Improving Distressed Properties Means Improving Activity

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Serious interest generated by the Strip’s available high-rise residential condominiums has ramped up investor activity in the area, VegasINC magazine reports. According to a study quoted by the business publication, it’s mostly due to the fact that a host of distressed properties are awaiting improvement. For most buyers, the investment is worth it as soon as they flip the property they acquired and turn out a profit. The article points out that buying and improving properties is not only a trend with distressed properties. Regular condos have also been bought and redone in order to increase the value.

After seven months have passed out of 2011, the statistic is very revealing. Nearly two thirds of the condominium market during this interval has been comprised of distressed property sales. Marc Ehrlich, president of Hi Rise Living, mentioned for VegasINC that this also accounts for a 10 percent decrease in prices. Over the first seven months, condominium sales have dropped to 810, a mere three transactions less than the same timeframe in 2010. The number of sales does not include transactions associated with CityCenter.

Numbers are fueled by a consistent increase in activity for residential high rises in the vicinity of the Strip, where 324 sales have averaged a per square foot rate of $189. Comparing that to only 204 sales up to July 2010 that had averaged $218 per square foot and it’s easy to get a sense of how intensified the Strip’s appeal has gotten in recent months. In addition to this, the segment seems to be holding up much better than the rest of the market with overall prices that are down 15 percent, the downtown area has only suffered a 6 percent slip while South Strip properties fell 10 percent.