Las Vegas Real Estate Blog

June 25, 2007

Red Rock Country Club is a 738-acre private country club community located within the master-planned community of Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. Secluded behind a six-foot high masonry perimeter wall and guard-gated entries are approximately 1,116 single family detached homes surrounding two 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed championship golf courses. Within the community of Red Rock Country Club, is an exquisite neighborhood of 86 semi-custom and custom homes, The Estates. 

Located in Summerlin, just northwest of Las Vegas, the Red Rock Country Club is a fabulous gated community. This community is home to two Arnold Palmer signature golf courses, the Private Mountain course and the public Arroyo Course. Both of these courses are nothing short of beautiful with palm trees, waterfalls and lush fairways set against the picturesque desert terrain.

More than three quarters of the homes at Red Rock Country Club front the golf courses while the remainder enjoy spectacular views of the sandstone bluffs of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area or the Las Vegas Strip.

By Brian Wargo / Staff Writer

Larry Murphy of SalesTraq and Steve Bottfeld, who monitor housing trends in the Las Vegas Valley, handed out their latest predictions at their quarterly Crystal Ball seminar.

Murphy discounts predictions of others and maintains no housing bubble exists in Las Vegas. He points to the median price of existing homes remaining steady. The $285,000 price in October is $1,000 higher than September 2005.

Bottfeld and Murphy used the presentation to debunk what they said are myths about the Las Vegas housing industry.

One of those myths is that there is no affordable housing, Bottfeld said. He said 1,800 homes listed for sale are priced at $200,000 or less, which he said falls in the affordable category.

Bottfeld criticized national media publications for its portrayal of the Las Vegas housing industry as having falling prices and resembling a ghost town. He said there's nothing wrong with having so many homes vacant.

"Investors are testing to market to see if they will get their price, and if not, they will rent it," Bottfeld said.

Bottfeld said he doesn't believe the increasing number of homes entering foreclosure signifies a problem. He said a change in laws that makes it more difficult to declare bankruptcy is the likely reason for more foreclosures.

Bottfeld predicted the housing market will be ready for another boom by the end of 2007.

The National Weather Service issued its first "excessive heat warning" of the year for Las Vegas. It registered a whopping 108 degrees at McCarran airport.

Sure, situated smack dab in the middle of the desert, you'd expect it to be hot. But when you reach a certain temperature like this, it becomes possible the heat could endanger the health of visitors and locals alike. That is when the warning is issued.

So what should you do when this occurs?

• Try to stay indoors during the day as much as possible, taking advantage of air conditioning where you can. Persons with medical conditions that are aggravated by heat should take extra precautions to avoid going outside during the day.
• Drink lots of water. Even if you're not very thirsty, drink some water. By the time your body registers extreme thirst, you're already dehydrated. And even though juices and sodas will hydrate you, plain old water is still your best choice.
  
  
• Limit your intake of alcohol if planning to be outdoors during the day. That buzz can easily lead to dehydration with the added factor of high temperatures.
• If you must be outside during the day, wear light clothing, sunscreen and seek shade whenever possible.
• Make sure your children and pets are also hydrated and limit their time outdoors. Never leave either inside a car for any amount of time when it's this hot.

For years now, CineVegas has been working to make the film festival a world-class event. The event sits in a great position now, being regarded around the world and carrying the cachet of having motion picture greats like Dennis Hopper on their creative advisory board. Having Oceans 13 premiere at CineVegas this year will make that a certainty.

Las Vegas is a great city for this kind of film festival for many reasons. Geographically we're so close to Hollywood itself - it's a quick drive or a forty minute flight for those actors and actresses who come out to participate (okay, ignore the short drive part.) Las Vegas is the perfect backdrop for so many types of stories, always visually interesting on film and drawing on its own legend to provide mood, feel, and edginess for the production. Actors and musicians, as well, love coming here because of what Las Vegas is and the promise of a great time once their public appearances are over. So many great movies have been filmed here over the years, we definitely needed our own major film festival, and CineVegas fits the bill and then some. For a film like Oceans 13, the third in the series which is once again set in Las Vegas, it's a no-brainer to premiere at such an event now that CineVegas is commanding the attention of the global film community.