High-rise Market - Survival of the Fittest:

Six months ago every developer worth his name, every celebrity worth their two-minutes of fame wanted a piece of the pie called the Las Vegas real estate boom. Condo craze was at its peak. Investors from all over the world hoping to rub shoulders with Hollywood stars as they rode the elevators upto to their high-rise condos joined the frenzy to own these ultra-modern ultra-luxurious homes.

Finacing problems -who cares,construction workers shortage - what's that? rising prices - no problems - what goes up has to come down right? Seemed to be logic ruling the market. In a short span of time projects that would have added 50,000 - 70,000 condo units to the Las Vegas market were announced. Does Las Vegas have that many buyers - who knows, they might just be sitting inside some casino right now making their millions and will come to buy two or three of these units - one as a vacation home, another for the kids and third for the guests may be?

As the dust settles and reality set in. Projects are falling by the way side. Fewer than 500 luxury condo units are available for sale on the Strip. Rest of the projects have been shelved. Ivana can not after all stare down her imperial nose at Trump Towers as the proposed Ivana condo project has been shelved. Las Vegas cannot even boast of an ICON. That too will not see the light of the day. It was a painful decision to finally let go of the project said that the developer behind ICON. No doubt!

Design Center For Spanish View Tower

The Spanish View Tower is a group of three 18 story condo towers which will come on a 15-acre site south of Las Vegas Beltway just to west of Buffalo Drive.

A new design center has been created at the new Prudential Americana Group Realtors' offices at 8337 W. Sunset Road, Suite 300.
The center is a 2,000-square-foot retail space which will showcase the towers and handle the sales for the 444-unit complex in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley.

On display will be the fixtures, flooring, paint coloring, lighting and custom furnishings that will go into the individual units of the Spanish View Tower condos. Homebuyers also are given options to change various aspects of their home and see the computer generated images to give a feel of the newly designed homes.

Clermont Community At Anthem Highlands:

Anthem Highlands's newest neighborhood called Clermont is an offering of Lennar Homes. A total of 117 homes are planned for the community which will be constructed in 16 phases.

The two golf courses located within the Anthem Highlands community, the 20 acre park, soccer fields, basket ball courts, tennis courts and baseball diamonds offers residents a lot of facilities to keep up an active lifestyle. The community is close to the Sloan Canyon Preservation a nature lover's paradise. The neighborhood offers hiking trails and many amenitities aimed at the young professionals and families with kids.

Several floor plans on offer include the Provence a single-story floor plan home which will contain three bedrooms, a den, two full baths, covered patio and a three-car garage and will be priced from $454,990. Biarritz floor plans measuring 2,302 square feet contains five bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, three-car garage, patio and balcony and are priced from $494,990.

St. Tropez, a double story floor plan home will measure 1,898 square feet, and contains three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a two-car garage, covered patio and balcony and will be priced from $469,990. Marseille homes measure 3,181 square feet and offers five bedrooms, three baths, patio, balcony, and a three-car garage and will be priced from $559,990.

Lennar Homes is a reputed name in Nevada and is active in over 23 subdivisions of Southern Nevada. One single-story and 3 double-story floor plans are planned for the Clermont community. The homes will range in size from 1,819 to 3,181 square feet. Homes prices start from $454,990. Lennar's Everything Included package offers granite counter tops, maple cabinetry, stair railings, spindles made of maple, patios and balconies, gas fire places and wiring for fans as part of the price.

Multi-family homes from Pulte:

Pulte Homes is offering a variety of multi-family homes in the western and northern part of Las Vegas valley. The condos and townhomes are on offer at the four developments in Las Vegas. Sky Pointe in the northwest Las Vegas, Fulton Park in west Las Vegas, Silverstone Ranch's Pinehurst Collection and the Terrasini in the Aliante master plan are places where Pulte is offering multi-family homes.

They are very popular with the homebuyers because of Pulte reputation as great builders with quality construction. Pulte offers great customer service and energy efficient homes.

Sky Pointe is a gated development located in the Centennial Hills area offering four different floor plans to choose from. These homes range in size from 856 to 1,525 square feet. Prices start from the $170,000s.

Fulton Park is also a gated community featuring floor plans ranging from 856 to 1,525 square feet, and priced from the $180,000s.

Silverstone Ranch offers golf course homes with 3 single story floor plans and one double story floor plan to choose from. Loads of amenities and maintenance free homes make this community very attractive for homebuyers.

Terrasini is also a gated condominium complex which is located within the Aliante master-planned community. Four floor plans are on offer ranging from 856 to 1,525 square feet, and priced from the $180,000s.

Lennar's Marble Canyon

Marble Canyon is the an offering of Lennar Homes. The gated neighborhood located with in the Mountain Edge community is in the southwestern part of Las Vegas Valley.

Lennar has reported that the most popular floor plan at Marble Canyon has been the Amethyst model which has been bought by 23 percent of the total buyers at the community. The home is a two story home with 3,412 square feet of space with 5 bedrooms and a three car garage.

The Amethyst features a combined family room with kitchen at the first level, dining and living area, bedroom and bath. The second story has the master bedroom with the balcony, an extra room and a tech center. The homes are priced from $581,990.

The other four floor plans include the Sapphire, Topaz and two other floor plans. Homebuyers can choose the plan of their choice and customize it with various options provided with the plans.

Are Condo Conversions Losing Steam?

The Condo-conversion Craze took over the Las Vegas real estate market and thousands of rental apartments were converted or set aside for conversion to condos. These condos were either sold back to the renters of the apartments or to other homebuyers. The condo conversions became the new entry-level for buying a home.

If you could come up with the initial down payments then for the same amount you paid as rent or slightly more you could become the owner of your apartment. This was an attractive option of for thousands of Las Vegas residents who could not hope to own a home otherwise.

As median prices of single family homes was $300,000 and other housing options also showed an upward trend, Condo conversions could be bought for as low $90,000s a year ago and are now averaging about $168,000. Monthly sales have of these condos ranged from 500 to 600 units.

Apartment units slated for condo conversions are selling at a 55 percent premium compared with traditional apartment units. The median price nationally per unit among conversion sales is $124,500 for 2005, only marginally higher compared to 2004. The prices are expected to remain relatively flat or post only minimal growth as the housing market cools over the next 12 months and costs associated with conversion goes up.

Too expensive For School Children

Young parents with children are finding that Northern Nevada's homes are just too pricey and they simply can't afford to live there any more. For example in Douglas County's Minden-Gardnerville area located 15 miles south of Carson City, median price for a single family home is $415,000 in the Lake Tahoe area it has reached $1,185,000, and in Reno and Carson City this fall, it was $330,000.

School enrollments have taken a hit. Douglas Country school enrollment is same as what it was a decade ago and in the Lake Tahoe area it has actually dropped to one third of what it was about 10 years ago.

Many areas are facing student shortages. Yes, earlier it was teachers who were finding it difficult to find affordable homes and now it is the turn of young parents. In Carson City, only 8,433 students are enrolled, while in Washoe County they are short of 1,000 students than expected. Clark County schools enrollments were 4000 students short of expectation.

Though there is no direct relation between school enrollment and housing, still most school enrollment in charges and educationists see the rise in housing prices as a major factor leading to drop in student enrollments in schools.