Send to a friend

News

Las Vegas and California Offering Great Deals on Distressed Homes - 13 March 2011

Overseas investors seeking the sun and glitz of the U.S. West Coast are in luck, as property bargains are still running rampant in Las Vegas and California.

The average price of a home in “Sin City” fell to the lowest it’s been in 20 years this January, according to U.S. real estate reports, selling for an average £67,000, which was down 9 percent from January 2010. A high number of foreclosures can be attributed to Vegas’ dropping property costs, as nearly 40 percent of January’s sales were foreclosed homes.

Experts say that even though the U.S. housing market is slowly recovering, foreclosures and short sales should continue to dominate the market throughout the year. In Las Vegas alone, more than 70 percent of mortgaged homes are in negative equity, meaning that owners owe more than what their property is valued.

In California, discounts on foreclosed homes are running as high as 28 percent, according to recent figures. Overseas investors are snapping these up bargains, but not as much as they were only a few months prior. It seems, instead, many are paying cash or buying properties that are non-owner occupied, signaling that wealthier investors are once again buying second or holiday homes as well as seeing the value of rental opportunities.

Also indicating the return of the high-end buyer in California are the rising sales of million-dollar-plus homes. According to real estate experts, 21 percent more of these extravagant properties were sold last year compared to 2009.

Though not as glamorous or sunny as Las Vegas and California, the U.S. Midwest is also providing great property deals, experts say. Distressed homes in the cities of Cleveland, St. Louis and Kansas City would make for great rental investments, they say, as populations are high and industries are growing in these areas.

 


Browse our articles written by leading industry experts:

Overseas Property Buying Guides

UK Property Guides

Gardens and Interiors

Cosmetic Surgery Fact Sheets

Looking Good Guides

Money

Business

Community

Travel