The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index came out this morning. Unfortunately it is so popular that the site crashes and I have just obtained the data. We do observe seasonality in prices in Las Vegas so I like to use the seasonally adjusted indices. Interestingly, the most current observation, December 2009, registered a month-to-month increase in all price tiers. A positive change has occurred for both November and December. Was this a purely organic increase? Probably not. The tax credit has been a relevan... read more

Trepp takes a look at the impacts of rising interest rates on REITs. While it is fairly clear that Mortgage REITs can be very sensitive to the interest rate factor, equity REITs stand differently, both in terms of borrowing costs and what interest rates do to the overall consumer spending. http://www.housingwire.com/news/2013/07/17/investors-steer-clear-reits-due-rising-interest-rates      ... read more

As the exhibit below illustrates, Nevada is one of five states furthest from peak pricing. There are several reasons why this alleviates many of our concerns about current value. One, current prices can be explained fairly well when we look at the level of supply in the market and demand drivers such as improving employment and population growth. What is hard to explain is why a closet sized condominium in San Francisco can be so expensive. Foreign hot money and a vibrant technology and finance sector may explain s... read more

Of all the fancy indicators demonstrating a bubble in home prices, nothing was as telling as shows like "Flip This House" or "Flip That House.” During the time this programming was first presented, I was a consultant thinking that this programming was the equivalent of an "end is near" sign for residential prices. When you have a cab driver or your hairstylist (I’ve never actually had a hairstylist but you may) or the kid across the street that mows your lawn tells you to buy an... read more

  One of the reasons that we believe Las Vegas is a good place to acquire properties for a long-term hold is based on fundamental measures such as price-rent ratios and the level of pricing below the longer-term, pre-bubble trend. Currently the price-rent ratio is about 6. In addition, it is often less expensive to buy than it is to rent. Similarly, cap rates are elevated implying an undervalued situation or investor sentiment. I tend to think it is still undervalued even though it is oversupplied. We are sta... read more