Since I have Exalted Grand High Gambling Idiot status at the Palms,
I got a letter last month inviting me to get in on the ground floor,
as it were, and reserve a piece of the new Palms condo project for
myself before the "public" got ahold of it.
All I have to do is throw $100,000 at a company that hasn't even
broken ground on the project, isn't traded publicly so I can't find
out anything about its finances, and won't bother even to say when
the flippin' things will be ready for occupancy. Needless to say, I
wouldn't get any interest on my deposit during the three (or so)
years of construction. (IF construction ever actually takes place--
IF I get my deposit back when Maloof goes into receivership.)
I would also be speculating on the condo actually being WORTH 1.2
bazillion or whatever they're finally asking for it. I get a strong
sense that the Vegas highrise luxury I-got-more-money-than-sense
market will be dramatically oversupplied when all nineteen of these
projects come on line in 2007-2009.
This is a horrible time in general to buy Vegas real estate, as
people who look only at the monthly payment (without considering
whether the house is worth the money) will pay ANYTHING for a Vegas
house; this has driven the market to unbelievably unrealistic
levels, since the term "creative financing" has reached new levels.
What you don't get in Vegas with your bargain house, is LAND.
Developers squueze as many houses as they can into a subdivision,
on .16 or .25 acre lots. When your next-door neighbor sneezes, you
can reach out the window and hand him a Kleenex. The new
neighborhoods are horribly underserved in terms of infrastructure,
services, parks, schools, etc. etc.
The real crusher will come when interest rates rise again, suddenly
there are not as many qualifying buyers, the inventory of both new
and existing houses for sale zooms upward, and people have to start
dumping houses. There will be many who will be stuck here for good
(thus canceling the master plan of: move here, work a few years,
sell the house for a huge profit, and leave) when they discover that
they have negative equity in their houses.
It might seem intriguing to move here and play VP and eat at buffets
all day long. But that tends to get monotonous after a while; you
want to do SOMETHING besides visit a casino, only to discover that
there really ISN'T anything else to do. For a city of this size,
there are pitifully few entertainment/cultural options; that's
because, of course, of the pervasive influence of the casinos and
the magnetic effect they have on people. And day trips? We're
surrounded by thousands of square miles of the ugliest, most
featureless, most boring and aesthetically challenged landscape in
the universe (not just Earth). Yes, I know about Red Rock Canyon,
Mt. Charleston, etc. etc. They're the exception that proves the
rule. We're 2 1/2 hours from anything interesting (Utah parks) and 5-
6 hours from any other city. To sum up: move here, and you'd better
like it here, because you'll be STUCK here!
And to answer the inevitable question, I'm outta here in June, to go
live in Tahoe, as soon as the kid's school year is over. I feel like
Persephone serving winter in Hell.
This was such a great place to live seven years ago---now it's like
a hot, dusty version of LA. Blecch!!