Free classes about the home-buying process have been scheduled by the Nevada Fair Housing Center. Sessions presented in English are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12, as well as from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 17 and 24. A class in Spanish is set from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays, March 8 and 15. All classes will be held at the center, which is located at 3380 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 150. A certificate will be presented to all participants completing the course. Advance registration is required. To sign up, call 731-6095. MS Las Vegas Real Estate encourages you to do so.

Final-phase Las Vegas condos (including the models) are on the market at Regency at The Lakes, an 80-unit condominium development in the southwestern Las Vegas valley. The remaining two-bedroom units are priced from the mid-$100,000s. The units have been renovated to include new granite counter tops and light fixtures. Maple cabinets are featured in the kitchen and baths, and there is carpet in the living room and bedrooms. Ceramic-tile and stone flooring is featured in the kitchen, baths and entry. The kitchen appliance package includes a range, oven, built-in microwave and dishwasher. Community amenities include two pools, a spa, redwood sauna, fitness center, picnic areas with barbecues, and a clubhouse with large-screen television and business center. MS Las Vegas Real Estate would be happy to show you these very affordable Las Vegas condominiums.

Custom-home sites within Augusta Canyon have been released at the Estates at Southern Highlands. The new release represents the last available golf course frontage lots that will be offered in the Estates. Measuring two-thirds acre to 2 acres, the lots in Augusta Canyon are priced from the $500,000s. The neighborhood will comprise nearly 100 home sites. Complementing the lifestyle is the clubhouse at Southern Highlands Golf Club. It features a golf library, wine room, furnished locker rooms, dining options and a pro shop. Additionally, the Spa at Southern Highlands offers members the latest in body treatments and exercise facilities. The Estates at Southern Highlands provide both city and mountain views. MS Las Vegas Real Estate would be happy to arrange a viewing of this exceptional Las Vegas golf community real estate.

If you love sports, Las Vegas is a great city to live in. We have a wide variety of sporting events that draw huge crowds season after season. MS Las Vegas Real Estate is continuing the process of educating potential residents about the “new” Las Vegas. More than you could imagine, a Las Vegas home means well-rounded living that offers an incredible array of lifestyle choices. The topic today is sports and by that I don’t mean sitting for hours on end in the sports book at Caesars Palace. I’m talking about sporting events to enjoy with your friends and/or family members. I’m talking about real home teams that you can follow and enjoy that play in beautiful facilities. Let’s start with the Las Vegas Gladiators of the AFL. If you like Arena Football, it doesn’t get any more exciting than this. How about hockey? The Las Vegas Wranglers just played in front of 7,200 fans the other night in the awesome Orleans Arena. Baseball? Los Angeles Dodgers farm team Las Vegas 51′s play at Cashman Field every year to huge crowds. The NBA plays exhibition games at the Thomas & Mack Arena every year. Rodeo fan? Las Vegas is a top venue for PBR bull riding events throughout the year and the NFR Rodeo every December. The PGA tour stops in Las Vegas every year and golf fans from all over the valley swarm the fairways. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a Nextel Cup event every year, but many people don’t realize that there are race events at the track every month (Drag racing and motorcycle racing just to name two). Last but certainly not least, UNLV has a fantastic sports program and lots of loyal Las Vegas fans. UNLV basketball and football are just the beginning of what’s on offer from the university. I probably left out a number of other great sporting events. Locals, jump in and help me out! Owning a Las Vegas home and living a “Las Vegas lifestyle” can be anything you want it to be. If you love to attend live sporting events, real estate in Las Vegas is something you really should consider.

The City Council of North Las Vegas has unanimously approved the creation of an Economic Development Department to recruit and retain high-profile businesses and promote business growth in redevelopment areas. The population of North Las Vegas is growing at a rapid rate, and city officials want to make sure that the economy in their portion of the Las Vegas valley is able to keep pace. Sharon Powers, president and chief executive of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, called the formation of the new department “a positive.” The impetus behind the new decision was the need to make economic development the responsibility of a single department within the city structure. MS Las Vegas Real Estate is very excited about the growth and development of North Las Vegas. The crown jewel of residential growth in North Las Vegas is the Aliante master-planned community. This includes Sun City Aliante, a fabulous Del Webb age-restricted golf community within Aliante. For more complete information on North Las Vegas homes, give us a call at 888-349-2595.

HUD’s 2006 budget proposes a zero downpayment mortgage option in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that would allow first-time buyers with a strong credit record to finance 100 percent of their home purchase including closing costs. The Budget also proposes a program called Payment Incentives, which would allow borrowers with limited or weak credit histories to purchase homes by initially paying higher mortgage insurance premiums that would gradually be reduced after a period of timely payments. In 2006, these new mortgage programs will help more than 250,000 families to buy a home of their own. The 2006 Budget also provides $200 million to fully fund the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI). This Initiative helps first-time homebuyers with the biggest obstacles to homeownership, the downpayment and closing costs. Since being signed into law, ADDI has helped more than 3,500 families to purchase their first home. MS Las Vegas Real Estate supports these HUD initiatives for 2006 and urges you to contact the U.S. Congress if you feel the same way.

A record number of U.S. metropolitan areas (62 out of 129) experienced double-digit home price gains between the fourth quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2004. Number one on the list of metropolitan areas is Las Vegas, Nevada with a gain of 47.3 percent. San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California were second on the list with price increases of 34.7 percent. The national median price for existing homes in the fourth quarter was $187,500, according to the NAR, an 8.8 percent increase from last year. The median price of a re-sale home in Las Vegas is $250,000. MS Las Vegas Real Estate is your tour guide in the market for residential real estate in Las Vegas.

New residential construction logged a surprising increase last month as low mortgage rates fueled increased activity in the Southern U.S., helping housing starts climb to the highest mark in nearly 21 years. The Commerce Department said that housing starts rose 4.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted 2.159 million annual rate. It was the highest level of starts since February of 1984. With mortgage rates staying low, economists expect the housing market to continue to be a strong positive for the economy as a whole. Freddie Mac reported last week that rates on 30-year mortgages had fallen for a sixth consecutive week to 5.57%. Mortgage rates have managed to stay below 6% since last July, providing the impetus for all time highs in sales of both new and existing homes in 2004. It was the fourth straight year that sales in both categories have set records. MS Las Vegas Real Estate is geared up for another strong year in the Las Vegas home market. Our economy continues to surge (as does our population) and real estate in Las Vegas continues to be a solid investment.

The brand new Dragonridge Country Club at MacDonald Highlands is 27,000 square feet and beautifully designed to blend into the mountain terrain. The two-story building sits on a plateau right behind the 18th green. In a triumph of desert architecture, the profile of the mountains just behind and the profile of the clubhouse itself visually integrate to a stunning degree. The Dragonridge Country Club was honored by Southwest Contractor Magazine with it’s 2004 “Best Interior Project over $5 million”. The 27,000-square-foot clubhouse features extensive stone and glass. It includes a dining room, two mixed grills and lounges, a fitness facility, swimming pool and pro shop. An expansion to the clubhouse to accommodate large events is slated begin soon as well. Dragonridge Country Club is a private facility. The Dragonridge golf course is set into the canyons, among arroyos and rock outcroppings, and maximizes elevation changes as you wind through 18 spectacular holes. A complimentary social membership to the country club is provided to owners upon application approval. Different packages are available, and include golf, sport, corporate and social membership for residents and nonresidents of MacDonald Highlands. MS Las Vegas Real Estate would be happy to arrange a tour of MacDonald Highlands homes and the new Dragonridge Country Club.

Vegas condos gain steam, but what lies ahead? Jeff Burbank SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL2/14/2005 10:03 pm LAS VEGAS ? About 80 percent of the 1,092 condominium units that real estate mogul Donald Trump put up for sale in October have been reserved.Clark County Commissioners approved eight new condo projects ? a total of 24 buildings ? during a meeting Feb. 2.More than 60 condo projects have either been approved or are under construction in Las Vegas, thanks the surging cost of acreage.Bare, undeveloped land sold by the Bureau of Land Management this month went for $263,000 an acre, up from about $160,000 in 2002. An acre with water, power and other services can go upwards of $500,000, and more than double that on the Strip.Trying to make sense of the current mania for condos ? high rise, medium and low-rise, is veteran Las Vegas real estate saleswoman Michelle Sterling, for whom condo sales has become a lucrative sideline.Among the units she sells, the most expensive are the high risers overlooking the Strip ? one goes for $2.3 million, another $3.1 million, and still another $3.9 million.?The price of land is going up faster than we?re used to, and developers want to look at creative use for the land,? said Sterling, who?s been a Realtor for 10 years and works for Liberty Realty in Las Vegas. One thing she?s learned is that many patrons who plunk down hundreds of thousands for a high-rise condo don?t stay in town that much.?A lot of people want to live here, but not necessarily full time,? said Sterling. ?A lot of those on the Strip enjoy coming to Las Vegas several times a year and want a place to stay. A lot see it as a good investment.?Others are locals who?ve decided to chuck their detached homes.?I?m hearing the term ?lock and leave? a lot, people who don?t want to worry about their yards or security anymore,? Sterling said. Still others stay briefly, then offer their units for rent, although managers of some high rises prohibit renting, Sterling said. Some permit six-month or one-year leases, and others ? such as Trump?s pending building, and the planned Majestic Las Vegas ? mix condos for sale with hotel rooms for rent (and separate entrances for both).Units in the Turnberry and Park Tower condo towers, which were the first of the new condo projects on the scene several years ago, have gone up 30 percent since then, Sterling said. And it?s hard to get anything for less than $500,000 in town. New condos offered by Trump are going for as much as $700,000, with a minimum of $20,000 to hold one, Sterling said.Whether all of those 60 condo projects OK?d by the county are built, is ?an unknown,? Sterling said.?(Condo sales) will remain like any kind of housing market,? she added. ?We?ve never seen this many built. But it?s always difficult to compare Las Vegas to anywhere else. I?ve been here 25 years and I?ve never seen how we?re like anybody else.? Jeff Burbank is a Las Vegas free-lance business writer who covers Southern Nevada business-related issues for the Reno Gazette-Journal.Copyright ? 2005 The Reno Gazette-Journal