A great group to be a part of!

I recently joined the Summerlin Friends of Red Rock, a group incubated by the Howard Hughes Corporation developers of Summerlin.  The group is a branch of the Friends of Red Rock Canyon which originated in 1985 to preserve the canyon’s resources and provide a volunteer organization to assist the BLM.  I had a great time at the welcome chuck-wagon breakfast and interpretative hike on the Moenkopi trail near the visitors center.  We had a great naturalist, Athena, with the Red Rock Canyon Interpretative Association.  Athena pointed out plants that the native Americans used to wash their clothes, eat and use as a straw and rock formations that geologists come from all over the world to study at Red Rock Canyon- all stuff the typical person sees as desert wasteland!  I had a GREAT time listening to Athena and laughing at Tom’s many jokes and one liners!  This is a great way to meet your neighbors and do something good for this national treasure! 

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to my blog! My name is Joseph Ruggeroli and I will be writing on topics about growing up in Las Vegas, my day to day experiences as a Realtor in Summerlin and some great suggestions about events and things to do that make Summerlin and Las Vegas the greatest place to live in the United States!

Local Economic statistics and forecast

I attended a membership luncheon for our local Realtor Association, the GLVAR last week and I want to share some of the facts presented by Somer Hollingsworth, (Also a Native Las Vegan) President of the Nevada Development Authority about state and local economic activity:

• No local or state income tax
• No business income tax
• No estate tax
• 95% of companies hire locally
• Between 200,000-250,000 miles of fiber optic cable in the ground
• Cheapest operating cost in the US for a corporate headquarters
• 96,000 people (net) moved here in 2006
• Median family income up 66% from 1996-2006
• Value of a home up 168% in ten years
• Over 38 million visitors in 2006, up 31% in ten years
• Convention business up 95% in ten years
• Room inventory 132,000, up 42%
• Over $40 Billion in new construction in the next five years

This is data validates my opinion that the Las Vegas economy is thriving and despite the critics, the demand for housing and real estate in general is strong but will greatly increase in the next few years!  I stongly feel that we will see the start of the recovery in the housing market in 2008 and demand will gradually grow over the next couple of years!  So what are you waiting for, get off the sidelines and take advantage of these lower prices, foreclosures and builder incentives- they will not last forever!             

The mission of this blog:

 The mission of my blog is to provide witty, relevant commentary on the local Summerlin real estate market, quality of life and local events and restaurants from the perspective of a NATIVE LAS VEGAN!