Wealthy Leaving Las Vegas Mansions As Foreclosure Pain Spreads

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-26/wealthy-leaving-las-vegas-mansions-as-pain-of-foreclosure-crisis-spreads.html

Nicolas Cage, the Oscar-winning star of “Leaving Las Vegas,” bought a seven-bedroom home with a panoramic view of the city’s casino-lined Strip in 2006 for $8.5 million. By January 2010, it was in foreclosure.

The next owner, who property records show paid $4.2 million, has put the house on the market for $7.9 million -- an “unrealistic” price, according to Zar Zanganeh, the broker handling the listing.

“It’s sad,” Zanganeh said, his high-heeled boots clacking on the marble floor as he gave a tour of the 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-meter) mansion featuring a six-person steam shower and a closet the size of a small apartment. “There’s a lot of inventory, a lot of homes like this waiting for an owner.”

A growing number of high-end homes are selling at a loss or facing repossession by lenders in Las Vegas, which already has the highest rate of foreclosure filings among large U.S. cities. The wave of defaults that began with subprime borrowers and the unemployed has spread to upscale homeowners who see no point of staying even if they can afford to.

......

“You feel like a sucker if you’re paying a $5 million mortgage on a house that’s worth $2 million,” Zanganeh, 28, said while showing the grounds of an 11-acre Las Vegas estate built by Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan of Brunei. “These days, there are no traditional sales. They’re all short sales or bank-owned.”

.....

About 100 homes in the county are listed for $3 million or more, according to the Las Vegas Realtors, a five-year supply at the current sales pace.

An interesting article, it would appear even the rich are walking away.

[Killer Bunny]

You can't lose with... Las Vegas pwoperdee!

[The Masked Tulip]

In 50 years LV will be another dustbowl desert town.

[miko]

"who see no point staying even if they can afford to "

In the last Uk crash I knew a few who got repossessed , a few had no choice a few had been bloody stupid and could have saved their home if they had cut back on a few things and not had a holiday here and there.

But also knew one who bought half way down the slump thinking it was the bottom when he realised that it was not the bottom and his place was worth less than he paid he walked away , he was one of those who could afford but did not want to pay anymore.

[leftiebeard]

Fascinating read.... another interesting quote from the article - "Almost 70 percent of Las Vegas-area homeowners with mortgages were underwater at the end of 2010, meaning they owed more than the value of the property".

[skomer]

An interesting article, it would appear even the rich are walking away.

I used to enjoy all the articles we used to get spoonfed telling me how Vegas was fastest growing city in the USA... with the best quality of life. I must dig them out sometime.... Same goes for California

[MarkG]

Fascinating read.... another interesting quote from the article - "Almost 70 percent of Las Vegas-area homeowners with mortgages were underwater at the end of 2010, meaning they owed more than the value of the property".

The Vegas economy is totally reliant on people with more money than sense. Such people are common in a boom economy but become an endangered species in a bust.

Not to mention that they're going to run out of water soon, which won't bode well for expensive houses in a desert.