*** Las Vegas & Henderson Homes and Condos ***

The panic that the Federal Reserve showed today regarding the meltdown of the derivative markets was evident as they dramatically lowered rates again after they lowered rates last week by an unprecedented 75 basis points.  Helicopter Ben Bernanke is at it again.  He is disregarding inflation with current monetary growth of over 15% per annum, throwing additional money at a credit crunch crisis that needs time, at least several years, in our opinion, to play itself out and heal itself correctly.  The Fed is placating Wall Street where both the Federal Reserve and Wall Street are co-conspirators of the mess we find ourselves in today.  No inflation? Anybody pay their insurance premiums lately, pay for college tuition, go to a restaurant lately, pay for medical care - have you've seen lower prices? Anybody go shopping for food or gasoline lately? Oh, I forgot - those 2 items are not included in the inflation numbers the Federal government spews out each month.

 What the Fed has done is devalue the dollar again, and in their statement today, they said there were further risks to the downside, which means that more interest rate cuts are probably on the way.  Every American's wealth is at stake here, right now.  We are at a critical moment in our nation's financial well-being, in our individual personal wealth and the destruction of it.   There was a reason why Ben Bernanke was chosen to replace Bubble Alan Greenspan as Fed Chairman.  He wrote in an article that he would fly in a helicopter and drop money to solve financial problems - that's where he got his nickname. 

The Bush Administration knew they had a major financial problem because of the huge deficits they were accumulating to fight the War on Terror, so they chose Helicopter Ben to replace Bubble Alan Greenspan.  Helicopter Ben was not a current member of the Federal Reserve when he was chosen, but was in the academic field - you know - those guys who sit in universities and write papers all day long about how they're going to save the world.  Well - Helicopter Ben is dropping money all right and our wealth is being destroyed just to keep Wall Street in the business of selling worthless subprime paper and other worthless junk paper such as CDO's, SIV's, and other exotic derivative paper which by the way add up to an astonishing and amazing $500 trillion dollars.  You heard it right - $500 trillion dollars with a capital T.  What was the market action on Wall Street's today regarding the Fed's panic?  The Dow Jones average rose by about 160-170 points on the news and then dropped like a leaf to close down around 40 points.  

The Federal Reserve, having gone from one bubble to another these past 8 years and losing ground rapidly to the real estate bubble has only 1 card left to play.  It's to protect the stock market and Wall Street at all costs.  Forget about inflation, forget about Main Street people who require a decent interest yield on their savings to get by.  It's full steam ahead.  We need to save Wall Street - the folks who got us into this worldwide credit debacle we now face. How ironic it seems that the Secretary of the Treasury, by the way, the third Treasury Secretary of the current White House administration, is the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs.  Wasn't it curious to anyone why Goldman Sachs didn't lose much money on the sub-prime mess that all other Wall Street firms and banks from around the world lost multiple billions of dollars and continue to do so?  UBS, the largest Swiss banker, just wrote off a measly $12 billion in sub-prime junk paper today.  As Goldman was selling this worthless junk sub-prime paper, CDO's  (collateralized debt obligations), and SIV's (structured investment vehicles) - don't you just love those names Wall Street makes up for this paper, to other financial institutions around the world, they were shorting the paper they were selling.   That is, Goldman was betting that the sub-prime paper, CDO's and SIV's would go down in value and they would handsomely profit from it, which they did to the tune of billions of dollars.  Anyone think they have a hotline into the Treasury Department where the current Secretary is the former Goldman Sachs Chairman? 

Anyone think the game is fair out there?   If anyone was watching the commentary today on Bloomberg News regarding the Fed's decision, there was discussion regarding the fact that interest rates are now below the rate of inflation.  Well, that's inflationary, my friends.  And there was talk that we may stave off formal recession this year, due to lower interest rates and the $150 billion stimulus package, which by the way will put us further into debt.  It is our opinion that the stimulus package is like taking aspirin to cure pneumonia.  It is a bogus one-shot deal that will help for 1-2 months and won't cure anything.   Formal recession is when we have 2 quarters in a row of declining production or growth, but we all know the housing, banking, mortgage, automobile, retail, and other industries are already in recession (beyond the 2 quarters of negative growth for these industries) - it's just a formality when we get the "real" negative growth figures from the "always truthful federal government ". 

The scary part of the Bloomberg discussion was that the analysts see a bad recession hitting us in 2009.  And that in order to stave this off, they feel that the Federal Reserve may have to go back to 1% interest rates and some were saying that we may even see 0% interest rates.    

So how does all of the above affect the Las Vegas High Rise Market and real estate in general?  The Stark Team feels very strongly that the economic forces being thrust upon us now will have far-reaching ramifications for property owners.   The Stark Team is now advising those who want to sell their Las Vegas High Rise real estate to be extremely realistic about the price you will receive when you attempt to sell your unit.  Sellers will not get 2007-2008 prices for their high rises.  Expect 2004-2005 prices.  If you're a seller, you need to be very aggressive about pricing your unit correctly in order to get any bids, and if you don't want to accept this fact, then you will have to sit tight on your high rise for a number of years, service the debt, or rent out your unit. 

The Stark Team, the leading High Rise real estate agents in Las Vegas has lived in here for over 35 years and has over 30 combined years of selling and investing in the Las Vegas real estate market.  We are recognized by the  Who's Who oin Luxury Real Estate in the United States.   We have experienced the down cycles and boy are we in one right now. 

As a seller or buyer of real estate, you need to have someone represent you who has gone through these cycles, who understands the nature of the current market, who understands the forces that you face when attempting to sell your Las Vegas High Rise.  When choosing a broker/realtor - ask them one simple question - how long have you been a realtor and when did you get your license? 

We have many units available for sale that we consider bargains in our inventory.  You must be a Condo Predator (tm) today to take advantage of the bargains to be had in the Las Vegas High Rise market.  The Stark Team can help you find your dream high rise, but only at the right bargain price.  Let us work for you and show you the deals.  The Stark Team is known as the DealMakers(tm).  

Sellers need to know the stats and facts about their particular high rise building, that is, the number of units available for sale, the number of units sold, the prices that the units are sellling for, the rents you are likely to get for your high rise unit, and the forces you face in selling you unit.  The Stark Team will tell you the truth.  You may not want to hear it, it may not be pretty, but then again we won't beat around the bush to earn your business.  The Stark Team is here to help you.   

Folks, we are in very different times.  We have an election coming up.  The Federal Reserve is out of control.  Wall Street institutions and foreign banks are reeling from this massive credit crunch we're in.  The Federal Reserve has now devalued our dollar further and has now hit our pocketbooks by lowering the yields we earn on our saved money.  The Stark Team is here to help both the buyers and sellers of Las Vegas High Rises.  We will be forthright with you.  Just straight talk.  

Please visit us at LasVegasCondoBargains.com or  LasVegasCondoExperts.com as we always update our inventory of Las Vegas High Rise bargain units. 

Panorama Towers Luxury Condos is aptly named.  Just take a look at the bedazzling views. Here is another great condo deal.  The Seller MUST SELL NOW!  BRING ANY AND ALL OFFERS!  Seller paid $ 753K - Asking $ 735k & will look at all offers!  Over 1550 sq. ft. on the 10th floor with walls of window & bi-directional views! Click for More info.

What is the state of the Las Vegas high rise condo market? When the prices get right there is always someone ready to pounce.  In my last blog entry I wrote about a SKY LAS VEGAS condo unit reduced to $399k - an unheard of price for a luxury condo on the strip.  Great price? Sure was - Well that one is under contract in less than a week ! Here is a tour of another great SKY CONDO - This owner is REALLY motivated - so make us an offer!

Ready for another great Las Vegas Condo Foreclosure Bargain?  I found a 5th floor unit at Metropolis that is 2500 square ft. and is now a bank owned foreclosure priced at $750k!!! Calculate the price per square foot & you will see that this is a great steal of a deal & a tremendous bargain. Click for pictures.

You've got to love the views! And the location can't be beat!

Call us to make an offer on this amazing foreclosure deal in the Metropolis!

702 376-5220

Sky Las Vegas High rise condos on the strip has about 60 or so luxury resales.  They say as goes the first days of the year in the stock market - so goes the rest of the year. This seems to be the case for some of the resales at SKY LAS VEGAS.  Prices are dropping with the world markets. Could this be a harbinger of more incredible SKY LAS VEGAS Condo bargains to come?I never thought I would see a 1 bedroom on the 22nd floor with north strip views priced at $399k and a 2 bedroom priced at $549k. What fabulous deals these luxury condominiums are compared to the hotel condos in MGM CityCenter that offer studios for $600k plus!

The Fontainebleau in the Foreground under Construction

Both luxury high rise condos are located on Las Vegas Boulevard, but if you ask me which has more upside potential from an investment standpoint, I would vote for Sky Las Vegas, across from the new Fontainebleau, which is under construction.  How fun to be able to walk from SKY to all the new development on the north end of the world famous Las Vegas strip.

Contact the STARK TEAM for info on these luxury condo bargains & others in SKY.  We have sold the most units in SKY LAS VEGAS & recently closed the first SKY LAS VEGAS resale condo to be sold over a million dollars! What a beauty that condo was - with some of the longest picture postcard views in Vegas. These 2 SKY CONDO deals will not last! Let Las Vegas' premier high rise agents introduce you to the best values in the city.

Take the SKY LAS VEGAS # 2205 Tour

Take the SKY LAS VEGAS # 1604 Tour

702-376-5220

Lake Las Vegas real estate offers a country club environment in Henderson NV about 17 miles from the heart of the Las Vegas strip. "V" is closing out its remaining condos and luxury townhomes which are priced better than many foreclosures. Why deal with old & worn when you can have a brand new Lake Las Vegas condo priced $200k under previous models?  And you will get 2% paid towards closing costs, a year's worth of HOA dues and did I mention a $25k Voucher towards furniture?

Click to View the LAKE LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE DEALS AT "V"                                         VIEW PLAT MAP

Contact the Stark Team for the Best Las Vegas and Henderson NV Condo Deals and Bargains

View Lake Las Vegas Townhomes at Vita Bella

Read More About Lake Las Vegas

           702 376-5220                                                                                                                                                 702 236-8364

Last week's news in the Las Vegas High Rise condo real estate market was Duetsche Bank's Foreclosure notice given to the Cosmopolitan Resort. Now that the the news has been absorbed in to the mindset of buyers & analysts, the city is abuzz with rumors as to who will run the show and takeover the project. Sometimes the answer is obvious. My take is that the obvious answer will become fact. Want a hint? Go on-line & try to book a room at the COSMO. Time will tell if my thought process of the takeover candidate is correct.  Despite the rumors, I doubt it will be MGM/Mirage, because Kirk Kerkorian seems to be selling his Vegas interests to Dubai & others while his Tracinda Corp. is making plays in the oil markets.

The fact that Perini is continuing on with construction at the Cosmopolitan is a sign that things are in the works. Eichner has 90 days to strike a deal that will be the most beneficial to him, after that time, he will no longer be able to call the shots.  Stay tuned.

For the latest inventory in new & resale high rises on & naer the Las Vegas Strip Visit www.LasVegasCondoExperts.com and for luxury condo deals and bargains Visit www.LasVegasCondoBargains.com

As the news of the foreclosure notice given to the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas filtered to all its buyers, surprisingly enough most took the news very much in stride. Realizing that their monies were safe in an escrow account, the general consensus amongst my clients was that the end product would be one of, if not the best on the strip of any Las Vegas hotel-condos and that the big loser would be Bruce Eichner who would surely lose the controlling interest in his amazing vision.

Some good news is that Perini, the GC on the project is continuing on & work will not stop.

Who will take over the project? Rumors are flying. My guess would be the most simple answer. I will leave that to your imagination. I expect an announcement to be imminent given that Perini is moving forward.  The location & the vision is just too good to pass up. Stay tuned for more info on the saga of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

Visit Our Condo Experts Site & Our Condo Bargains Site for more info on Las Vegas High Rise real estate.

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas financial difficulties may impact the already sluggish Las Vegas high rise condo market. Time to hop on a luxury condo deal? Many Las Vegas CondoPredators (tm) are on the hunt.

The Stark Team of Ezra International Realty has developed www.LasVegasCondoBargains.com in response to the numerous requests we are getting to locate distressed luxury condos in the many new Las Vegas high rise towers on & near the Las Vegas strip. Many of these new high rise towers are vacant & dark at night, as the investors who purchased them are servicing debt and living in a state of denial as to the true state of the market and the economic conditions that are affecting the Las Vegas real estate market.

With today's press releases about the financial problems plaguing the COSMOPOLITAN RESORT I expect the market to experience another slowdown.  (COSMO BUYERS - your deposits are safe & in escrow & rumors are that a white knight is on the horizon)

Who is out there buying?  CondoPredators (tm), Bottom feeders, savvy investors, all on the prowl for the ultimate luxury condo deal.

Sellers are beginning to catch onto the Las Vegas High Rise Condo Scenario - 2008 style.

There is a glut of high rise condo property purchased by flippers who can not find someone to flip to.

The would be sellers are servicing debt each month.

Those who purchased "Decorator Ready" units in Turnberry Towers and Turnberry Place are not even in a position to rent them until they invest even more money & build them out.

Allure is closing it units now, and Turnberry Towers West as early as March.  Both offered units "Decorator Ready".  More inventory will hit the market.

What can a Seller do? Rent at a loss and service debt each month? Sell at a loss? Those who purchased for their own use have beautiful units in stunning buildings in fantastic locations.  But the flippers have a long haul ahead of them unless they can sell lower than their competition and often for less than what they paid.

Many are in a state of deep denial.  What  will result once the denial turns into a state of depression remains to be seen. Stay tuned and if you are a bulk buyer, discount buyer, looking for a steal of a deal - visit www.LasVegasCondoBargains.com . The Stark Team can sift thru the inventory & find the deals & bargains and the few foreclosures that we are beginning to see in the Las Vegas High Rise real estate market.  We know where they are! Fill out our Hot Deal Alert Form. We will be in touch.

THE MACROECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF STAGFLATION

FOR THE LAS VEGAS HIGH RISE/CONDO REAL ESTATE MARKET

Do we have a crystal ball? No. Do we understand the dynamics of the economy on Las Vegas Real Estate? Please read on & decide.

What is stagflation? It is simply inflation with no growth. Now the pundits of Wall Street will tell you otherwise to keep the lie of no inflation a myth and keep the "investors in the barn from bolting". The Federal Reserve also keeps the lie going that inflation is not a problem. But the truth is that oil is up 70% in 2007, near $95 per barrel. The grain markets: soybeans, corn and wheat are up almost 80-100% during 2007 with each of these grain markets hitting 30 year highs. Gold is up 60% during 2007 touching $900/ounce last week. All other precious metals such as platinum, rhodium, silver, palladium are up huge percentages as well during 2007 with platinum closing at $1565 per ounce on Friday, January 12.

The scary part is that the Federal Reserve is printing money at a rate of over 15% per annum. Most other central banks are doing the same, with the Euro and Swiss Franc being notable exceptions.. There is a worldwide debasement in the value of currency, especially in relationship to commodities. This will continue into the future as we are beyond peak oil (that is, oil supplies are dwindling faster than new oil supplies coming on board). But the most notable debasement of one currency in particular is the U.S. dollar. The Federal Reserve, along with the nodding approval of the White House and both parties of Congress, are literally destroying the wealth of Americans by devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Can anyone remember when the Canadian dollar, which always used to be worth about 70 cents versus the U.S. dollar is now worth more than the U.S. dollar. I can't. THE DESTRUCTION OF WEALTH UPON ALL UNITED STATES CITIZENS IS UPON US NOW, ESPECIALLY UPON THE MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASSES. IT IS DELIBERTELY BEING ORCHESTRATED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO KEEP THE BUBBLE GOING. From one bubble to the next. First it was the stock market bubble of the late 1990's, next it was the real estate bubble with artificial and ridiculous low interest rates to re-stimulate the economy. Along with that came lending to anyone with no documentation, all kinds of exotic lending programs, mortgage fraud, bad sub-prime mortgage paper created by Wall Street which immediately and grossly increased the money supply. Wall Street then sold that bad sub-prime paper to take that asset class off their balance sheets and spread the risk to other banking institutions worldwide to eventually create a worldwide credit crunch. The effects are now hitting Europe with the head of the Swiss National Bank stating today, January 13, 2008, that the "economy is deteriorating rapidly".

Senator Schumer of New York called for an immediate $70 billion economic stimulus package on Friday, January 12, to revive a sliding economy, especially after very weak Xmas sales were being reported by most retailers. How's that for printing more money and debasing the U.S. dollar further? Does anyone think that a mere $70 billion in stimulus is going to help the U.S. economy, which is heading downward in growth, and where many economic experts including the Bubble Master himself, Alan Greenspan, are calling for a recession in 2008. Whether the U.S. economy is technically heading for a recession or not doesn't matter. What we do know is that many industries in the U.S. are already in recession right now, namely the housing sector, the mortgage industry, the automobile industry, many retailers, the banking industry, and so forth.

It is now being circulated that the U.S government via the Federal Reserve is being asked to bail out Wall Street and its sub-prime mess which Wall Street created. This sub-prime debacle, which is spreading to Alt-A and prime mortgage paper, has destroyed the balance sheets of many venerable Wall Street brokerage houses as well as well-known large institutional banks. It is the reason why Citibank, etc. are selling off large chunks of their companies to Sovereign Wealth Funds (funds controlled by foreign governments not so friendly to the United States) to raise financing to shore up their balance sheets. It is rumored that Citibank and Merrill Lynch will write off an astronomical $15-20 billion each in the quarter ending December 31, 2007. It is a reason why the nation's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide, who was rumored to need $4 billion in the next 2 weeks to avoid bankruptcy, was purchased by Bank of America last week through the urging of the Federal government. The CEO of Countrywide took a $87 million parachute payment and left the company riding off into the sun. Stops and makes one think about the shenanigans regarding the entire mortgage market and the mess it has created for American home owners and the value of their real estate. Just like one big ponzi scheme. Countrywide's stock, which use to be priced at about $60 per share one year ago, closed on Friday at about $6.50 per share. By the way, the Wall Street investors did not overwhelmingly approve this deal with their pocketbooks. Talk about the demise of the mortgage market, and the worldwide affects of the credit crunch and you get a clearer picture of the why the U.S. real estate market is in such a funk.

How does the stagflation affect discussed above affect the Las Vegas real estate market. There are 2 segments of the Las Vegas real estate market that needs to be discussed here, namely the single family home market and the Las Vegas High Rise market. Las Vegas has led the nation for the last 11 months in a row with the highest foreclosure rate in single family homes. Fortunately, that has not happened to the Las Vegas High Rise market as we did not overbuild the high rise segment. But because of the current state of the U.S. economy with recession fears and because of the continuous worldwide credit crunch, the Las Vegas High Rise market is back to 2004-2005 prices.

Unfortunately, there are many Las Vegas high rise owners looking to sell their units at 2008 prices. THEY ARE IN DEEP DENIAL. These sellers have 3 choices right now: (1) hold on to their units and continue to service their debt and association fees and wait for a turnaround which may be years off, (2) rent their units and take a cash flow loss, since rental prices are soft for the Las Vegas high rise market, or (3) lower their prices to 2004-2005 levels which are the realistic prices they will receive for their units. Again, those owners/sellers who recently closed escrow on their Las Vegas high rise units closed at the peak of the current market cycle.

It has been noted that the Ben Bernake, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, also know as "Helicopter Ben", last week stated that the Federal Reserve will do whatever it takes to keep the economy going and avoid a recessionary downturn, mainly being caused by the housing crisis. The Federal Reserve is expected to lower rates this month, maybe by as much as 50 basis points. Whatever happened to the Austrian Economic School of thought which believes in the natural economic cycle that recessions are necessary after multiple-year economic expansions? I'm sorry to say, in my humble opinion, the Federal Reserve aggressively easing rates won't help the real estate market during this economic cycle. We are in different times. We are in a stagflation environment. What this easing move will do will cause more inflation, devalue the dollar even further, erode the wealth of all Americans by making their dollar assets less valuable, and further demise the real estate market. Please do not assume that lowering interest rates is the panacea the real estate market needs. If one was to take history into account, let's look at Japan as an example. When the Japanese stock market bubble burst in the 1980's and Japan lowered interest rates to 0%, that is, the incredible and amazing fact that one could borrow money and pay no interest even as of today, the Japanese real estate prices never recovered back to their 1980 prices even to this day.

For potential buyers of Las Vegas High Rise units, there are tremendous opportunities. But be a Condo Predator ^TM. Buy only Bargains, Buy below what the sellers paid for their units. There are many bargains to be had in the Las Vegas High Rise market, where units are now selling for tens of thousands of dollars below what the seller paid for his unit. The Stark Team and Ezra International Realty are Las Vegas' Leading Luxury High Rise Experts, who have won the most awards and have sold more high rise units in Las Vegas than anyone else. The Stark Team has a large inventory of bargains to be had by the savvy Condo Predator ^TM.

Lastly, there are a number of high rise realtors/brokers out there claiming to be the know-it-alls of the Las Vegas High Rise Market. THEY ARE NOT. Ask them simply when they got their real estate license, in other words, how long have they been selling real estate in Las Vegas. I would venture to say that many of these so-called high rise realtors are licensed only a few years, even those who have broker licenses, and have never been through a wicked down cycle like we are seeing at the moment. Las Vegas is the wild, wild west when it comes to real estate. Many realtors/brokers claim and fabricate many things. Be very careful of who you do business with.

The Stark Team have been residents in Las Vegas for over 35 years, have over 30 years combined experience in selling real estate in Las Vegas. We were the original pioneers in the Las Vegas High Rise Market before anyone else, are listed in the Who's Who of Luxury Real Estate, have received many accolades from the local real estate community, the Las Vegas High Rise community, and from the Las Vegas High Rise developers themselves. We have been asked to consult on many Las Vegas High Rise projects from their inception. We are known for are integrity, honesty and for telling the truth. Just ask around. Ask the developers. Ask the sales managers of all the Las Vegas High Rise projects about us. The Stark Team wants you to ask around about us before you do business with us. Before you do business with any realtor/broker out there, do your research on that realtor/broker you will be doing business with. It is critical at this stage of the real estate cycle.

Sellers - please contact us regarding the sale of your unit. We will tell you the truth. The Stark Team is forthright about the current state of the market. Our integrity and reputation are non-negotiable. We want to help you sell your unit. But we will not be shy about the forces you face in getting your unit sold. Our clients and their needs always come first.

Please visit us at LasVegasCondoBargains.com. Please visit us at LasVegasCondoExperts.com. We are the Deal Makers^TM. We can make your Las Vegas High Rise dream come true. We can help you find your bargain. We know all the best deals out there.

CONTACT THE STARK TEAM, EZRA INTERNATIONAL REALTY, LAS VEGAS LEADING HIGH RISE EXPERTS

FOR ALL YOUR BUYING, SELLING, AND LAS VEGAS INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE NEEDS

702 376-5220

With the Las Vegas real estate market plentiful with foreclosures, the high rise condo sector has been relatively immune to this situation.  Are the trends beginning to change? We are tracking foreclosures in Las Vegas luxury condos and have come across 2 in Turnberry Place, 3 short sales in Panorama Towers and 1 killer bank repo deal in Metropolis. Is this an anomoly or a sign of times to come?

Allure Las Vegas, Trump, the Palms and Turnberry Towers West are all opening now or in the next few months.  What affect will this have on the already stagnant glut of inventory in the existing towers?  Is the inventory overpriced? From a cost standoint, based on what it tkes to build a luxury high rise tower, I would say not. But from the buyers' viewpoint, I would say so, otherwise these oh so attractive elegant units on the strip would be gobbled up and inventory levels would not be building.

The Stark Team, Ezra International Realty, Las Vegas' leading high rise condo real estate agents, is closely tracking the foreclosure market in Las Vegas for condo & hotel-condo defaults, short sales and foreclosures.

CONTACT THE STARK TEAM for Detailed info & Visit http://www.lasvegascondobargains.comfor the latest foreclosure listings in Las Vegas and Henderson NV real estate.