Panel sees reason for optimism about Las Vegas

Plagued by low-paying jobs that haven't kept pace with median home prices and declining quality-of-life issues, Las Vegas still presents its share of opportunities, a panel of community business leaders said Wednesday.

"I think there's excellent opportunity in the apartment market," Dennis Smith, president of Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, said at Colliers International Fall Trends. "Any apartment property is a good hold. The challenge is getting through this housing recession. I don't think there's any business associated with housing that isn't off 40 percent in revenue."

Las Vegas gets knocked for its lack of cultural arts, its reputation as "Sin City" and university system that lacks the credibility of more established cities around the nation, the panelists agreed.

Yet it's still a place some 6,000 people are moving to each month, where job growth remains above the national average, where a lot of people have made a lot of money.

Developer Mark Fine said Las Vegas didn't have a "sense of community" when he moved here more than 30 years ago, but the people who live here love the way the city has evolved.

"You'd tell your wife you're moving to Las Vegas and she'd say, 'You're moving to Las Vegas alone,' " he said.

Fine said he's been hearing about economic diversification for 30 years. Being a market-driven economy has helped Las Vegas remain relatively stable and avoid some of the pitfalls of more diversified cities, he said.

"The truth is that any diversification is a spinoff of the gaming industry," he said.

Christopher LoBello, vice president of investment for Colliers International, said Las Vegas is maturing as a city and we can expect to see higher density with three- and four-story apartments and condos. He said the challenges are land availability and prices, which affects housing affordability.

"What about the affordability issue?" Smith said. "Where are all these people going to live? That's easy. They're going to be renters."

Smith said home builders had no choice but to adjust to a declining market. They're building about 15,000 homes this year, compared with 30,000 in 2006. The basis of what they're going to do in the future is still there, but the numbers and profitability have changed, he said.

"The housing market is reshaping itself," Smith said. "We had all the major public builders in Vegas. They're primarily concerned with numbers. Some of them have resigned that instead of selling 2,000 homes a year, they're going to sell 500."

Builders are a resilient group and will build whatever residential product people want, he said.

"The names may change, but traditional builders will be here. I get calls all the time from people, smaller builders in other markets, who see opportunity in Las Vegas," Smith said.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0491.