Las Vegas Mortgage Facts

Las Vegas Introduction

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" says the sign at the beginning of the Las Vegas strip. Las Vegas, the self-proclaimed "Entertainment Capital of the World", is the destination of choice for over 35 million people a year. Over 20,000 conventions are held in Las Vegas annually.

More important from a real estate point of view, over 5,000 people move into the Las Vegas valley on a monthly basis.

Housing Styles

To meet the demand of the influx of new residents, construction of new homes is being done on a very large scale. According to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, it is estimated that a new home is completed in Las Vegas every nine hours. Housing options run the range from attractive reasonably prices homes up to multimillion dollar mansions. There are many master-planned communities that are complete with shopping centers, office parks, libraries, recreational facilities, places of worship, and cultural centers.

Notable Las Vegas Neighborhoods

Las Vegas real estate is noteworthy for the large variety of homes. The various planned communities also compete on the basis of amenities, location, and prices - which can make for an interesting and fun home shopping experience. Some notable areas of Las Vegas include:

• Northeast - The northeastern part of Las Vegas is characterized by a high concentration of apartments. This area has probably seen the least amount of development of late, by Las Vegas standards, but there are still numerous developments on the outskirts of the northeast area that are either open or under construction. These developments offer nice views of the city skyline, Red Rock Canyon, and Sunrise Mountain. The area is also near Nellis Air Force Base as well as the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Mormon Cathedral.
• Northwest - The northwestern part of the city has many large planned communities including the enormous Summerlin community. Planned communities on the scale of a thousand acres or more are common, some of which offer lakeside homes with boating and fishing. One of the oldest neighborhoods in Las Vegas is also in this part of the city. The northwest part of Las Vegas also has the highest concentration of golf courses in Las Vegas Valley. Apartments are also plentiful in this part of the city.
• Southeast - The majority of the new construction is happening in the southeastern part of Las Vegas. There are many planned communities in this area including the MacDonald Ranch retirement community and the $3.8 billion Lake Las Vegas residential/resort community which features four golf courses, two of which were designed by Jack Nicklaus. Nearer to downtown Las Vegas one finds more reasonably priced housing in the university district. This area has numerous neighborhood restaurants, shopping, and even casinos so that residents do not have to go far for entertainment.
• Southwest - The southwestern part of Las Vegas is noteworthy for numerous very prestigious communities such as Spanish Trail and Spanish Hills. There are also more modestly priced developments such as Monaco and Spring Valley, and many apartments.

Las Vegas Real Estate Prices

Over half of Las Vegas housing units consist of single family, owner-occupied homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a house in Las Vegas was close to $320,000 as of the 3rd quarter of 2006, well above the national average of $225,000. For that same period, the median price of a condominium was $205,000, below the national average of $223,000.

Las Vegas Schools

Las Vegas is served by the Clark County School District, which is the fifth largest school district in the United States. The Clark County District serves more than 280,000 students in over 300 schools, 83 of which are actually in the City of Las Vegas (59 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, and 8 high schools).

There are many colleges and universities located in and around Las Vegas, including the University of Nevada (UNLV) located in nearby Paradise, the University of Nevada Medical School, branches of several national colleges such as the University of Phoenix, Nevada State College and Touro University Nevada both in nearby Henderson, and campuses of the Community College of Southern Nevada.

Las Vegas Economy

The engine of the Las Vegas economy is tourism, gaming, and conventions. This, in turn, supports the dining and retail industries. The major categories of the private-sector economy from an employment standpoint are the hotel/gaming/resort industry, construction, business services, and education/health services. The largest private sector employers in Las Vegas are all major hotel/resort casinos. They also happen to be the largest employers in the State of Nevada. Las Vegas' five Fortune 1000 companies are also in the resort/gaming industry.

The Las Vegas economy is noteworthy for consistently having the highest new job growth in United States. For over a decade Las Vegas has also ranked very highly for high-tech job growth.

The median family income in Las Vegas is almost $53,000 (as of 2004 according to US Census data), which is just slightly under the national average.

Of Note:

Las Vegas Mortgage Lenders * (Click names for details)

Las Vegas Credit Unions

Las Vegas Credit Counselors* (Free advice and counseling)

Las Vegas Banks

Las Vegas Mortgage Statistics

Las Vegas Housing Expenses

Las Vegas Household Size

Las Vegas Housing Stock

Las Vegas Home Heating

Las Vegas Housing Size

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