Las Vegas Economy and Outlook

Much has been written lately about the state of the Las Vegas economy and the wonderland known as Clark County. Stories circulate of broken dreams, shattered lives, and a growing sense of dread in the city of lights. However, contrary to the musings of some, the sun still shines in the desert, perhaps brighter than it has is a long time.

Even in a Las Vegas economy struggling to find its bearings, living there is still as exciting as it’s ever been. It may not be baseball’s field of dreams, but the story of Vegas remains true to its roots: if you build it, they will come.

Of course, the downward spiral that is the national economic crisis has impacted this great city as well. Unemployment hovers in the double digits while some casinos and other businesses struggle with keeping their heads above water.

And housing?

Sadly, like much of the country, it’s been a near disastrous fall from pre-recession highs. But fear not—the forecast is NOT as doom and gloom as some would have you believe. The real truth about where the Las Vegas economy is headed lies within a classic physics lesson: When you are at the bottom, there’s no place to go but up.

The housing bubble burst loudly in Las Vegas beginning in the spring of 2008. Yes, the prices of everything from single family homes to condos and commercial real estate declined. But that crash is creating an opportunity for those willing to join Las Vegas at its new frontier.

The simple truth is, there is a lot of money to be made (and great deals to be had) for those ready to take advantage of the current Las Vegas economic situation. Once overpriced homes have become affordable again for young families trying to make a start. There has never been a better time to jump into the real estate market in Las Vegas.

Tourism, which had been significantly impacted by the national recession, showed an increase of 7.3% in July 2010. That is a 4% increase from last year. Since tourism is the life blood of the Las Vegas economy this is good news for the city. The increase resulted in over an 8 % increase in gaming revenues in July as well. All of this is according to a September 11,, 2010 statement* issued by Stephen A. Brown, PhD, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research, College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The report is particularly good news for the city’s casinos, all of whom has seen sizeable losses and made deep cuts in an attempt to weather the latest in the Las Vegas economy. Some smaller casinos were forced to close their doors while the major players are just now regaining some of those losses.

There is still plenty of good within the current Las Vegas economy. Hope is still found. New arrivals still tell stories of finding their dreams here. And for a city that was built from nothing, a small bump in the Las Vegas economy is but a small bump in what is surely a still booming desert town.

*http://cber.unlv.edu/cond.html