Terrible Vita

I was out walking through a neighborhood recently. It was a neighborhood that I assumed was largely untouched by the ravages of the Housing  Bubble™.   I couldn't have been more wrong.

At first, I remarked that there were no for-sale signs in the yards. None. But then, on a subsequent visit, I saw a sign in a window, offering the house for lease. It turned out that there were several houses with signs in the windows - some lease, some for sale.

Then, one day, there was the standard T-Bar real estate sign in front of the house next door to the original one for lease on Walbrook.



I pulled out one of the pages of information about the home. I saw that it was "bank owned". I turned the sheet over and was surprised to see that 20 out of 26 properties (not all in this neighborhood) listed on the back were "bank owned".

So of course, I had to go to the Clark County Assessor's Page to see what I could find out about this seemingly pristine 'hood.

Terra Vita is a Richmond American Homes development comprised of 52 single family homes, which started selling in the summer of 2004. Twenty houses are on the east side of the main drag, Walbrook Ln, the rest are spread out over six adjoining cul-de-sacs.

Just looking at the info for the twenty homes on Walbrook then, this is the story:

5004 2333sqft

First sale - 06/14/04 $560,518 - Not owner-occupied

5014 2115sqft

First sale - 06/24/04 $476,453 - Owner-occupied
Second sale - 11/26/04 $570,000 - Not owner-occupied
Bank owned - 02/13/07 $575,177

5024 2115sqft

First sale - 06/10/04 $463,590 - Not owner-occupied
Bank owned - 04/24/06 $485,838
First sale - 01/31/07 $390,000 (ouch) - Owner occupied
Quit-claim deed, parents to children - 03/29/07 - Not owner occupied

5034 1937sqft

First sale - 06/29/04 $489,990 - Not owner-occupied

5044 2200sqft

First sale - 07/28/04 $534,690 - Not owner-occupied

5054 2115sqft

First sale - 08/09/04 $516,490 - Owner-occupied

5064 1937sqft

First sale - 06/01/05 $440,976 - Owner-occupied
Second sale - 09/13/05 $526,000 - Owner-occupied (how sharp was that knife?)
Bank owned - 04/24/07 $440,000

5074 1937sqft

First sale - 05/27/05 $441,618 - Owner-occupied
Second sale - 12/09/05 $510,000 - Owner-occupied

5084 2200sqft

First sale - 06/08/05 $451,415 - Not owner-occupied
Second sale - 09/13/05 $475,000 - Not owner-occupied

5094 1937sqft

First sale - 05/26/05 $513,213 - Owner-occupied
Quit-claim deed - 08/16/05 - Owner-occupied

5104 2200sqft

First sale - 07/01/05 $470,000 - Owner-occupied
Second sale - 10/04/05 $545,000 - Not owner-occupied

5114 1919sqft

First sale - 04/25/05 $510,990 - Owner-occupied

5128 2200sqft

First sale - 04/01/05 $539,990 - Owner-occupied
Correction of name on deed - 05/12/05 - Owner-occupied
(Interesting - the address is 5124 on both deeds)

5134 2200sqft

First sale - 06/01/05 $456,850 - Not owner-occupied

5138 2200sqft

First sale - 05/26/05 $458,970 - Not owner-occupied, she lives at 5144?

5154 2200sqft

First sale - 02/03/05 $469,000 - Owner-occupied
Quit-claim to KDR, Inc Profit Sharing (same POB as first owner) 07/13/05

5164 2200sqft

First sale - 12/30/04 $430,000 - Owner-occupied
Quit-claim to living trust - 05/20/05 - Not owner-occupied?
Quit-claim to AMI Property Rentals - 05/27/05 - Not owner-occupied?
Bank owned - 03/29/07 $410,000

5174 2200sqft

First sale - 08/31/04 $530,990 - Not owner-occupied

5184 2200sqft

First sale - 02/02/05 $450,000 - Owner-occupied
Second sale - 10/19/05 $550,000 - Not owner-occupied
Bank owned - 08/30/06 $479,808 - Not owner-occupied
First sale - 05/18/07 $379,900 - New comps! Not owner-occupied
Second sale - 05/18/07 $379,900 - Not owner-occupied

Allow me to reiterate: New comp for the previously $500k+, 2200sqft'er - $379.9k!!!

5194 2200sqft

First sale - 11/24/04 $450,000 - Owner-occupied