News Archive

  • Foreclosed home sales largely vanished in Las Vegas

    November 23, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Eli Segall

    Not long after I moved to Las Vegas in 2012, I went to a friend’s house in the southwest valley. If street parking is tight, he told me, just use the driveway next door.

    The neighbors wouldn’t mind. There weren’t any.

    The abandoned two-story house with a pool was sold at a foreclosure auction in 2013 and quickly traded hands again, property records indicate. Such deals used to dominate Las Vegas’ battered housing market, but today they barely make a blip.

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  • California residents fleeing to Nevada and Arizona as high taxes, home prices force them out

    July 25, 2019 | Fox News | Benjamin Brown

    LAS VEGAS -- After five years of living in sunny California, Billy Mitchell decided to leave the Golden State for the Nevada desert, where he could get more bang for his buck.

    “It’s ridiculous. The house I was living in, I was in Orange County in Fullerton, and it was maybe 1,300 square feet, one bathroom – it was a nice place and all but it was about $150,000 more than this place,” Mitchell said as he gave a tour of his newly purchased, 2,100-square-foot home in Henderson, Nev.

    For $150,000 less, Mitchell’s new home sits on nearly a third of an acre and also has a pool. He, along with roughly 660,000 other people, decided to move out of California to avoid high taxes and find a cheaper cost of living in neighboring states like Nevada and Arizona, according to Census data.

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  • Retail over gaming preferred for $172 million Las Vegas Strip location

    June 29, 2019 | CDC Gaming Reports | Buck Wargo

    A Las Vegas Strip site, once planned for an Elvis Presley-themed resort, has been sold for $172 million and will be developed for retail, entertainment and dining.

    Gindi Capital, a New York-based investment company and co-owners of the nearby Showcase Mall north of the MGM Grand Las Vegas, announced Friday it was acquiring 9.5 acres from FX Luxury Las Vegas, an affiliate of Spectrum Group Management, for $18 million an acre.

    The original owners, who planned the Elvis casino, forfeited the land to lenders when the Great Recession hit a decade ago.

    The site has the Hawaiian Marketplace and retail shops at 3743 to 3759 Las Vegas Boulevard with 700 feet of street frontage.

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  • Las Vegas home values drop, rents grow fastest in the nation

    June 25, 2019 | News 3 LV | Gabby Hart

    LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — According to a new Zillow report, home values across the U.S. dropped about one-tenth of a percent in May compared to April.

    Here in Las Vegas, home values dropped four-tenths of a percent in the same time-frame. Even with that slight drop, however, experts say home prices are still up from last year.

    "We've had this roller coaster ride for the last decade and a half and I think the fact that we're starting to see prices flatten a bit is probably a good thing," said Brian Gordon, who’s a principal with Applied Analysis.

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  • Education leaders, advocates offer mixed reaction to proposed school funding formula during first hearing

    May 22, 2019 | The Nevada Independent | Michelle Rindels, Jackie Valley

    An initial hearing for SB543, the legislation that would revamp Nevada’s school funding formula, drew technical concerns from lawmakers and fractured support among rural and urban superintendents.

    The nearly seven-hour joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means stretched well into Tuesday night. It began with a detailed presentation from economic analyst Jeremy Aguero, who helped craft the proposed student-centered funding model, and ended with hours of testimony from school administrators, union leaders, education advocates, city employees and business representatives.

    The new formula, which would be phased in over two years, would transform how education money is distributed throughout the state. It would include base per-pupil funding as well as weights — extra dollars funneled to serve students who are learning English as a second language, living in low-income households, have a disability or are gifted and talented.

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  • Legislators hold first hearing on new education funding plan

    May 22, 2019 | Las Vegas Sun | John Sadler

    CARSON CITY — One of the largest bills this legislative session — a complete overhaul of the state’s K-12 funding system, was heard by committee for the first time Tuesday evening.

    Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson and chief majority whip, introduced the legislation — Senate Bill 543 — to the Senate Committee on Finance, stating that the change in population and demographics since the implementation of the Nevada Plan — the name for the state’s 52-year-old funding formula — means a new system is required.

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  • More Las Vegas small businesses sell for more cash

    May 21, 2019 | Las Vegas Business Press | Buck Wargo

    In a sign of a strong economy, more Las Vegas small business owners are selling their companies and fetching a much higher sales price than they were a year ago, according to a new report.

    Bob House, president of California-based BizBuySell, which has a platform that allows business brokers to list companies for sale, said it’s a reflection of baby boomers and older business owners taking advantage of the recovery in the economy since theGreat Recession in Las Vegas and across the country.

    “What’s happened the last few years is (that) these businesses have been performing better, and the economy has been strong, and revenue and cash flow are inching up,” House said. “A lot of baby boomers out there are reaching retirement age and are exiting their business for retirement. They’re looking to cash out now when it’s favorable.

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  • Nevada Legislature gets first look at new schools funding plan

    May 21, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Colton Lochhead, Bill Dentzer

    CARSON CITY — Lawmakers got a full rundown of the proposed overhaul to the state’s 52-year-old formula for funding K-12 education in the state.

    The proposal comes via Senate Bill 543, called the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan, which was unveiled last week and calls for a complete rewrite of the state’s current funding formula, which was put in place in 1967.

    The new formula establishes a “base funding amount” for all of Nevada’s nearly 450,000 K-12 students, though what that number will be has not been determined.

    It would collect dozens of funding streams for education into one account, making it easier to dole out to various school districts and track. Also, it would create a special formula that gives extra money to kids in special education or gifted and talented programs, those at or near the poverty level, or those who are learning English, no matter which school they attend.

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  • Nevada school funding plan finally unveiled

    May 13, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Colton Lochhead, Bill Dentzer

    CARSON CITY — Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled their long-awaited proposal to revamp the state’s decades-old formula to fund education in Nevada, presenting a plan that would go into effect in two years and aims to hold all districts harmless from potential funding cuts.

    The bill, which Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, has been working on for more than a year, is expected to replace the 52-year-old Nevada Plan, which has been panned as antiquated for its continued reliance on the previous year’s statistics for future funding.

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  • Lawmakers roll out long-awaited plan to rework, simplify education funding formula

    May 13, 2019 | The Nevada Independent | Michelle Rindels, Jackie Valley, Megan Messerly

    With three weeks left in the legislative session, Democratic state senators have unveiled a much-anticipated plan to overhaul Nevada’s 52-year-old public education funding formula — a move that the bill’s sponsor says will help Nevada children “stand toe-to-toe with students from any state in the nation.”

    The introduction of the legislation marks lawmakers’ most dramatic step yet toward revamping the complicated formula that operates like a seesaw, with state funding to districts decreasing as local funding increases. The existing system has been widely panned as an inadequate model that focuses too much on sparsity vs. density and doesn’t take into account the needs of today’s highly diverse student body.

    Members of the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus outlined the bill on Monday, after it was formally introduced on the Senate floor and dubbed SB543. It’s expected to come up for its first hearing next week before a joint Senate and Assembly budget committee meeting.

    “After many years of work, we are so proud to unveil this new plan to modernize and overhaul Nevada’s outdated education funding formula,” said Democratic Sen. Mo Denis, a bill sponsor. “With the input with this implementation of the Nevada State Education Fund, our schools will be better equipped to provide our students with a world-class education that prepares them for 21st century jobs.”

    At a press conference, economic analyst Jeremy Aguero, who crafted the bill and has previously worked on other major projects such as designing the Commerce Tax, briefed reporters on its major features.

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  • Nevada bill introduced to overhaul school funding formula

    May 13, 2019 | 13 Action News | Associated Press

    CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Senate Democrats rolled out a bill Monday that aims to overhaul how Nevada allocates education funding, prompting one teachers group to level sharp criticism and argue the proposal would be devastating to the state's rural areas.

    Lawmakers said they want to revamp the school funding process for certain children who need extra support, such as students who are learning English or receive free or reduced-price meals. Democrats in both legislative chambers have identified the effort as a session priority.

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  • Bill still under wraps, but details emerging about proposed school funding formula overhaul

    May 10, 2019 | The Nevada Independent | Jackie Valley, Michelle Rindels

    Select education, business and political leaders who attended private briefings this week about the long-awaited bill to modernize the state’s K-12 funding formula had mixed reactions about the plan, with some saying it looks promising and others going so far as to suggest it would be “devastating” to some rural school districts.

    The bill has not been unveiled publicly and reporters were not allowed to attend briefings or review the PowerPoint presentations; Democratic bill sponsor and Sen. Mo Denis said again Thursday that the bill would be coming “any day now.” But analyst Jeremy Aguero, who has been crafting the funding formula overhaul, discussed key concepts during invitation-only meetings over the past week.

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  • Homebuilders post sharp drop in first-quarter sales in Summerlin

    May 10, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Eli Segall

    Homebuilders’ sales totals dipped throughout Southern Nevada early this year. But according to a report this week, buyer activity fell particularly hard in a normally hot spot for house construction: Summerlin.

    Builders sold 302 homes in Las Vegas’ largest master-planned community in the first quarter, down 26 percent from the same period last year, Summerlin developer Howard Hughes Corp. disclosed this week.

    The report indicates, but doesn’t explicitly state, that the figures represent new sales contracts, not closings.

    Overall, builders closed nearly 2,300 sales in the first quarter in the Las Vegas area, down 4.6 percent from the same period in 2018, according to Home Builders Research.

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  • STUDY: Families living in lower-income neighborhoods don't feel they have access to quality education

    April 9, 2019 | 13 Action News | Dayna Roselli

    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Good teachers, competitive schools, high quality education. Three things on any parents wishlist! But, does every family have the same access?

    A study by Zillow shows families living in lower-income neighborhoods feel they don't have access to high quality education... while those in top-tier neighborhoods say they do have access.

    Local educators are trying to Raise The Bar by closing this gap.

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  • Retail star of 2018 commercial real state report

    April 2, 2019 | Las Vegas Business Press | Buck Wargo

    The retail market has come full circle since the Great Recession by ending 2018 with its lowest vacancy rate in a decade, according to research firm Applied Analysis, which credits home construction and population growth for increasing demand.

    The office market showed similar gains with its lowest vacancy rate since the fourth quarter of 2008. The industrial market continued to add millions of square feet of space to meet demand.

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  • Economist: Diversification in Las Vegas crucial to area’s stability in fluctuating national economy

    March 26, 2019 | Vegas Inc. | Bryan Horwath

    If an economic downturn is near, as some national experts predict, Las Vegas could be positioned to offset its effects because the economy here is more diverse than it was a decade ago, according to one national analyst.

    “The Las Vegas economy has become more of a destination for young job-seekers,” said Mark Vitner, a Wells Fargo economist based in North Carolina. “When I was in Las Vegas (in February) meeting with our bank customers, I’d say a quarter to one-third of the companies were in tech. Some were tied to the gaming industry, though most were not."

    Traditionally, of course, a large portion of the Las Vegas economy has centered around gaming and tourism. The thought is that a more diversified local economy will help the valley cope if the national economy takes a turn for the worse.

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  • Report: Las Vegas is among top 3 metro areas for job creation in January

    March 18, 2019 | 8 News Now | Sally Jaramillo

    LAS VEGAS - Business is booming in Southern Nevada as Las Vegas sits among the top three metro areas for job creation in the country in January, according to a new report by Bloomberg. The other two cities at the top are Memphis and Sacramento.

    According to the principal analyst for Applied Analysis, Jeremy Aguero, the Las Vegas valley's job growth has been relatively strong for the past 5 years. It's right above 3 percent per year which is about double what's been seeing in terms of the national average.

    "Right now in southern Nevada we have more job openings than we have people to actually take those jobs," said Aguero.

    According to Aguero, this is a good sign that the Las Vegas economy is strong!

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  • Las Vegas Valley home prices grew in all ZIP codes in 2018

    February 22, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Eli Segall

    The small house in central Las Vegas stands out a bit because of its salmon-colored exterior but otherwise fits right in with the neighborhood of older, low-slung homes.

    Since the recession, its value has also shot up — but that’s not much of an anomaly either.

    Southern Nevada home prices rose at one of the fastest rates in the country last year amid a growing population and strengthened job market. According to a new report from SalesTraq, the residential research arm of consulting firm Applied Analysis, resale prices climbed in 2018 in every ZIP code in the valley for the second year in a row, and they rose fastest in more centrally located areas — which tend to have older homes and lower prices.

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  • Vegas wedding chapels, planners prepare for Valentine's Day rush

    February 13, 2019 | 13 Action News | Jackie Kostek

    LAS VEGAS/KTNV — On days like Valentine's Day, it's hard to believe the Vegas wedding industry is on the decline.

    "I now pronounce you husband and wife - next," joked Charolette Richards, longtime owner of the Little White Wedding Chapel.

    Richards, who's been at the helm of the famous chapel on Las Vegas Blvd. for more than 60 years, said they have more than a hundred ceremonies booked tomorrow - and that doesn't include walk-ins.

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  • Las Vegas home prices soaring, but still below bubble years

    February 9, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Eli Segall

    Las Vegas home prices, as buyers and brokers know, are climbing fast, outpacing major markets and sparking affordability concerns around the valley.

    But in a sign of just how extreme last decade’s boom and bust was, resale prices still haven’t hit pre-recession peaks, which were reached more than 12 years ago.

    The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes, the bulk of the market, was $300,000 last month. That’s more than doubled since hitting bottom in early 2012 at $118,000, but it is still below the boom-era peak of $315,000 in mid-2006, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

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  • Reno No. 1 for job growth in 2018, but good luck finding a house

    February 7, 2019 | Reno Gazette Journal | Jason Hidalgo

    Good news, Reno, you were No. 1 in the nation for job growth in 2018. The bad news? That also drove up demand for housing, which made it tougher to find an affordable place to live in.

    Jobs and housing were front and center on Thursday as the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada tackled all sorts of questions from industry diversification to the potential impact of a cooling national economy during the organization's annual State of the Economy luncheon in Reno.

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  • State of the Economy in the Reno Area is Strong According to EDAWN
    Thursday the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) hosted its annual state of the economy to give community leaders a summary of economic development in the Reno area in the last year.

    February 7, 2019 | 2 News | Brandon Fuhs

    Thursday the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) hosted its annual state of the economy to give community leaders a summary of economic development in the Reno area in the last year.

    Over the last year more than 29 companies have come to the region, supplying more than two thousand jobs. More than 800 of those jobs include hourly wages of at least 30 dollars.

    EDAWN President and CEO Mike Kazmierski says a decade ago, their goal was to bring in as many jobs as possible. Now the unemployment has dropped from 14.5 percent to about four percent, their focus is on higher paying jobs.

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  • UFC’s McGregor, Nurmagomedov avoid NAC hearings with settlements

    January 28, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Adam Hill

    Tuesday’s meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission may not be as chaotic as originally believed when the agenda was posted last week.

    UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former champ Conor McGregor have entered into settlement agreements with the state and will not be present to go through full disciplinary hearings for their role in a post-fight fracas at T-Mobile Arena after their UFC 229 main event bout in October.

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  • Another bubble? Experts assess housing market and more

    January 24, 2019 | Las Vegas Sun | Ric Anderson

    Business people from across the Las Vegas valley gathered at UNLV today to see a snapshot of the Southern Nevada economy and hear experts offer outlooks on the region’s future.

    The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Preview forecasting event and trade show drew more than 2,000 business and community leaders to the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion. About 100 exhibitors, including a number of local restaurants, were on hand to display their products.

    So where is Las Vegas, and where is it going? Here are a few takeaways from the event’s slate of speakers...

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  • Economic accomplishments and future expectations highlighted at 'Preview' event

    January 24, 2019 | 8 News Now | Patrick Walker

    LAS VEGAS - Hundreds of members of the Las Vegas business community descended on the Thomas and Mack center Thursday to find out the economic forecast for the year ahead.

    It was all part of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce's "Preview Las Vegas" event.

    As the country is about to hit a decade of economic growth, the Silver State is out in front. Applied Analysis Principal Jeremy Aguero highlighted some of Nevada's major accomplishments for 2018, including being number 1 in growth rate, job growth rate and personal income growth.

    This comes with growing pains however.

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  • Safety agreement OK’d for Las Vegas Raiders stadium field tray

    January 17, 2019 | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Richard Velotta

    Safety measures involving one of the two large openings within the $1.8 billion Las Vegas stadium project were unanimously approved Thursday by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

    An agreement for door and columns operations for a 9,500-ton field tray containing a natural grass field to be grown outdoors and wheeled on rails inside the stadium for Raiders games was one of the few action items in the authority’s one-hour meeting.

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  • Nevada business leaders bullish on growth in 2019, but legislature remains a wild card

    January 14, 2019 | Watchdog.org | Michael Carroll

    Nevada's tourism and high-tech industries are poised to continue their expansion in the year ahead, but those who track the state's economy worry about whether Democrats' gains in the midterm elections might cool growth with higher taxes and more regulations.

    Nevada became a much bluer state as a result of November's balloting, which put Democrat Steve Sisolak in the Governor's Office and led to Democratic gains in the state legislature.

    Even so, Nevada's bounce-back from the previous recession appears to be holding steady into 2019, observers told Watchdog.org. Numbers from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) show signs that visitor angst over the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in the city may be waning.

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  • Housing prices in Las Vegas flattening out

    January 8, 2019 | 8 News Now | Caroline Bleakley

    LAS VEGAS - The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors' released its latest report on the local housing market Tuesday.

    It shows the median home price for the month of December in Las Vegas was $295,000. That was nearly the same for the previous two months, but still up double digits from the same time a year ago.

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  • 2019 Economic Forecast for Nevada
    Upward Trends

    January 1, 2019 | Nevada Business | Doresa Banning

    According to experts, the outlook for Nevada’s economy this year is positive and projected to fare at least as well as it did, or perhaps even better, in 2018. However, one or more known or unknown wild cards could have a dampening effect.

    Some of the indicators that support the forecast in Southern Nevada include strong employment and population growth, robust consumer spending, increasing personal income and high taxable sales.

    “We do expect continued expansion going into 2019,” said Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst, Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas-based research firm.

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