Nevada Real Estate >> Las Vegas Real Estate Specialist: Nevada: Las Vegas: Silverstone Ranch

Silverado Ranch March 2012 Real Estate Resale Market Report (Homes For Sale, Pending, Sold):

• Listings (4/15/2012): 47
• Under Contract (4/15/2012): 218
• Sold March 2012: 61

Since last month: Listings are DOWN -22, Under Contract UP +13, Sales are UP +10. The Silverado Ranch Area is Currently Enjoying an EXTREME Seller's Market.

For Current and Past Silverado Ranch Market Reports

View Silverado Ranch Homes For Sale Here (Updated Daily)

More Information on Silverado Ranch Real Estate Here

More Las Vegas Communities Here

copyright 2006-2011 Renee Burrows, REALTOR®, The Force Realty  702-966-2494

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Click Here To View Silverstone Ranch’s Newest Listings & Homes for Sale

Welcome Home To Northwest Las Vegas Golf Community:  Silverstone Ranch!

• 1471 Single Family Detached Homes
• Ranging from 1348-3854 Square Feet
• Built in 2003-2009 by Pulte

Close to Area Amenities:  Retail, Restaurants, Professional Offices & Local Gaming.

Please take a moment to fill out our questionnaires if you would like to:

• Sell a Silverstone Ranch Home
• Buy a Silverstone Ranch Home
• Rent a Silverstone Ranch Home

copyright 2006-2011 Renee Burrows, REALTOR®, The Force Realty  702-966-2494

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Homeowners in distress have encountered a myriad of challenges when trying to save their properties from foreclosure. Many have successfully navigated around all the different shoals and rocks strewn along the way. Others, far too many actually, have not. Mortgage lenders and servicers often lack the staff to handle the volume the housing meltdown has thrown at them, industry training of staff is suspect, their systems are in many cases inadequate and it’s also evident that their commitment has been at best lukewarm. The frustration level among struggling mortgage borrowers is understandably high.

California just introduced a fresh mortgage foreclosure protection bill addressing some glaring shortcomings in the state’s current rule book. One provision gives homeowners recourse if they were foreclosed on due to a home loan servicer’s error. They could collect limited damages based on the seriousness of the mistake and in some situations even repeal the foreclosure sale altogether.

The other noteworthy provision prevents mortgage lenders from beginning a foreclose process until the borrower has received a decision on a loan modification application and been properly notified of it.

Las Vegas valley – including communities of Henderson, Canyon Gate, Summerlin, Mountains Edge, Anthem and Silverstone Ranch – homeowners in distress have endured their share of erroneous mortgage foreclosure activity over the last several years. Nevada has taken some steps to strengthen consumer protections in the home loan arena, but more is needed. Here are two good ideas that would add a dose of much needed integrity to the system, giving the mortgage recipient a more level playing field.

The housing and mortgage collapse has been around for a while and somehow it looks as if state governments are rather slow in reacting to consumer complaints that probably have been coming in a steady stream from the very beginning. Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida have the highest foreclosure rates and likely have the most questionable ones as well. These states should be in the forefront of making sure that if a foreclosure is inevitable it’s done fairly and correctly.  

The current real estate chaos has introduced even the timid to the exotic avenues of unloading a home. Before, the industry experts were usually the only ones well-versed on REOs and foreclosure and short sales and even auctions. This generation of mortgage borrowers and homeowners has been, whether they liked it or not, put through a crash course on various "creative" methods of selling a property. Some have been personally involved in the paperwork-laden processes when delinquency was knocking on the door, while others have followed from the sidelines through media the often hair-raising developments. It has been for everyone a unique learning experience hard to forget anytime soon.

Southern Nevada - home to Summerlin, Mountains Edge, Spanish Trail, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Silverstone Ranch - is undeniably at the epicenter of the unusual sales method. What's intriguing about it all is how prices differ among them, as was reported by SalesTraq, a real estate information boutique.

In April SalesTraq counted 4,323 existing home closings in the Las Vegas housing market. Regular owner-initiated sales drew a median price of $135,000 on a volume of 1,383 units. REOs, or real estate owned by banks, brought $125,000 per home with 1,636 sales. Short sales, on the other hand, garnered the lowest median price at $122,000, with 969 closings. Based on these figures REOs, or mortgage lender foreclosures, and short sales in Southern Nevada lag about 8-10% behind the standard, untainted home sale.

Generally speaking, the owner-occupied property is kept in better condition and will deservedly attract top dollar. In foreclosures the mortgage bank often neglects maintenance and any needed repairs, which is glaringly evident today in many Las Vegas neighborhoods. The result understandably is a lower price point. Surprisingly short sales did even worse. The owner is still part of the whole process and for his own benefit should be looking after his house. The sooner the short sale gets done, the better he is off. And can go on about starting over. The psychological trauma of losing it may cause him to ignore some common sense steps he could take to expedite the sale. On the other hand, the label "short sale" may in itself drag down the price a buyer is willing to pay, no matter what shape the home is in.

Large mortgage lenders operating in Sin City predictably possess tens of REOs, a good number in any case. Enough to be called a portfolio. Since they are getting 8-10% less for them than well-maintained homes, wouldn't it make sense to spend some money on the upkeep to stay competitive? One or two properties wouldn't matter much, but a sizable inventory can add up to a significant bankroll they are now leaving on the table. Mortgage lenders are not in the property management business, they say, but it would be relatively straight forward to hire an outside company to look after what they have and make the most of it.

Las Vegas area - with communities like Henderson, Summerlin, Mesquite, Mountains Edge, Silverstone Ranch, Anthem and Spanish Trail - real estate market closed the door on 2009 on a cautiously positive note. Low mortgage rates continue to draw buyers' attention, as do rock-bottom prices. And the first-time home buyer tax credit extension, spiced with the inclusion of a similar move-up buyer credit, stirred the scene even more. Those incentives are hard to ignore even in this shaky economic environment.

As usual, GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, is behind the stats that follow. Altogether real estate agents closed 3,472 single-family transactions in December, an over 11% improvement from November. That's nice. It amounts to a 36.9% jump from 2008, which is even nicer. As has been the pattern just about all year around 60% of all home sales, including condos and townhouses, were bank REOs. And 40% were cash purchases largely in the lower end of the spectrum, indicating investors were busy shifting through the substantial inventory Las Vegas still has.

Southern Nevada total home sales for 2009 reached 46,879, a marked increase from the year before when the figure stood at 28,618. Interestingly, a dramatic 71,963 homes were closed in Las Vegas in 2004, a time when the infamous bubble was red-hot, fattening rapidly. Those were the days that preferably won't return anytime soon.

This time the Las Vegas single-family median price took a turn down to $136,000, a $4,000 drop from November. It translates to a 22.3% deficit from last year. Yet, it seems to have settled at around this neighborhood, hinting at a bottom, or at least very near of it.

The inventory of homes for sale finally dipped below the stubborn 20,000 unit mark. It now stands at 19,707, a solid 1,140 listing decrease from November. Southern Nevada housing market has switched in many mid- to lower-priced subdivisions to a seller's market and if the inventory keeps heading down, they'll soon have more company.

Las Vegas real estate market remains fragile mostly on account of the weak economy and high foreclosure numbers, but it is gradually correcting itself in some areas. And that is encouraging.

The housing debacle in Las Vegas and throughout the country is testing consumers' patience in a major way. Real estate values have eroded without mercy in many areas, to the tune of double digit percentages. Some Southern Nevada - featuring Summerlin, Mountains Edge, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Pahrump, Southern Highlands and Anthem - communities have seen drops in the 50 to 60% range. Many homeowners here and elsewhere, as a result of that, find themselves underwater, meaning the underlying mortgage is higher than the property's value. The foreclosure epidemic hasn't let up yet, either. There really isn't much to write home about.

Those applying for a mortgage loan nowadays have run into their own set of issues, largely thanks to the unstable housing market.

To approve and close a mortgage took 30 days in 2008, but this year that time span has grown to almost 47 days, asserts J.D. Power and Associates in its recent study. That is a serious jump and Las Vegas mortgage borrowers certainly can identify with it. Main reason is the added scrutiny every home loan application now receives. Mortgage providers continue walking on thin ice and are doing everything to avoid approving loans that may not work out. A half inch mortgage file can balloon into a 2-inch thick stack after all the supporting documents the nit-picking underwriter requests are in. That kind of stuff can test any applicant's staying power.

Also, home loan firms seem to have shifted some resources away from origination to deal with foreclosures, short sales and mortgage modifications. And what not. It obviously will slow down the already lengthy process even further. So, when J.D. Power comes and asks How did it go?, the consumers will first take a deep breath and then happily let it all out.

There is a way, however, to keep mortgage applicants more or less happy. It has been tested time and again and it works. It's called communication. Home loan originators, and even real estate agents, could include a brief explanation about the current thorny state of the market and the potential challenges it may present early on in the process and that would help prepare them for the journey to a satisfying closing. And a new home.