Season’s Greetings from Coldwell Banker Premier Realty! We hope you find this issue of our quarterly newsletter useful and valuable.

Ho, ho, ho…are you ready for Christmas and the New Year to arrive? As we wind down 2011 and look forward to 2012, the Las Vegas market continues its roller coaster ride. 2011 can best be described as being consistently inconsistent. Distressed sales continue to dominate the real estate landscape and with the recent enactment of Assembly Bill 284, notice of default activity has slowed considerably which will eventually reduce the number of foreclosed properties on the market. While this is yet another curve ball thrown at our market, we believe the banks will figure this out early in 2012 and short sales will continue to be a viable option for underwater sellers and asset hungry investors.

To assist homeowners who are underwater, our Neighborhood Awareness Campaign (NAC) provides credible information from the some of the Valley’s most knowledgeable real estate professionals answering questions such as:

• What are my options if I’m upside down in my mortgage?
• How does a short sale work?
• Is a short sale or foreclosure the best option for me?
• What government programs can help me?
• How will my credit be affected and what are the potential tax implications?

The NAC was recently showcased on CBS Channel 8 News…check out this short clip: http://bit.ly/vAjMK2

It has been said that a “picture is worth a thousand words” and the chart below depicts the generational opportunity in Las Vegas to those who have the ability to purchase real estate.

Depending on which camp you may be in, the best part about 2011 is that it’s over and 2012 offers a clean slate for everyone with the score being 0 – 0. Our decision to grab the market by its proverbial horns lies solely within each of us. No one can motivate you except YOU and if you choose to dig deep and go all in during 2011 you will achieve the level of success desired from the goals you set. This issue features new Market IQ candy including an update on why residential real estate is the high yield invesment alternative.

Finally, our Sales IQ showcases the value of a smile at Christmas. As you navigate the hustle and bustle of the season remember to smile. It costs you nothing and its impact is priceless.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with meaningful market intelligence and insight. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tremendously,

Brian Krueger

By John McClelland, VP of Research, Coldwell Banker Premier Realty

Separate from equities, commodities and a lot of other liquid assets, home prices and rents tend to trend for long periods of time. Currently, sale prices have been flat with a mild downward bias. Notice in the chart at the right that prices are below 2001 levels and that’s without adjusting for inflation. If an investor takes a generational view of the market, this below trend price appears to be a good opportunity to pick up assets below replacement cost. As we noted on the prior page, investing for the cash flow component of the investment is beneficial from a return perspective and on the risk management side, offering some protection from further asset price declines.

Las Vegas has the interesting distinction of being both oversupplied and undervalued, and we are beginning to experience some positive trends in local economic drivers, such as visitor volume, gaming revenue and a mild rebound in some employment sectors. We are not measuring out-migration either, rather we see that inbound and outbound migration is fairly balanced. When the economy improves, we expect many of the cohabitating individuals to begin forming new households, most likely as renters. In addition to new household formation, we do see investor owned homes being utilized as rentals.

We continue to provide the most comprehensive reporting available from a brokerage perspective in Las Vegas.

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We believe 2012 will be the year of the investor because of historically low values, the “bottom” is in view, sizable cash flow returns exist and the continued difficulty of owner occupied buyers securing conventional financing will be prevalent for at least a few more years.

We expect larger funds, some which have never acquired individual residential assets, to enter the market with a bullish attitude. John explained part of this phenomenon in his Market IQ narrative. The lack of reasonable returns in other asset classes and the overall attractiveness of short and long-term returns on residential real estate are enough to create a paradigm shift despite the inherent challenges of owning residential investment real estate. Hence, the pros outweigh the cons.

Here’s a recent article from the Wall Street Journal validating what the conversations we’ve been having with these types of investment funds.

Starting next month we will be providing a one-page Investor IQ snapshot to provide you with timely information between our quarterly newsletters. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll see going forward.

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To inquire about how Investment Services and Special Asset Solutions can provide investment opportunities and asset management and disposition services please contact us at Investment Services.

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Some years ago, a department store in New York City, in recognition of the pressures its sales clerks were under during the Christmas rush, presented the readers of its advertisements with the following homely philosophy:

A smile costs nothing, but creates much.

It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it, and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits.

It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and Nature’s best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.

And if in the last-minute rush of Christmas buying some of our salespeople should be too tired to give you a smile, may we ask you to leave one of yours?

For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give!

By Dale Carnegie from “How to Win Friends & Influence People”