Median Prices Increase

The headline in the Las Vegas Sun is a little misleading. There is a surge in luxury home prices that are pushing the median up. A third of these were paid by cash thanks to the California exodus. Meanwhile, down where “Johnny Lunchbucket” lives, more than 3,300 single-family homes were listed for sale without any sort of offer. This is down by nearly 30% from March 2023. Almost 1,180 condos and townhomes were listed for sale without any sort of offer in March, which is up 7% from the same time last year.

The average 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car home in a “C” neighborhood still doesn’t make sense for an investor. A long term rental generates less than a 3% return and the chances of it appreciating are dismal. Smart money is still looking for places to live and it’s not real estate.

Who Will Be Our Next Santa Clause? 

Each presidential candidate is offering more free candy. Biden recently visited Las Vegas stating “ my 2025 budget will include $258 billion in housing investments.” And, he said, “those investments won’t come at the expense of higher taxes” . Meanwhile, Trump is promising a cut in taxes without addressing the fact we are bleeding cash to the tune of $1.5 trillion dollars annually. Let’s write that out -> 1,500,000,000,000. This means, every single day, this country spends about $4B more than it earns. 

Neither candidate makes financial sense and why people think interest rates are going to fall is a mystery to me. You can’t lower interest rates and keep printing money to make your interest payment. History has shown bad things happen when governments spend more than they make.  Don’t ask me what the end looks like.

Fortunately, we are compensated by providing people a place to live. That principle will remain true regardless of which Santa Clause gets elected.

New Approach To Rental Income

We started managing a PadSplit in 2022 to explore a new and innovative way to make more rental income.  I was very suspicious about it because they encourage you to configure your property such that it doesn’t have much common space. This is surprisingly genius: it minimizes conflict among tenants and provides for another room for income. Padsplit avoids conflicts with HOAs and the local government with 30 day leases but tenants pay weekly. The numbers are pretty good, these make anywhere from 15% – 25% more than a standard long term rental.

The downside is you have to chop up your living space and there is some drama involved with sticking all these people in one house. Every 6 months or so, we have to toss a naughty tenant and the recent eviction laws are making it more difficult to get rid of them. 

If PadSplit is something that you would like to explore you might investigate yourself by going to PadSplit and navigate to the Las Vegas area. You will be able to see the different properties available and provide an idea of what you can rent your place out for. 

Newest Addition To Limestone Investments – Colton Ratliff

I would like to introduce a talented young man who has joined Limestone Investments. Colton is one of those rare individuals who was actually born and raised in Las Vegas.

He graduated from Spring Valley High in their international baccalaureate program. While attending school, he lettered in wrestling, swimming and cross country. He has a passion for the city of Las Vegas and is excited to watch the city’s sports community grow.

He got his real estate license in 2022 and recently passed his property management exam. We are thrilled to have a new generation on board!