For many years now Las Vegas property has been too expensive.  From 2001 through 2006 the price of a condo in Las Vegas more than doubled.  But like a balloon filled with helium and let go into the sky the prices kept raising until the balloon expanded so much that it simply could not grow any larger and it popped!  Prices have plunged so low that in some cases they are below the cost of materials that it would take to build them and that is excluding the construction labor.  There are many properties in Las Vegas that have fallen to their value in 2000.

Many question if Las Vegas has reached the bottom of its fall in value? The problem with that question is that no one will know until after it has already happened. Perhaps the better question is if you buy at below material cost can you loose money in 5 years as the markets stabilize and start to rise?  What is certain is there are some unprecedented bargains for Canadians and people with cash to escape the cold.  This opportunity changes the game for many Canadians and others and they are taking advantage right now.

Cash is king! If you truly want the bargains then bring cash to make your purchase.  Financing for condominiums is changing and affecting the values of these great second homes.

With the mortgage loan industry in the United States in a tail spin it is very hard for a U.S. Citizen to obtain financing so there is virtually no financing available for foreign buyers.  Some people are re-financing their existing Canadian residences to obtain the cash to purchase their second home in Las Vegas.

Here are some tricks to getting the real deals! Find the complexes that can’t get financing! These often will be the newer condo complexes!

There are an number of rules in U.S. financing that are making it difficult to finance many of the newer condominium complexes.  As an example the U.S. Federal Housing Administration (F.H.A.) has a rule that 51% of the units in a condominium complex must be “Owner Occupied” (Not Rented) in order to be qualified for their financing.  F.H.A. financing are one of the few forms of financing that has not been drastically curtailed to purchase property in the U.S. and accounts for more than 60% of all financing in the U.S. in the last year! 

As of March 1, 2009 “Fannie Mae”, the largest U.S. Federal Government backer of conventional securitized mortgage loans, changed their guidelines on condos.  These new rules require that 70% of the units in a condo complex must be sold or under contract for sale in order for a Buyers condo to qualify for loans under their guidelines.

The other U.S. Government backed conventional mortgage lender “Freddie Mac” issued  a bulletin to all its servicers that it would be adopting similar rules to “Fannie Mae” on July 1, 2009.  This will effectively chock off lending for many condo projects here in Las Vegas.

There are other rules that affect the financing and thus the values of condos in Las Vegas.  Make sure you question the real estate agent you are thinking about using to make sure they understand the financing rules so that they can get you the best deals when you shop for your get away in Las Vegas.

When buying in projects where cash is required you need to carefully research and understand the Home Owners Association aka “Strata.” Nevada laws have stringent requirements for Common-Interest Communities under NRS Chapter 116 .

For additional information about the Las Vegas real estate market go to www.MaxSellsVegas.com