With housing prices way down and rents holding steady, Canadian real estate investors are looking at Las Vegas as a good gamble for long-term payoffs. As one Ottawa broker put it, “Where in Canada can you currently buy a $50,000 property that you can turn around and rent for $1,000 a month?”[1] Other analysts like realtor and investor Jim Eagan are projecting nine-to-12 percent cash flow on rentals for the foreseeable future, while another investor is calling Las Vegas “one of the most attractive places in the U.S.” for investors and landlords because the properties are relatively new and energy-efficient in addition to being dirt cheap.
And it’s not just individual Canadian investors who are betting on Vegas. Groups like the Optimus US Real Estate fund are purchasing entire communities to rent out. So far, Optimus has invested in 280 condos and is looking at gated communities in the area as well[2]. The group’s policy is to buy in areas that are gaining in population to maximize investor dollars by renting long-term through its own management companies.
Do you think that the time has come to buy in Vegas? If you haven’t bought there already, do you think you missed your window?
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[1] http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/Real+estate+Vegas+seen+safe/5626162/story.html
[2] http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Invest+real+estate/5611525/story.html
The Vegas window is still open, will be for some time, but it is far from safe. If you are large enough, with enough capital, and can afford to have rentals with no one in them, it is fine as a long term investment.
The problem is you need employed renters, the other kind often do not pay the rent. Employment is a huge problem in Vegas, and it going to be for some time to come.
So it depends on how many months you can support a vacant unit, and how many you can support vacant.