LFC Group of Companies, the industry trailblazer in online real estate auctions, is spearheading a 30-day end of year closeout sale of homes in the Las Vegas area on its residential real estate auction website FRE.com(R)

In the midst of a sluggish market, LFC is changing the way real estate is bought and sold with its innovative, convenient, and transparent online auction format. LFC offers sellers an accelerated sales program and, rather than wasting homebuyers’ time, crowding them into a cramped convention room for a traditional outcry auction–the trend in Las Vegas auctions so far–the online auction format provides an easily accessible means of buying that also responds to homebuyers’ desires to set their own prices. In a city overwhelmed by foreclosures, this event stands apart from the rest by offering deals on distinctive new homes.

With the click of a mouse, first-time buyers, as well as those looking to upgrade to something newer, can bid on a new home that fits their needs. The homes–located among six communities–give buyers access to the best in suburban Las Vegas living.

The well-planned communities, countless practical amenities, and vast natural landscape, leave no wonder why Las Vegas has been one of the fastest growing metro areas in America since 1990.

Minimum bids start at $99,000, giving buyers the chance to invest in Las Vegas real estate for well under suggested market values.

The gated neighborhood of Highgate, in the master-planned community of Providence, is marked by lush landscapes and beautiful architectural finishes. The spacious homes feature stately interiors and luxurious amenities.

Madera, part of the gated Vista Verde community, affords residents single- and double-story homes that are both stylish and earth friendly. Residents of Highgate and Madera can explore Floyd Lamb State Park or unwind with a game of golf at the nearby Silverstone Golf Club.

San Rafael, located near the builder’s Eldorado master-planned community, features charming two-story homes and a neighborhood park.

Fiesta del Norte features unique and comfortable single-story homes.

With opportunities for outdoor fun in nearby Lee Canyon or Mount Charleston and a variety of entertainment and shopping locations just off the US 95, there are plenty of ways to stay busy.

Residents can take day trips to Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, or the Colorado River. Or, for a more ambitious excursion, camping trips and hikes through the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and the Valley of Fire make for an exciting taste of the natural southwest.

This is no typical auction. “Las Vegas has seen more than its share of unsuccessful outcry auctions this year but nothing like our online auction,” notes William W. Lange, president of the LFC Group of Companies. “We don’t waste buyers’ time with all day auctions. Instead, our auction is convenient, transparent and empowers the buyers to set the pace and price.”

Prospective buyers should register today for more information. To place a bid online, by the bid deadline of November 6, 2008.

Freedom Realty Exchange — part of the LFC Group of Companies

For more than 30 years, the LFC Group of Companies has served numerous Fortune 500 companies, real estate developers, investors, financial institutions and government agencies by auction-marketing thousands of commercial, industrial, land and residential properties with an aggregate value well in excess of $5 billion.

Credits:Market Watch

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Home prices dropped in 24 of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas in July, led by declines in Las Vegas and the coastal cities of California, as foreclosures depressed prices and accounted for a fifth of all sales.

Las Vegas had the biggest drop on a per-square foot basis, falling 33 percent in July from a year earlier, New York-based real estate data company Radar Logic Inc. said in a report today. Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Francisco each dropped about 28 percent. Three of the five worst-performing markets were in California.

“Buyers are increasingly reluctant,” Radar Logic Chief Executive Officer Michael Feder said in an interview. “There has been an awful lot of talk about the declining of the housing markets.”

Foreclosed properties accounted for about 21 percent of sales in July, up from 5.6 percent a year earlier, the report said. U.S. foreclosures rose to a record 2.75 percent of all mortgages in the second quarter, according to the Washington- based Mortgage Bankers Association. Foreclosed houses tend to sell at a discount of about 20 percent, according to research by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Those discounts are weighing on prices throughout the country, Radar Logic said.

The U.S. Senate passed a $700 billion financial-market rescue package yesterday loaded with inducements for the House of Representatives to approve the measure. The House rejected an earlier version.

`Dramatic Impact’

The legislation, approved last night on a 74-25 vote, authorizes the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions rocked by record home foreclosures. It contains two provisions favored by House Republicans: One raises the limit on federal bank-deposit insurance; the other reiterates the authority of securities regulators to suspend asset-valuing rules that corporate executives blame for fueling the crisis.

“As you clear out the discount inventory, it is going to come back,” Feder said of the housing market. “The bill that’s struggling through Congress could have a dramatic impact.”

House prices in 20 U.S. cities declined in July at the fastest pace on record, according to an S&P/Case-Shiller report issued on Sept. 30.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 16.3 percent from a year earlier, more than forecast, after a 15.9 percent decline in June. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007, and year-over-year records began in 2001.

U.S. foreclosures have come in three waves, Moody’s Economy.com Chief Economist Mark Zandi said this week.

Foreclosure Waves

The first hit in early 2006 when investors who bought houses intending to quickly resell them for a profit realized the boom was over and walked away. The second came a year later as owners who used adjustable-rate mortgages to buy in 2005 and 2006 began to see their monthly payments rise. Now, falling home prices combined with rising unemployment have spurred a third round, Zandi said.

In Los Angeles, foreclosures accounted for 34 percent of all sales in July, in Phoenix it was 33 percent, in Miami it was 14 percent, and in New York it was 3 percent, Radar Logic said.

The biggest price declines were in the California and southwestern states, according to the report.

Prices dropped 26.5 percent in San Diego from a year earlier, 24.1 percent in Miami, 17.9 percent in San Jose and 17.4 percent in Tampa, Florida, the report said.

Milwaukee Rises

Only Milwaukee saw home prices climb in July, rising 2.9 percent since July 2007. Prices have risen 3.6 percent there in the last two years. The only other city to see an increase in that period was Charlotte, North Carolina, which rose 1.5 percent.

“They didn’t have the same boom, and their economy is somewhat more stable,” Feder said of Wisconsin. “They are, to some degree, not suffering the bust.”

In the New York metropolitan area, prices fell 7.8 percent in July from a year earlier and in Boston they fell 13.6 percent, Radar Logic said.

The RPX Monthly Housing Market Report, published by Radar Logic, measures home values using price per square foot. The data reflects 28-day aggregated values, the company said.

The prices are the basis for property derivatives traded on the Residential Property Index, which has a volume of $2 billion. The index allows investors to benefit from the movement of metro area home prices without owning land or physical property.

Credits: Bloomberg

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Lennar Las Vegas will be reopening 17 models in eight neighborhood across the Las Vegas Valley with homes to include more features and upgrades.

Lennar’s new Welcome Home Centers will be open today and Sunday to showcase the changes in their new models with pricing improvements.

Visitors will be eligible to receive additional special financing as part of Lennar’s Super Saturday and Sunday Sales Event as well as introductory grand reopening pricing with all new neighborhoods starting in the $200,000s.

“We listened to the Las Vegas homebuyers, and now offer a new and exciting approach to value, convenience, simplicity and comfort,” said Jeff Galindo, vice president of sales for Lennar Las Vegas. “You haven’t seen Lennar until you see what’s new.”

Based on extensive market research, customer feedback, and in response to today’s market, Lennar decided to hold a grand reopening to reintroduce themselves to home buyers as well as reposition its communities with upgraded homes.

The new models are designed to express the ‘Everything You Want, Everything You Need’ philosophy of Lennar, with included features and amenities such as kitchen islands and granite counters offered in certain models.

“Our new releases are value-engineered so that features could be upgraded while bringing the cost of the home down,” Jeremy Parness, division president said.

“Anyone looking for a home today should come out and see what we now have available. The homes today are even better than yesterday because the value that comes with a Lennar home is high while the cost remains affordable. This is an unbeatable combination, not to mention advantage, for any home buyer,” Galindo said.

Since being founded more than 50 years ago, Lennar has grown to become one of the nation’s leading homebuilders. With hundreds of communities nationwide and a product offering designed for first-time, move-up and luxury home buyers, Lennar has distinguished itself by simply including everything as standard.

Credits: Review Journal

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