GLVAR announces 2011 president

BY DEBBIE HALL

Real Estate Staff Writer

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors held its president's installation luncheon Nov. 20 at the Four Seasons Hotel. The 2011 board, including President, Paul Bell, was sworn in and several awards, including Realtor of the Year, were announced.

During the ceremony, outgoing President Rick Shelton thanked GLVAR's governing board.

"Thanks to this board, 96 percent of legislation we (GLVAR) backed was successfully passed. The hard work is just beginning. We need to continue to work with our local, state and federal governments and educate them on the issues facing Realtors and the real estate market," Shelton said.

After his induction, Bell praised Shelton for his service to GLVAR during his term.

"In 2011, our theme is competence, confidence and commitment. We will continue to accept, adapt and face our challenges," said Bell, who has worked in the Las Vegas real estate market for the past two decades.

The incoming president said 2011 will be a year of continued recovery. He said this year he believes the single-family market will rebound first, followed by beleaguered condominium projects.

He said this year he plans to focus on technology, legislation and enhancing the commercial division of GLVAR, the Commercial Alliance of Las Vegas.

Bell said the Las Vegas real estate market continues to attract foreign and domestic buyers willing to pay cash for properties as investments. According to GLVAR statistics, 45 percent of all homebuyers pay cash. He said this will help relieve pressure on a difficult market that is still spinning from recent foreclosures and homeowners shouldering underwater homes that are not worth their mortgages in a struggling economy.

Bell said that North Las Vegas was the hardest hit area due to so much overbuilding during the boom years. Still, he says that area will experience a faster recovery than many parts of the valley due to the upcoming construction of the North Las Vegas Veterans Hospital, completion of the Clark County Shooting Park and the growing importance of the Nellis Air Force Base.

The northeastern side of the valley, he said, has traditionally lagged behind in home sales due to a lack of freeway access and a shortage of major employment centers. However, he said he sees sales increasing in all price ranges in this area.

As for the high-rise, market in Las Vegas, "Unfortunately, too many high-rise condominium units got built ahead of their time. What we found is that the best sales are taking place on the Las Vegas Strip and Queensridge. We are hopeful in the long term that the projects downtown (Las Vegas) will become desirable places to purchase, but financing is going to be key to their rebound," he said.

During the upcoming year, Bell said he wants to upgrade existing services.

"MLS and zipForm information services have come up with new innovations that are going to help give our members instantaneous information that is going to keep them on the leading edge. This next year, with the change in our Multiple Listing Service to a system called Fusion, our members are going to be encouraged to take all of the classes for it because it is going to provide instantaneous information and allow us to better serve our clients."

Bell worked for his father's construction company after graduating from University of Texas in 1976 with a bachelor of arts in government. He later worked as a project manager for a Houston-based construction firm. From 1987 to 1990 he was a project manager for the Howard Hughes Corp., which is the developer of Summerlin, a master-planned community in the valley's west side. He entered the Las Vegas residential and commercial real estate market with his wife, Wende, in 1990. They have two adult sons, Paul Bell IV and Jarrett Bell.

Bell said he realizes this is a difficult time in the real estate market but he is ready to serve as president. Ten years ago, Bell became involved the Council of Residential Specialists. Working with the GLVAR, he was urged to run for a position on the board. After serving his first term in 2005, he continued to run for successive offices.