Brian Sodoma
Contact: Email
Recent Articles
Treasure or Stolen Juhl?
May 10th, 2012
The happy story will come in time—the one in which 300 more rental units come to downtown, bringing critical mass, businesses and more to the area. But a hill of condo deposits stands in the way.
Read More »
Statistics Can Be Taxing
Is Nevada a good home for small businesses? Depends on how you look at the numbers.
May 3rd, 2012
Location Matters, a recent study from the Tax Foundation, has a love-hate relationship with Nevada. The conservative anti-tax group sees the state as a great place for retail businesses, which enjoy a total tax burden about 40 percent below the national average. That’s good enough for third place among the 50 states.
Read More »
Bargains at CityCenter?
April 26th, 2012
With prices for a 782-square-foot one-bedroom at Veer now starting at $389,000 and Mandarin Oriental’s 1,105-square-foot one-bedroom starting at $849,000, CityCenter’s residential units are down about 48 percent from their initial price.
Read More »
A Taxing Year Ahead?
April 19th, 2012
Relieved to have survived another tax season? Brace yourself, because if IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman is to be believed, the worst is yet to come. Shulman recently warned the press that next year could be a “real disaster” if some tough decisions aren’t made before Jan. 1.
Read More »
Real Estate
Are Home Prices Ready to Bounce?
April 5th, 2012
Here’s the good news: Southern Nevada saw mild growth in employment and economic output through the end of 2011, according to a recent Brookings Mountain West report. Here’s the bad news: Housing prices haven’t been appreciating. And here’s the possible antidote to the bad news: The Valley is in the midst of a strong housing supply contraction, with available housing units hovering around 6,000 and dropping.
Read More »
Real Estate
And Now … Too Few Homes on the Market?
March 22nd, 2012
Passed in May 2011, and effective in October, AB 284 reset foreclosure procedures for Nevada banks. Now, with banks learning the new rules, the foreclosure pipeline has come to a virtual standstill. Housing supply has been shrinking rapidly. Throughout 2011, roughly 11,000 houses were available to the market on any given day, Jones says. As of February, it has dropped to about 6,500.
Read More »
Trying Again
Is a second-chance mortgage really worth it?
March 22nd, 2012
Las Vegans who are losing their homes in the Valley’s continuing mortgage crisis may get their second chance at the American Dream sooner than they think. In the city of second chances, this seems like a good and reasonable thing. But one day out of short sale or foreclosure? It’s gimmicky all right, but crazy as it sounds, it could work for some.
Read More »
The Lowdown on High-Rises
March 22nd, 2012
The Martin, formerly Panorama Tower North, recently unveiled its $3 million makeover, dashing its icy corporate style to create a warmer, community-minded residential space. The move, choreographed by Los Angeles design firm the Kor Group, was initiated to entice more buyers to the site just west of CityCenter.
Read More »
Real Estate
Silver State Sunshine?
March 1st, 2012
While Nevada, California and Arizona have long vied for top spots in the foreclosure mess, Florida—with its glut of empty condos—has also run in the top 10 for quite some time.
Read More »
Is the Hospital Bill the Least of Our Problems?
February 23rd, 2012
Nevada leads the nation in overall bankruptcies, and if it trends lower than the national numbers in the percentage stemming from medical bills, that may be because there are so many other ways to lose it all. The nation’s worst foreclosure rate, highest unemployment and highest credit-card delinquency can lead to medical bankruptcies, but they create plenty of bankruptcies on their own without any help from the hospital, says Delwyn Webber of Rob Graham & Associates.
Read More »