Sunday, October 30, 2005


For Sale, $1.2 million

If nothing else, you have to admire this guy's drive to ride the bubble to the breaking point.

See the Associated Press story at this link. Here's an excerpt:
LAS VEGAS - Its front windows wish you “Feliz Navidad” in paint that won’t wash off. The landscaping consists of four shriveling cacti and a patio piled with empty cat food boxes. Inside, it’s 700 square feet of confirmed bachelor’s clutter.

And it can all be yours for $1.2 million — cash.

There’s perhaps no better evidence of the condo fever raging through Las Vegas’ real estate market than the asking price on Manuel Corchuelo’s home. Once considered deadlocked in the wasteland where the Las Vegas Strip fizzled into a decaying downtown, the World War II-era home is now happily nestled in the shadows of billions of dollars of new and proposed high-rise condominium projects. Corchuelo is sitting on much-coveted land.

From his front lawn, Corchuelo likes to smile up at the cranes and listen to the clang of construction.

“It’s a good sound,” he said.

The former catering waiter and Colombian immigrant bought the home in 1978 for $30,000. He worked more than 20 years serving high rollers and conventioneers. He never married, saved some money and lost $15,000 of it on the stock market. Ten years ago, he started reading about investors’ plans to build condominiums outside his door. He cut the clipping from the newspaper and put it in a three-ring binder.

A few years later, he put his house on the market. He is still holding out for an acceptable offer.


— The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble