No one in Las Vegas…takes ‘Home’ for granted. Because since the economy crashed, so many homes have been lost to foreclosures, and short sales. And like blackjack players who won, and won and suddenly lost it all – the stories are almost unbelievable.

Adriana Escalera – Homeowner

“We wanted to make a profit so we could turnaround and buy our actual dream home.”

And then what happened?

“Everything fell apart.”

Adriana Escalera lost big in Las Vegas. First, she had to do a short sale – on her house.

“The value of my house dropped tremendously.”

And then what happened?

“The house sat probably without being paid for almost two years”

But that’s not all. Next, her mother lost her home to foreclosure.

“Yes she wasn’t able to make the payments. They were getting more and more expensive.”

But you know what? It gets worse.

“It happened to my aunt too, everybody. My uncle lost his job and they just couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage on the house. They actually just let it go, they just let the house go”

One big, family – three homes, lost. And they’re not alone.

Marcus Conklin – Majority Leader of the Nevada Assembly.

“Is the market in terrible shape well for some people it really is. We have 80 percent of all our homes are under water.”

“Anytime you have the amount of foreclosures that we have, foreclosures are self-propelling process. Homes foreclose, that puts downward pressure on price, the downward pressure on price puts more people in a bad position so more homes foreclosure and it’s a cycle that continues.”

Breaking that cycle – and getting back to stability – was one of the reasons the NAR’s Home Ownership Matters Bus tour came to Las Vegas. A collective effort to search for solutions on the local, state and national level.

Colleen Kelly – 2012 President of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

“We know these are challenging times and we are here to do all that we can to help.”

“The housing market and homeowner issues have become more important than ever to our community, our lives and our livelihood. .. the challenges we are facing in the housing market are more pronounced here in Nevada than perhaps any other part of the country.

I want to thank our colleagues at THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS© for recognizing our unique situation and for bringing this homeownership matters bus to southern Nevada.”

Gary Thomas – President-Elect of THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS©

“NAR is working on your behalf in Washington and in your local area to encourage public policies that promote responsible sustainable homeownership.”

Thomas said the association is working hard to stabilize the nation’s housing markets, by fighting anything that could cause further damage. For instance – the talk about reducing, or eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. A move that could cause even more harm to struggling homeowners in Southern Nevada.

“Last year nearly 340,000 tax filers in Nevada claimed the mortgage interest deduction. Nevada homeowners have benefited from MID and took an average of more than $15,000 in mortgage interest deductions. The money they saved as a result of these benefits could be put in savings, applied towards savings on college tuition or simply used to pay down bills.”

And everyone we met in Las Vegas agreed – it’s the worst possible time to start putting up barriers to home ownership. Rather, it’s time to start encouraging responsible, sustainable home ownership, and stable markets, here and across America. Getting there will take time, hard work, and especially, jobs. It will also take – getting all those foreclosures off the market. But the good news is – that’s starting to happen. In fact, just this week, Las Vegas got some good news. After leading the nation in foreclosures for 22 months – Las Vegas is no longer number one. It’s now dropped to number five. A small victory, perhaps – but they’ll take it.

Marcus Conklin – Majority Leader of the Nevada Assembly.

“While housing values have been going down for almost four years now, there seems to be a settling taking place and now’s a great time for values, now’s a great time to buy a new home, now’s a great time to invest in a new property.

Rents are up so whether you are a first time home buyer or moving to Las Vegas or transitioning it’s a good time to buy and if you are an investor it’s not a bad time to buy as well you have lower values and higher rents so your cash flow position could be good.”

So as REALTORS© and lawmakers continue to search for the road to stability, a message to the troubled homeowners of Las Vegas: You may have options – you don’t know about. And if you need help – call a REALTOR©. Like Dana Burnett of Coldwell Banker.

Dana Burnett of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty – Henderson, NV

“Well I do wish they would call me because actually realtors can help them find out what the options are because there are much better options than just walking away because that is not a good plan because that is something that affects you for a very, very long time to come.

It’s not the right way to go and if they contact a REALTOR©, a REALTOR© can help them understand what the different options are.

We have special departments within each of our companies that have professionals that can sit down with them, look at their entire situation and really help them come up with a plan, a good solid plan to help them get out of their situation if that’s what the need to do.”

Las Vegas was probably the toughest market we visited, on the Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour. A city of heartbreaking stories, and yet, a city of hope for a better future. A city that’s full of people who are believe – they can see the recovery ahead. A real recovery – not a mirage.

Marcus Conklin – Majority Leader of the Nevada Assembly.

“Yes I see a time in the future where things are ok. I see a time where things begin to grow on a regular basis.…I do see that normalcy but we are going to have to understand that normal is true in the traditional sense normal not normal eight, ten, twelve fifteen twenty percent return on investment for your property in Las Vegas.”

The latest stop found the bus in the Granite State of New Hampshire – where people were talking about some of the challenges to today’s housing markets, as well as some possible solutions.

Stay tuned to Real Estate Today in the coming weeks, as we continue to check in with the NAR’s Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour – as it crosses America.

The latest stop was in Springfield, Massachusetts – a place that’s been challenged by the toughest weather ever – and Real Estate Today’s Stephen Gasque, was there.

And in the coming weeks, we’ll continue to follow the Home Ownership Matters bus tour – as it continues through New England, and across the country.

And the first stop on the new tour? Atlanta, Georgia!

NAR’s 2011 President, Ron Phipps, was there and spoke with Real Estate Today’s Tara Jones about the recent leg of the trip and the goal of this epic cross country journey.

Every week this summer and fall, the wheels of the bus will just keep rolling…as the tour continues through 33 states. It’s final destination? Anaheim, California…this November.

Date:               July 16, 2011

Time:               11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m

Venue:             Atlantic Station

Major outdoor shopping area north of downtown.

http://atlanticstation.com/

Notables:      Ron Phipps, 2011 NAR President

Members of Congress

Local Officials

The HOM bus will be parked near Central Park and West District, just outside the movie theatre.

Our emcee for the event will be comedian and professional speaker Tom Sullivan.