by Calculated Risk on 5/27/2012 09:37:00 AM

This might surprise some people since Las Vegas is one of the hardest hit areas ... from Delen Goldberg at the Las Vegas Sun: Long time coming: Homebuilders are busy once again in Las Vegas. A few excerpts:

Las Vegas homebuilders can’t build houses fast enough these days to keep up with buyers’ demand.

Yes, you read that right.

The valley’s new home market is booming. Developers say they haven’t built, or sold, so many houses in years.

“I’m as much as 80 to 90 percent higher in volume than last year,” said Robert Beville, president of Harmony Homes. “I’ll probably more than double my deliveries this year.”
...
“The single largest impact has been houses under $200,000,” Beville said. “Homes in the $130,000 to $190,000 (range) are getting a lot of love. The ones in the $200,000 to $300,000 are getting a little bit less.
...
Most of the land being developed has changed hands since it was bought during the boom. The developers building on it now, in most cases, acquired it empty or half developed from others who paid a premium a few years ago.
...
Perhaps the biggest winners in the revived housing market are construction workers ...

The land costs are much lower now, and the builders are typically building smaller homes than were built during the bubble - and that makes the new home prices competitive with existing homes.

Yesterday:
• Summary for Week Ending May 25th
• Schedule for Week of May 27th