Kirk Sanford News

If you’re interested in finding vacant land in Las Vegas and building your own home, there are many things you should know.  While the desert looks to be open and inviting, there is surprisingly little room for building at this point.  Almost 80% of the land in the Las Vegas Valley is owned by the Federal Bureau of Land Management. This leaves 20% for private owners.

Most of this land has been divided into half acre parcels, with the largest area of land available being about two and half acre parcels.  If you’re hoping to enjoy horses, you should also know that three horses are allowed for every acre of land.

Certainly, not everyone in Vegas wants to build.  Some companies, like Sightline Acquisition, LLC with Kirk Sanford specialize in the acquisition of distressed commercial and residential real estate.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, things are not looking up for the Nevada housing market.  Nevada ranks first across America in residential foreclosures and second in delinquencies for the second quarter of 2010.

As Stephen Brown, the economist who just became the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said, “The Las Vegas housing market is pretty close to a bottom.” He doesn’t expect to see residential real estate begin to recover for another three years or so.

Unfortunately, Nevada is in good company with their foreclosure rates.  RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing service, reports that more than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December, 2007.

Many banks have tightened their lending standards as a result of these real estate issues.  Certainly, some companies are able to help with these real estate issues. Sightline Acquisition, Inc. with Kirk Sanford, for instance, is a privately held Las Vegas-based investment fund specializing in the acquisition of distressed commercial and residential real estate. While benefiting from a depressed market, companies like this one with Kirk Sanford can, hopefully, help to breathe life into the real estate market and boost sales.

Certainly, the real estate market is one that has been hard hit by the economic downturns. One interesting option for developers and for condo owners is to turn to the rental market in Las Vegas. A number of luxury condo projects have begun renting portions of their units. Several developers are also looking into the idea of time shares.

Housing analyst in Las Vegas, Steve Bottfeld, sees this rental trend as one that will continue. This can become a way to generate revenue for developers.

This information mostly affects developers, but is also of interest to companies such as Sightline Acquisition with Kirk Sanford and others who are interested in real estate in Las Vegas.

There is some promising news for the real estate prices in Las Vegas, but they still seem to have a ways to go. In April, Las Vegas home prices edged up slightly as measured by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. However, Vegas still trails behind other big cities in the recovery or residential real estate prices.

S&P did indicate that Las Vegas prices increased .2% from March to April, a positive sign that is certainly encouraging for businesses like Sightline Acquisition with Kirk Sanford and others.

However, looking at a year-over-year basis, Las Vegas prices were down 8.5% in April, in comparison to a 3.8% average increase for 20 other markets that were included in the report.

Carla L. Davis, the author of a recent post on RealtyTimes.com helps homeowners to think about when it is time to move up. If you’ve had another baby, accepted a retired parent to live with you, welcomed a divorced child back into the house, and more, then you may be considering purchasing a larger home. How do you know when the time is right to do so?

First, you need to consider the interest rates at the time when you are considering moving. You need to look at your budget and at your income. You need to consider if you have enough equity in your current home to put more money into your future purchase. You should also be educated about current market conditions, and you should think clearly about where you want your new home to be based on schools, commuting times and more.

These considerations could have you when thinking about purchasing a larger home. Certainly, in the Las Vegas area, home owners and real estate investors like Kirk Sanford, take these questions into consideration with their purchases.

Certainly, many real estate collections today advertise that they are “Green” properties. Others, who already own their property, are considering turning their home into a more green home. This blog helps you to see, in dollars and cents, exactly how much going green is worth for your resale value. It’s a very practical blog post for anyone who is considering this real estate option.

The most recent interesting real estate trend in Las Vegas is that Las Vegas is going green. MGM City Center was the first LEED certified project in Nevada and there is now a collection of Las Vegas homes that are following suit.

The best project for green, gorgeous homes at the moment is the Marquis Las Vegas project. They were actually chosen by the National Association of Home Builders as the New American Home 2009. Located in an ultra-exclusive neighborhood off of Tomiyasu Lane that has been home to Wayne Newton, Mike Tyson, the Sultan of Brunei and others, this area offers properties as large as 40 acres.

The area contains several of Nevada’s most expensive properties, including estates ranging to more than 40 acres, but is just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown. The energy for the homes is solar and solar thermal and each home is expected to run on natural gas and electricity. If you select the Smart House Package, your home will also be fully equipped electronically. You’ll spend two weeks with Microsoft, programming your home for your comfort and lifestyle!

Certainly, this project is a dream-come-true for private home buyers or companies such as Sightline Acquisition with Kirk Sanford. Anything is possible in Las Vegas!

Certainly, many real estate agents, investors and companies such as Sightline Acquisition with Kirk Sanford, are interested in the changes in the real estate market in Las Vegas. Henderson is the 2^nd largest city in Nevada and the US Census says that it is the fastest growing large city in the United States.

Interesting enough, Henderson is the home to the first large planned community in southern Nevada, Green Valley. At the moment, Henderson has 25 planned communities with even more planned. It’s a wonderful location for school age children, as it has a number of great private schools. It also has one of the lowest property tax cities in Nevada. It’s also ranked as the third best place to retire in the United States.

It will be interesting to see how Henderson continues growing and to watch the real estate market in this area.

Certainly, whether you are shopping for a new house or wondering about the value of your current one, it’s helpful to know what the market will bear. Individuals, and companies such as Sightline Acquisition started by Kirk Sanford, want to know where to invest their money.

One new interesting study points to the walkability of the neighborhood. A company called ceoforcities.org has created a report showing that home values go up as the walk score in a neighborhood ascends. The walk score shows how walkable a neighborhood is.

They found, for instance, that each additional Walk Score point adds somewhere between $500 and $3000 to the value of the home. Walkability helps homeowners because it allows you to reduce your car dependency, cut transportation costs, and help the environment.

Community leaders are hopeful that the depth of the recent economic crisis in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada will motivate politicians and local government to finally take steps to assure that the economy begins the crucial, stabilizing move to diversification.

The Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, an affiliate of the University of Las Vegas, presented a report based on the opinions of 70 local businessmen, politicians and academics. There was no question, according to the experts, that the road to diversification is the road that is needed to be taken.

It was noted that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority spends about $90 million each year to promote the resort industry all over the world, but the Nevada Economic Development Commission only spends about $6 million each year attracting businesses to the area.

Kirk Sanford is one of those rooted and invested in the strength of the economy of Las Vegas and its surrounding areas. As an investor in real estate in Southern Nevada, it would benefit Kirk Sanford along with other local businesses for the economy in the region to weather the storms of economic crisis with stability and resilience.