The Olympia Cos., in partnership with two New York investment groups, are looking to build out a significant 1,700-acre master plan. The site was previously earmarked for development by the Focus Property Group before foreclosure stopped the project in 2007.

Olympia President and CEO Garry Goett said interest in new homes and lots will boost the new community. According to Home Builders Research, builders pulled over 500 permits in July 2013, more than double the monthly number in late 2011.

Goett further stated that strong demand for new homes will likely increase in the coming years. “We think there is a real need for an additional master-planned community in Las Vegas. We have a shortage of land, and this will help alleviate that shortage.”

Read the full article online at Las Vegas Review-Journal.com.

We have now seen a steady increase in home prices for most of the past 18 months, and recent reports of significant housing shortages are being experienced in many cities.

Having 30+ years of experience in residential housing, it is no surprise to me values keep rising. Values as reported on the attached article by both Zillow and Case Shilling have yet to cause underwater homeowners enough relief that they can list their homes for sale, nor has there been enough time for new home builders to meet the current demand. Read the Housewire.com article.

San Francisco-based real estate website Trulia recently ranked Las Vegas as the most undervalued housing market in the country. Remarkably, this is true despite double-digit gains in median prices over the past year.

Trulio states that local home prices are 24 percent below what they see as justified levels based on market fundamentals such as income-to-price and income-to-rent ratios. Read more online at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In February, residential real-estate prices increased the most since May 2006. With an adjusted monthly increase of two percent, Las Vegas exhibited the biggest price climb during that period.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values rose more than nine percent from February 2012, after advancing over eight percent in the year ending in January 2012. Read the full article online.

Even though housing prices are increasing, they are often well below the purchase prices of a few years ago. Therefore, instead of selling at a price less than they have paid, many homeowners are deciding to rent their houses.

Would-be sellers usually aren’t eager to list their homes at prices that – while rising – remain well off their peak. That creates supply shortages which make it harder for buyers to find a suitable property. Read the full article online at The Wall Street Journal.

The real estate firm DataQuick reported that March figures indicate that the median home price in Southern California rose about $25,000 in March 2013, emphasizing the region’s fast-paced recovery.

It was the eighth consecutive month of double-digit price increases, reaching the highest median level since July 2008. Read the article on latimes.com.

Although most real estate markets are predicted to appreciate this year, prices remain relatively low in most markets.  More people are renting now than in prior periods, and vacancy rates in most cities are low.

Surprisingly, Las Vegas made the list of Top 20 Rental Markets from Realty Trac.  Read more at Real Return Real Estate.

CoreLogic, a real estate analytics firm, disclosed that February home prices rose 10.2% from the levels of a year ago. This represents the largest annual gain for home prices in nearly seven years – the 12th consecutive month of growth in national home prices.

The rapid price appreciation was most evident in several West Coast locations, including California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Read the article online at HousingWire.com.

The two biggest U.S. banks, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, are forecasting a doubling of U.S. housing gains in 2013. They predict an accelerating housing rebound as home buyers and investors rush to acquire a dwindling supply of residential properties.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve is pushing down borrowing costs by buying mortgage bonds, thus strengthening the economy and sustaining a rally in homebuilder shares. Read the article online at Bloomberg.com.