The Las Vegas Review Journal had an article today employing the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparision Index (HPCI). The article notes that Las Vegas is in the median for affordable homes in the nation. They noted that the average (not median this time) is back to 2003 levels. That's about right for the aggregate but you have to excavate throught the strata of the market to make more striking conclusions. I can find you homes in some segments that are in the 1990's and many of these are being scooped by investors, usually with cash. After a period of prices that were detached from long-term fundamentals, it really appears to be back to realistic price/income and price/rent levels. The data confirms Bob Hamrick's statement in the article that "This is true affordability".

This HPCI is a neat tool. I ran a comparison for several cities using $200,000 for a house in Las Vegas (This would typically get you over 2,000 sq.ft).

A similar house in La Jolla, CA one of my favorite towns, would cost $1,983,051. Hmmm...I may have to delay my purchase out there.

A similar home in Tuscon, AZ would cost $213,559. That is closer to Las Vegas levels.

Bozeman, MT might be the surprise here. A similar home would be $383,051. The views are often very nice though. Unfortunately the median income up there is lower than any of these comparison cities.

Check out this tool at Coldwell Banker .

For the Las Vegas Review Journal article, Click Here