Las Vegas Real Estate Info

Yahoo is reporting the rising interest tourists are generating in the idea of a Mob Museum for Sin City. While the association between the Mob and the Desert Oasis Casino resorts is hardly new — there is still some resistance from locals on the idea.

The options included a “behind-the-scenes” look at gambling, a magic museum, a “vintage Vegas” theme, a museum dedicated to Las Vegas icons such as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, and Mafia museum.

Locals told pollsters they would most like to see the museum chronicle “vintage Vegas,” described as the architecture, music and figures that dominated the city’s landscape from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Forbes and local analysts in Las Vegas may be lining up to disagree over the housing market in the Las Vegas area. Builder Online is reporting that Forbes dropped Las Vegas from the 18th-most overvalued housing market in the nation to 28th.

Median new home prices increased 12.5 percent in March to an all- time high of $320,379. Resale prices, which Forbes had predicted would drop 8.5 percent this year, are up 8.3 percent from last March at $284,900, though they’ve remained relatively flat over the past nine months.

Sales of new homes are ahead of last year by nearly 20 percent through the first three months and are on pace for a record 40,000. Existing home closings are about the same.

This information brought to you by Homes in the Las Vegas valley and surrounding areas.

The so-called Condo King is canceling his tower in Sin City. The Mercury News is reporting that Perez canceled a twin-tower condo called ICON Las Vegas. Now he’s weighing selling the 25 acres on which he, along with actor George Clooney, planned to build a massive — and much-hyped — 11-tower condo project, Las Ramblas.

The $3 billion project was to rise near the Las Vegas Strip, and full-page newspaper ads heralded the arrival of Perez, Clooney and team as the second coming of the Rat Pack. But now Perez says demand is lower than expected and construction costs much higher.

This information brought to you by Homes in and around the city of Las Vegas.

Time Magazine has an interesting article about a new trend for home owners and renters in metropolitan areas. Single American males living in cities where rents and house payments are high like New York, Los Angeles and Los Vegas are looking for adult au pairs.

Essentially, they barter for a roommate. By providing a rent-free roomate options, all the roommate has to do is clean up, pick up the mail and do general chores — men and women alike are finding that the arrangments provide both with beneficial opportunities. Still, it can be unnerving to move into a casual stranger’s home and make sure that their socks are white — there are lots of women out there willing to do this and lots of men out there willing to make the arrangment. On both sides, neither wants any strings attached — i.e. they are committing to exchanging chores for rent free status and nothing else.

Not a bad idea for the future.

KLAS-TV is reporting that Las Vegas is experiencing some of the largest increases in apartment rents in the West.

In March, the average apartment cost $834, which is up nearly six-percent or about $50 from last March.

In the west, only Phoenix and Orange County Calif. experienced faster growth in rental rates

This information brought to you by Henderson and Las Vegas Homes.