There are many places in the US where property prices are way down. Of all these places, why should you choose Las Vegas?

Taxes

When it comes to taxes, Nevada is an investor's dream. Nevada has:

• No franchise tax
• No personal income tax
• No "rental property" tax
• No information sharing agreement with the IRS

See this page for specifics about doing business in Nevada.

Construction & Landscaping

Having owned properties in multiple states I find the Las Vegas construction and environment results in very low maintenance. For example, on properties I owned in Atlanta and Houston, I seemed to always be painting, replacing siding, fixing roofs and gutters. The construction in Las Vegas is stucco walls and tile roofs. Even the fences are low maintenance; they are made of concrete bock. The landscaping is typically desertscape (rocks and xeriscape plants) and requires very little maintenance.

Pro Business Government

When Nevada revamped its business laws several years ago they virtually copied Delaware's. Delaware (or now Nevada) is were most companies are incorporated due to the business laws. This is a very import factor to corporations. But it is not just business laws, the pro business environment extends everywhere. For example, in California a tenant who knows what they are doing can remain in a property for almost one year before they are evicted. In Las Vegas its about 20 days.

Land Shortage

Land shortage? For those who have been here, you will remember the vast open spaces of land surrounding Las Vegas. Fortunately (or unfortunately) it’s all federal land. In fact, only about 11% of the entire state of Nevada is privately held. How much undeveloped land remains in the Las Vegas valley? About 35,000 acres. That is not a lot of land with a population increase averaging 10% to 15% per year. (2007 was a bad year for Las Vegas yet the city grew 12% in population and crossed the 2,000,000 mark.) See the map below.

Las Vegas is totally land-locked by federal land with the largest expansion area in the north east between Nellis AFB and the Nellis bombing area. I have lived near military jets before and I would not choose to do it again. So, bottom line, Las Vegas is out of room for expansion. The only way to expand is to tear down existing structures (which is already happening east of the strip) or build vertically which is also happening. If you have a increasing population and limited land, prices will go up.

Retirement Population

Las Vegas is near to both Las Angles and San Diego. Between the two cities, approximately 2.5M people will reach retirement age in the next two years. If 1% choose to sell their expensive California homes and retire in Las Vegas, it would be more homes than are currently for sale.

Unique Nature of Las Vegas

Las Vegas is unique in the nation since it is the only major city that combines the attributes listed below. These factors are encouraging businesses and infrastructure providers to move their business to Las Vegas. Plus, Las Vegas is very attractive to retired people. Low cost of living, plenty of entertainment, good medical care and low cost public golf courses are very attractive.

• Dual power sources (California and Hoover Dam). This is a critical element for network access providers (Internet backbone infrastructure) and may other businesses that can't tolerate a power failure.
• Low risk of seismic activity
• Business friendly government
• No hard freezes
• Abundant labor supply
• Low cost of living
• 310+ days of sunshine per year
• No state income taxes
• Low terrorism threat

Job Growth and Diversification

Today, Las Vegas has over 6% unemployment; mostly in construction. This is exceptionally rare since Las Vegas has traditionally been one of the leading cities in the nation for job growth. However, this will rapidly change as liquidity is restored and the large projects like City Center ($7.6B) are completed and come online. There are three large casino projects (including City Center) which are scheduled to come online in 2010 and will bring almost 80,000 incremental jobs. Plus, companies are continuing to relocate here because of the pro-business environment. Some of the types of businesses that are relocating to Las Vegas include furniture, cancer research, Network Access Points (NAP), jewelry, air freight hub, internet retailers, and more. Further, there are plans in the works for a high speed maglev train to connect Las vegas with Los Angles.

A Great Place To Live

I remember reading about a company that planned a brilliant dog food campaign for a new product. Everyone loved the campaign and lots of consumers bought one can. The problem was that the dogs did not like the food and would not eat it so the product failed despite the great campaign. This is true for where people live; if it is not a good place to live and raise a family, it will not have sustained growth. Once you get away from the strip, Las Vegas is a great place to live. Prices are reasonable (more so now!!!) and there are lots of parks, sports, golf, entertainment, and 310+ days of sunshine per year. Here, a valet or bar tender can afford to buy a nice home.

Call me today for your real estate investment needs, you will be glad you did.

Eric Fernwood
702-358-8884
EricFernwood@Gmail.com