Is now a good time to buy in Las Vegas

[Glen Rosen]

Hello,
I've narrowed my search down to Las Vegas and was able to work out a loan. I want to buy a SFR for about 120k as an investment property and put down 60k. I want a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom. I want to know if this is a good time to buy in Vegas. I read on the Money magazine website, as well as a few others, that prices in Vegas are predicted to drop about 30% over 2010. Should I wait to buy a home, or does that prediction of such a big drop in prices seem unrealistic. I'm worried that if I wait to long, all the foreclosures will be gone and prices will go up. Thanks in advance for taking time to read and answer my question.

[Richard Warren]

Predictions are like…well, anyone has one anyway. Based on sales in the market I doubt you will see such a drastic reduction from where we are now. A couple of months ago the median home price rose for the first time in 39 months. Inventory is also a concern. Some of the biggest complaints I hear from agents in the REO market are that there isn’t enough inventory and competition is fierce. There have been bidding wars and unless you are a cash buyer you will have a hard time competing. That doesn’t seem to indicate a market that is going to drop another 30%.

On the other hand, approximately 70% of homeowners are upside down and the number of walkaways is likely to increase. The number of commercial foreclosures is expected to rise as well. So an additional price drop is certainly not out of the question.

:cool: