Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas Real Estate: March 2007

Last Saturday was Shutdown Day 2007, a challenge to go one day without our PCs. I thought it was an intriguing idea, and after a little apprehension decided to give it a try. The first seven hours were easy -- sleep. After a quick breakfast, Sundance and I headed to the park. Knowing I had 16 1/2 hours to kill, I let him follow his nose back and forth, around and back again until he got tired. We also stopped to chat with a few neighbors along the way and watch one of the youth softball teams practice.

Back at home, 8:45 AM ... Hmm, I really should clean out the garage before it gets too hot, and take a look at what kind of spring yardwork needs to be done. Another two hours down. Phone call from a seller ... "can you meet us at our condo? We want to go over some renovation ideas." Great! If I'm away from the house, no temptations to just check email and skim Featured Posts.

Home at 12:15 ... Half way there! Time for lunch. Check the mail and catch up on a little magazine reading and browse through Realty Blogging. I tear out a couple of articles and write down ideas for future posts. Tune in to the NCAA basketball tournament. It's still tempting to power up during halftime, but I resist.

4:15 PM ... Basketball is over, what next? Back to the park with Sundance! Then home for dinner when my cell phone rings - an investor client wants to write six offers. "Can I get those to you Monday morning?" He agrees, and I've dodged another PC bullet.

Off to church at 6:30 ... then a stop at the grocery store on the way home. Less than four hours to go! I pop in a couple of favorite CDs, grab a notepad and start writing goals and to-do lists. Then a little television, ending with Peyton Manning on SNL.

Midnight ... I made it! And surprisingly no urge to log on.

The next morning ... 86 new emails, and only one was worth saving. There's no anxiety about missing any critical info from yesterday. Instead I feel even more focused, less inclined to surf the web, and thinking a little about what 'real life' adventure awaits today. Shutdown Day needs to happen a little more often!

Seeing a post from Maureen Francis this week reminded me of all of the great community-building events she has done for ActiveRain. First there was 'The Race for Third', the battle between Sara Lipnitz and Josh Plummer for the #3 ranking in Michigan that even had Matt and Caleb taking sides!

Next came the "Yearbook Awards for ActiveRain", followed by the first ActiveRain Blog Tour (also see this follow-up post). Other posts and ideas by Maureen:

• Carnival of ActiveRain
• November Blog Tour
• December Blog Tour
• Memorable Posts of 2006
• January Blog Tour
• Localism in Motion. co-sponsored by RealEstateShows.com
• February Blog Tour

This month Maureen is hosting the Carnival of Real Estate over at her other blog, miOaklandCounty. After all that, I think she and Dmitry might enjoy a little virtual vacation -- so here's a couple of beach chairs to just sit back and relax. And with full credit to Maureen for the blog tour idea, let's go on Spring Break!

There are many Rainers who got their start here and then went on to create successful blogs for their market areas. Others use ActiveRain to network and relax while maintaining impressive sites outside of the Rain. To fully appreciate the range of talent here and really see the possibilities of blogging, take a look at what your peers are doing outside the Rain. It's a great opportunity to network, share ideas, exchange links and grow as bloggers.

Not sure where to start? Just pick one of the destinations below. If you write or know of another blog, leave a link in the comments and I'll add it to the list. And if you find a post that speaks to you, leave a comment to let the author know. Then come back to the Rain and let us know where you went (and what you learned) on Spring Break!

FLORIDA

• News and Views from St. Petersburg, Florida  by the Sharon Simms Team
• Broker Bryant's Real Estate Ramblings  by Bryant Tutas
• Central Florida and West Indies Caribbean News  by Teri Isner's Orlando Avenue Top Team
• Tampa Area Real Estate Blog: Real Opinionated  by Jonathan Greene

MID-ATLANTIC

• Sell Your Home with Margaret Rome  by Margaret Rome
• Charlotte Real Estate Voice  by Leigh Brown
• real/diaBlog - tomorrow's real estate trends  by Danilo Bogdanovic and Tony Arko

NEW ENGLAND

• Eastern Connecticut Real Estate  by Linda Davis
• Visions Virtual Assistance  by Crystal Pina
• New Hampshire Real Estate Happenings  by Monika McGillicuddy

THE BIG 10 STATES

• miOaklandCounty  by Maureen Francis
• Discover Columbus  by Maureen McCabe
• Cleveland Real Estate and News  by Carole Cohen
• Home Staging, Rants & Ravings  by Craig Schiller
• Real Estate Snippets  by Bonnie Erickson
• St. Paul Real Estate  by Teresa Boardman
• Reese's Pieces of Real Estate  by Elaine Reese
• Sadie's Take on Delaware Ohio  by Toby Boyce
• Northern Michigan Real Estate Blog  by Stefan Scholl

COLORADO

• Denver Real Estate & Relocation  by Kristal Kraft
• The 'Springs Realty Scoop  by Mariana Wagner
• Colorado Highlands Realty Buzz  by Sabine Pyrchalla

ARIZONA

• The Marriott Group - Your Source for Phoenix Homes  by Tony and Suzanne Marriott
• The Phoenix Real Estate Guy  by Jay Thompson
• Phoenix Arizona Real Estate  by Jonathan Dalton

CALIFORNIA

• America's Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker  by Brian Brady
• Long Beach Real Estate  by Laurie Manny
• Sacramento Real Estate Voice  by Gena Riede
• Laguna Niguel Real Estate Blog  by Rory Siems
• San Ramon, Dublin, Danville, Pleasanton CA Real Estate  by The Harper Team

WASHINGTON

• SoundBiteBlog  by Mark Flanders and Rich Jacobson
• Seattle Condos and Lofts  by Ben Kakimoto
• Seattle Real Estate News  by Gerhard Ade

What would it be like if you shut down your PC for just one 24-hour day? No email, no checking the MLS, no spreadsheets, no web surfing, no ActiveRain ... just an empty screen, a silent keyboard, not even a mouse click.

Shutdown Day 2007 is this Saturday, March 24. The Shutdown Project was conceived by two guys from Montreal, Denis Bystrov and Michael Taylor, as a social experiment. According to their FAQ:

"The purpose is to get people to think about how their lives have changed with the increasing use of the home computer, how society is changing and whether or not any good things are being lost because of this."

So far over 48,000 people have said they can do it; 7400 say they cannot. Think back just 15-20 years when the majority of homes did not have a PC. Maybe you spent more time with your family, enjoyed recreational activities, or were involved in your community ... and everything you needed to know was right in your own brain.

Imagine what you can do in one 24-hour day away from your computer:

• Watch the sun rise
• Read your favorite newspaper or magazine
• Show a child how to hit a baseball or dribble a basketball
• Walk through your neighborhood and chat with the neighbors
• Catch up on yardwork or tackle that list of minor home repairs
• Eat lunch with friends at the new restaurant you've been dying to try
• Take your dog out for a long afternoon at the dog park
• Volunteer on a community service project
• Get back to the fitness routine you started in January
• Take photos and gather ideas for Localism
• Think about your short-term, mid-range, and long-term goals
• See the latest movie or visit a museum
• Enjoy your favorite wine while gazing at the stars

So while Shutdown Day may be challenging technologically, it might also be a chance to rediscover the amazing potential that is already within each of us. It's an intriguing concept. Have we become too dependent on computers? Can we turn off the machines for just one day and be humanity unplugged?

At 2 PM Central, listen as Jay Papasan, co-author of The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, speaks with Garry Klassen from Toronto, Canada. Garry has over thirty years of investing experience and will talk about the importance of sticking with proven systems. He strongly believes in the 'Law of Reciprocity' and has built his real estate career on the values of respect, honesty and trust. Garry will also discuss how the Canadian market differs from the U.S. real estate market.

At 3 PM Central, Cynthia and Mark Worley, from Ahwatukee Foothills (Phoenix), AZ talk about their lead generation methods, how they've grown their team, and how they balance work and personal life. Cynthia was a Keller Williams National Rookie of the Year and one of the 2003 Top 10 Women in Real Estate. Mark brings 20 years of business management experience to the team. The Worley Team closed 285 transactions ($99 million) in 2005.

To listen in, dial (512) 225-9443 and input 914315#. The teleconferences are FREE and open to anyone. MP3 downloads of each session are also available free for one week after the call. For more info, visit Millionaire Mondays.

Listed below are the current inventory and February, 2007 statistics for home sales in Henderson, Nevada:

Total Homes Available:  3,590 (as of March 8)

• Single-Family:  2,892  (10.9 month supply*)
• Condo:  423  (28.2 month supply)
• Townhouse:  275  (9.5 month supply)

Total February, 2007 Sales: 

• Single-Family:  266  (Price range: $175,000 - $3,850,000)
• Condo:  15  (Price range: $164,000 - $285,000)
• Townhouse:  29  (Price range: $142,500 - $700,000)

Median Selling Price:

• Single-Family:  $350,000
• Condo:  $190,000
• Townhouse:  $246,000

Average Days on Market:

• Single-Family:  86
• Condo:  50
• Townhouse:  88

GLVAR deems information reliable but not guaranteed. Information is for MLS areas 601-606.
* - Supply = Homes Available/February Sales

If you have any questions or need more information about real estate in Henderson, Nevada call me at (702) 339-9700 or email me at JohnNovak@kw.com. I'm looking forward to earning your business!

See also:
Henderson, Nevada - Demographics
Henderson, Nevada - Fast Facts