A bit of good news for Las Vegas real estate

A recent survey published in Business Week Magazine gives Las Vegas real estate one bit of good news: If Americans could relocate to any city in the United States, Las Vegas would be No. 4, behind New York, San Diego and San Francisco.

The survey speculates that part of the reason for the high ranking is the affordability of Las Vegas now that home prices have been beaten down by the economy. That's probably true. Affordability is a big deal. But I'll bet that's not the only factor.

Look, Manhattan is a great place and so is San Diego and San Francisco. But there's still no place on Earth quite like Las Vegas. Many Americans, I suspect, put Las Vegas at the top of their list of dream places to make a good living because of the entertainment and excitement that exists here and hardly anywhere else.

Now, if people could get a good job in Las Vegas and get out of their upsidedown mortgages where they live now, we'd be back in business again.

The worst cities in the survey, by the way, were the usual suspects ... Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago.

You can read the story at: www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/nov2008/bw20081120_631419.htm