The housing crunch and the excessive inventory–exceeding 10 months on resale homes–continues to take its toll on housing prices. But over the long term, housing is still a good investment. In fact, it’s more than an investment; it’s a home. Plus, you’re not really saving anything by renting, as the costs of renting and owning are about equal (well, owning may be a little more). The tax benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting, too. With good housing prices in many great areas, this may indeed be the time to buy.

So now that I’ve convinced you this is a good time to buy a home, the next question is, Where do you buy one? No matter where you look, you should check out some basic economic fundamentals before buying. Is job growth stable in the area? Is income keeping up with inflation? Is crime above the national average? Is there a higher-than-average rate of foreclosures? These issues and others play a factor when deciding where to buy a house.

As a real estate investor and analyst, it’s my job to provide buyers with qualified information on where to buy–and where to stay away from. Here are my thoughts for 2008 based on the indicators noted above.

Whether you’re an investor like me or you’re looking to purchase that next move up, here are my picks for the best areas to buy a home:

• Killeen, Round Rock, Austin, Texas: Killeen has the lowest average home price in any market in the nation while still maintaining quality. Round Rock and Austin have seen incredible job growth and very stable home prices despite the downturn nationwide. Jobs continue to grow here–a factor for keeping inventory low and prices stable.
• Mission Viejo, California: Mission Viejo has the lowest crime statistics in the nation. With no murders in 2007 and a low rate of violent crime, this is a good place to raise a family. Prices are relatively stable, and the job market in the nearby cities of Irvine and San Diego means there is consistent demand from job seekers.
• Palm Beach, Florida: I’m taking a risk here because this area has been pummeled by foreclosures in 2007. But there are also a lot of boomers retiring, and Palm Beach is looking mighty attractive. If you don’t like this high of a risk (which translates to great prices), check out Tampa or Clearwater in the same state.
• Las Vegas, Nevada: Yes, Las Vegas has been hit hard by incoming investors, who watched their home values disappear and then left those homes empty. Las Vegas comes in quite high on the national foreclosure list, almost always within the top three metro areas. But there’s an upside–a very strong job market. In 2007, Las Vegas experienced a 12 percent increase in population, partly driven by retirees looking for Sunbelt states to move to. Coupled with low prices, we could see inventories reduced here, which would also stabilize prices. Be careful what you buy, but I like it.

Places to Avoid
And now for the places you definitely want avoid:

• Detroit, Michigan: The job market is in chaos. People are getting laid off left and right. National statistics seem to point to a significant problem with job loss and job income not keeping up with inflation. As a result, many nice neighborhoods are now abandoned due to people leaving their homes. Inventories exceed one year (under six months is what we want to see), and the foreclosure problem hit Detroit hard. With fewer jobs to support home purchases, I don’t see Detroit turning around anytime soon.
• Miami, Florida: Palm Beach is different than Miami, which sits in its gorgeous aqua water with half-built and abandoned condos, a shrinking job market, a tough time getting insurance against hurricanes and a job problem. Yes, you can get a good deal, but do this only if you don’t need the appreciation from the home in the next decade.
• Riverside/San Bernardino, California: Even those lucky homeowners that bought before the boom are feeling it now. Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California consistently lead California in foreclosures and rank in the top three metro areas nationally. The prices have plummeted, and jobs in the area are scarce. People moved there due to lack of affordability in Orange and Los Angeles counties (where their jobs were), so it’s a commuter’s area. Now that prices in the two counties have dropped, people can live close to their jobs. Although I grew up in Riverside County, I could never recommend it to anyone looking to buy a home.

The master planned community of Mountains Edge in the southwestern portion of the valley, has just opened up “EXPLORATION PARK”.

At 80 acres, Exploration Park encompasses Exploration Peak at the community’s main entrance, and features volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, picnic areas as well as an amphitheater.

The park will include the Western Theme Park, which blends elements of the community’s geography and history. The aim of Mountains Edge developer is to create an experience that challenges the imaginative young minds of children, while keeping them physically active.

Mountain’s Edge celebrates the history of the area, and it was the goal to design a park that not only captures that spirit of the Southwest, but also brings to our city unique and exciting amenities like the Western Theme Park and the city’s first mountain park.

The building facades are inspired by early days of settlement in the West, but built at a child’s perspective. Behind the building facades are climbing structures, slides and other equipment.

Adjoining Main street is an darea celebrating the region’s American Indian history and an area where children can participate in mock archeological digs.

Mountain’s Edge has created a Junior Explorer Program disigned to be an educatioal scavenger hunt, where each child can learn about he history of the area and, ultimately, earn a Mountain’s Edge Junior Explorer badge.

Throughout the park, children can search for replicas of animals found int he desert environment.

Children learn the best when they are having fun.

Exploration Peak rises 2,846 feet at the community’s entrance and offers a series of hiking trails, ranging from the leisurely to more challenging hikes.

This is a fabulous community that has gone to great lengths to preserve the natural environment.

More information about Mountain’s Edge can be obtained by calling 702-561-9562.

This past weekend we visited a new home development in Las Vegas built by Astoria Homes in Aliante. The development, “Prominence” has tons to offer!

The particular model that caught our eye has been constructed with cherry wood flooring throughout, and is situated on a premium home site within the center of the Prominence neighborhood, and also offers a timely move in date.

This is a rare opportunity since cherry wood flooring is not ordinarily one of the builders options!

This a fantastic opportunity for one lucky family to move into a home with a distinctive and classical touch.

The home has 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths and is 4,449 square feet. It includes a bonus room, flex space area, retreat off the master suite and a 3 car garage. Exterior areas of the home include a courtyard, balconies and a rear patio.

The “Prominence” community offers 9 different designs, ranging from 2,830 to 4,449 square feet. Prices start from the upper 400’s.

For a limited time, buyers may take advantage of a special off by the builder, Astoria. Worth as much as $25,000 on selected homes, the builder’s incentive program may be used toward options, upgrades, closing costs or an interest rate buy down.

Did you know that my commission fee is payed directly by the builder! And that my commission has NO impact what so ever on the final price of your new home.

Don’t forget if you are in the market to purchase a new home, you need someone to represent YOUR BEST INTEREST! The sales people at a new home development are working for the builder, not YOU.

Please call with questions, or to find out how our TEAM can help you find the home of your dreams. 702-561-9562.

Hopefully, your real estate transaction will go smoothly!

But, occasionally residential real estate transactions don’t work out as planned.

The buyers move into their new home, become chummy with a neighbor who tells them something about their new home, or the neighborhood, that they think should have been disclosed to them at a point in the transaction when they still had a chance to decide whether or not to proceed.

What should the buyers do next if they think they have been deceived by the seller or the seller’s agent?

First step, determine if, in fact, they were misled.

Many states, including Nevada, have seller disclosure requirements that call for sellers to disclose known material facts to the buyers. A material fact is something that would affect the buyerrs’ decision to buy or the price they would pay.

It’s not uncommon for buyers to overlook items in the sellers’ disclosure that don’t seem to be a problem at the time they make an offer. Later, they may not recall that the item was pointed out to them in advance. In this case, the buyers would have only thmselves to blame for not completing their due diligence inspections before going ahead with the transaction.

Check the seller’s disclosures before jumping to a conclusion.

Some sellers, however, are less than candid with their disclosures. For whatever reason, often fear or ignorance, they don’t disclose something that could affect the buyer’s decisions.

Omitting a disclosure can have serious consequences!

Our TEAM will make sure that every stone is turned over so we don’t run into problems after the transaction has been completed.

Call today, to make sure that every one of your interests are taken care of. 702-561-9562.