BiggerPockets

Why do you want to buy in Las Vegas? I suspect it will be at least several months before that market turns up.

Whether Vegas is a good investment depends on your objective. My rentals are all in rural Nevada, not Vegas. However I am looking at Vegas again because you can actually get positive cash flow in some areas. The vacancy rate is somewhat deceptive. There are a ton of REO properties and these sit vacant for a long time. Apartment vacancy is up because people can rent a 3br house for similar rent to a 2br apartment. But the investors that I know are not talking about any trouble with getting properties rented.

Some of the issues here:

Construction is suffering and it had been the #2 industry here. Builders are not pulling permits for new homes and won't do so until the market recovers. They have basically mothballed their projects here.

The population decreased for the first time in 23 years. Even the illegals, a huge part of the population here, are going back home because there is no work. The jobless rate here is at an all-time high.

Tourism is down because of the economy and most of the gaming companies are seriously over-leveraged. Several major ones are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Echelon Place, a $4.3 billion project, has been halted halfway through and may not start up again for a long time. City Center, a $9.2 billion project, is having trouble getting the last $1.2 billion in financing to complete the project.

The state has a huge shortfall in its budget and a major battle is going on about what to cut.

All is not rosy, but this means that there are plenty of opportunities.

:cool:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/12/cities-ten-top-lifestyle-real-estate_0212_cities.html
Here's the link for story. It's called In Depth: America's Emptiest Cities .

Jon:
I want to buy in Vegas because I can afford to buy something there . It's a little to pricey here in California and positive cash flow is almost impossible . I'm not sure when I'm going to buy . With this economy , it might not be until late 2009 . Maybe later . Who Knows ?

Harrison :
Thanks . I am familiar with Richard . Look . There he is right now . I will definitely be in contact with him in the future.

Richard :
Your information is always helpful . I appreciate it .

Adam,
The article you posted has some very skewed figures. First off, the article takes into consideration REO properties and pre-REO properties sitting empty. These units are not being marketed for tenants and therefore really should not be part of the equation. As Richard stated, investors are having little trouble getting tenants in Vegas (in most areas) and the properties at these prices now offer positive cash flow.

In addition, while prices are still on the decline slope, it is now only due to the many distressed property sales and not due to overbuilding or population decreases. In fact, Vegas has a very good population increase and is expected to have an invesntory shortfall by 2011 or 2012. When that happens, and all the distressed sale properties are soaked up, prices will make a dramatic recovery here. On top of that, I am willing to bet that disgruntled Californians of retired age and below will get out of dodge and move to Vegas to avoid these ridiculous new tax hikes we are experiencing.

IMO, Vegas is a great place for anyone to start investing in. The key is to buy right and get the distressed property for much cheaper than current fair market value. This way, even when the property value declines some more, you should not be upside down, and more so, buying right will produce higher cash flow figures. At that point, you can be upside down, but still make cash flow profits while waiting for the recovery boom. :lol: