storage or a casita. Most homes have a back covered patio and many plans include a front patio or private courtyard as well.

14 different floor plans are offered. The smallest plan in Sun City Mesquite is the Daisy with 1241 sq feet, priced at $171,490. The largest plan is the Mariposa with 3116 sq ft and priced at $381,490. When completed, there will be 3400 homes in Pulte Del Webb Sun City Mesquite.

Del Webb's Sun City Mesquite was sculptured into the bluffs and canyons of the desert terrain, with various sized lots at different elevations to take advantage of the mountain and desert views.

If you haven't been to Sun City yet and would like a view of the area, take a look at this visual tour of Sun City Mesquite Parks and Walking Trails for residents.

Click here for more information about floor plans and prices for Sun City Mesquite.

Sun City Mesquite's 30,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art recreation center was built at a cost of $18 million. It already opened in November, is included in the HOA fees, and is for Sun City Mesquite residents and their guests only.

In construction now, the Conestoga golf club was designed for Pulte Del Webb by Gary Pranks and named for the Conestoga wagons that carried the first settlers to the area. This 18-hole golf course in Sun City Mesquite will be a public course with no membership fees and not included in the HOA fees. Sun City Mesquite residents do get special golf rates and preferential tee times. The Conestoga golf course is expected to open in the fall of 2009 for residents with a grand opening in January of 2010.

Sun City Mesquite Inventory and Special Prices Some homes are available for quick close with special new home incentives for anyone who doesn't want to wait. Call or email me to sign up for promotional info for Sun City Mesquite!

There are now resale homes for sale in Sun City Mesquite - many of these homes have been upgraded with tile, landscaping, window coverings, cabinets and appliances. One might have just the upgrades that you would choose in a new home - some have premium lots with views and privacy.

Back view of Sun City Mesquite Recreation Center and Conestoga Golf Course Pond.

Special One Day Passes to the Sun City Mesquite Recreation Center are now available to prospective buyers - Call me if you would like a tour of Sun City Mesquite and Rec Center Passes.

Sun City Mesquite Home For Sale with a View

Call me for floor plans, prices and incentives for Pulte Del Webb Sun City Mesquite Nevada

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact me for information about all new homes and relocation to Mesquite Nevada!

Search Mesquite NV MLS

Pulte Del Webb Anthem Sun City Mesquite NV Active Adult 55 plus senior community

Searching For A Bottom

February 2nd, 2008

As the market continues to slow....
Since 2005 when we closed 41 total residential units in the local Mesquite nv MLS, January closings have gone to 38 in 2006, 28 in 2007 and now 26 in 2008. Inventory, specifically property being listed, grew 7.2 new listings to each 1 that went into pending status in January 2008.

While the total number of properties for sale only increased about 3%, the other properties went out as failed listings, either expired or withdrawn. The number of vacant properties remains very high and most of what has been rented is running large negative cash flows. Some of those failed listings will be tomorrow's foreclosures and short sales. Many people must sell.

The speculative buying fad of the recent past, that pushed builders to capacity, caused lenders to become shady street venders hocking stolen goods in dark alleys and led normally smart buyers into mindless bidding wars, now looks like an $8 cup of cold Starbucks coffee.

If you are wondering where they got the stolen goods, take a look at the consumers faced with payments they can't afford combined with negative equity positions. Take a look around the world at the values of the CDO's held by every type of investor, from institutions to pensions to 401K plans and individual investors. It is the stuff you hear on the nightly news; those write downs that they now say exceed 260 billion and are likely on their way to half a trillion. Greed at every level seems to have gotten the best of them all.

At January's closed numbers there is a 16 month supply actively listed today. There are at least 50% more out there that need to sell, that's a 24 month supply, without any new starts until 2010. The builders will keep building because they have to. They speculated on the land and lots of it!

Mortgage interest rates are extremely attractive. Qualifying for a mortgage has gone back to: Can the borrower actually afford to make the payments? Key word being afford, and that of course relates directly to prices, as well as rates.

Banks generally have not received the memo, REO prices are not adjusting down yet. So while more listings fail and notice of mortgage payment defaults increase, the bank inventories will grow. The negative equity will lead the world wide write downs on this debt to march higher and creating a pressure cooker for those holding the property and those with the notes. A tug of war between need to sell and need to get the higher price and the interest clock keeps ticking.

So where does the market go from here? We have to work our way through the inventory. Some sellers are far more motivated than others. Many will eventually do what is required to sell, even to the point of turning it back over to the bank.

The principles of, supply and demand, price competition, and affordability will be setting the rules for 2008 and beyond. Stimulus plan or not.

Chris Miller

435-862-5951

ERA Brokers Consolidated

702-346-7200

Mesquite NV 89027

Mesquite Market

Lincoln County Land Market

Nevada Ranch Properties

chris@mesquitemarket.com

Fourth Quarter 2007

By Chris W. Miller ABR, CRS, GRI

New home building permits issued by the City of Mesquite went up; 114 issued in 2007 Q4 compared to 42 in 2006 Q4. For the year permits increased from 262 in 06 to 463 in 07 or 76% more. This increase is compounding the market slow down and pushing prices down across the board. Listed "for sale" inventory grew faster than 4 to 1 compared to "sold and closed" units. Based on December closings as an absorption rate there is a 30 month supply sitting out there, many are vacant.

Today the average asking price for a listed home stands at $197 per square foot. October sales prices were at $169 with 15 sales, November was at $159 with 22 sales, and December was at $150 per square foot with 11 sales. There were only 17 resale homes closed during the Q4 of 2007 with an average sold price of $170 per foot. There were 33 new home closings with an average price of $157 per foot, including 17 at Sun City which averaged $147 per foot!

Town home/condo market did not fare any better, with only 18 closings for the last quarter 2007. The average sold price dropped to $146 per foot from the low 160's earlier in the year. For the year builders pulled less multi family building permits, 55 in 2006 vs. 16 in 2007.

The Mesquite MLS Market Comparison of Residential Properties Statistical Report, December to December shows depreciation in prices from 19.81% to 30.01%.

No commercial land or building sales transactions took place during Q4 2007. Yet commercial building permits issued tripled for 2007 over 2006, from 11 in 2006 to 35 for 2007. Commercial vacancy rates were high starting out 2007, they will go higher.

No single family residential land sales closed during Q4 2007. Lots "for sale" increased 10 fold during 2007, from very few to over 50 active today. Add this fact to the new developments around town which include as many as 14,000 vacant home sites and you get some very nervous land speculators.

The number of bank owned foreclosure properties and short sale properties being offered is climbing. Most, just like existing home sellers, are not quickly embracing the falling prices and these homes are sitting out there vacant.

While rates have come down during this past quarter, qualifying has become much more challenging if not impossible for many buyers. This fact eliminates some buyers and reduces the demand side of the equation.

Rental rates on residential properties have come down some and vacancy rates remain high. Commercial space asking prices have not come down much yet, but that looks likely to change.

Mesquite, Nevada remains a wonderful place to live. Sun City/ Pulte Del Webb continues to shine a huge spot light on Mesquite, and many new visitors arrive daily. Sun City sales representatives tell me they wrote over 300 new home purchase contracts since the grand opening in June 2007. Mesquite will continue to be one of the top choice areas for the graying baby boomers to consider. From the looks of the current market it will be less expensive and more affordable than it was, at least for some time to come. The market is creating some great buying opportunities for 2008.

Weekly Mesquite market reports available on pod cast at www.radiomesquite.com

Water Rights For Sale in Nevada

Chris W. Miller

ERA Brokers Consolidated

702-346-7200

435-862-5951

Mesquite Market

Lincoln County Land Market

Nevada Ranch Properties

chris@mesquitemarket.com