The Legendary "100 Million REO Portfolio Package" Is Real - And Ready for Cherry-Picking By REO Investors

As of today, I now have access to the legendary "$100 million REO foreclosure portfolios, both residential and commercial properties typically made available to only the elite hedge funds and institutional investors that have "inside connections" of some kind.

As a result, I am looking for investors seeking access to a portfolio of REO investment properties in this $100 million price range with highrly customized specifications on the exact location and property type desired.

You (the investor) name your price range, the property condition, the specific area codes, any property specifications, and we'll provide you with a resource to cherry-pick these properties at REALISTIC mega-discounts off the current broker price opinion for the bulk purchase. Through my "priority access" association with this group, I can provide to the investor prices and terms that are not available to the general public via the relationship with www.CommercialREOS.com

Prospective REO investors and investor groups will be required to sign a "Letter of Intent" indicating your price point, location, condition, etc., and the type of product you want to buy and how much of it to take down PER MONTH which basically acts a starting point to initiate the process. Along with the LOI, a current "hard proof of funds" statement from your bank is also required. Due to the nature of the business, both these documents are required before moving forward.

We also have REO opportunities for the smaller investor or investor group in the $10 million range, albeit with a lesser discount. This is a real deal opportunity for the REALISTIC investor group that's looking to capitalize on some amazing discounts in today's national foreclosure market.

What is "realistic"? We are currently working with investors in California who are buying a typical $100 million portfolio at .58 cents on the dollar and also with smaller groups selling them $10 million REO portfolios at .68 cents on the dollar. That's the marketplace folks, and anyone who thinks they can do better will just have to keep looking, because it's just not out there - except in urban legend land.

If you're a serious sophisticated investor or a member of an investment group looking to take down a $100 million custom REO portfolio and the above discounted values are attractive to you, please contact me at 702-336-5554 or email ron@commercialREOs.com for more details.

Bank Failing? Blame the Regulators!

McIntosh Commercial Bank has lost so much money on loans that, by one measure, it was financially the weakest of Georgia's roughly 300 banks. So rather than look within for insights as to why the bank has failed miserably, representatives are actually complaining that federal regulators were being overzealous in closing banks.

Here's probably a more realistic explanation: they loaned too much money to developers, builders, and buyers and when the market tanked, so did they - just like countless others.

Greed causes the downfall of many. And it seems blame is very commonplace when things go wrong.

Who Can You Believe These Days Regarding Commercial Real Estate?

Do newspapers, TV, and the media in general report what's REALLY going on in the news, specifically commercial real estate? It's hard to believe what you read some times when the authors of these newsworthy pieces are clearly misssing out on key signals and indicators that portend exactly the opposite of what they're saying.

Take today's story in the Las Vegas Review Journal, "Commercial real estate prices reaching one third 2007 levels". Here's a few talking points from the article:

• "I think we're pretty close to the bottom because once a bank gets a property back, you can't go any lower than that"
• "The most common trend in the industrial market continues to be the lasting expectation among buyers and tenants for reduced sales prices and lease rates"
• "Both residential and commercial transactions are slowly starting to pick up compared with the last couple of years"
• "The ones that take the jump now are poised to make the most profit when things turn around."
• "There continues to be strong demand for quality properties."
• "We're getting a lot of activity, which is going in the right direction"

Remember these comments were taken directly from a major media outlet, not from an agent's website or someone's real estate blog. Let's analyze each point a bit further:

"I think we're pretty close to the bottom because once a bank gets a property back, you can't go any lower than that" - Oh we can, and we will. If you think the commercial market is bad now, wait until the end of the year when the banks move from their current "denial" state into "acceptance" of the problem and start taking massive action to unload properties.

"The most common trend in the industrial market continues to be the lasting expectation among buyers and tenants for reduced sales prices and lease rates" - The most common trend is ALL of real estate is that the prices will continue to fall until job growth prospects get better. The focus should be on job creation - until that happens, the real estate market will continue to fall. And I don't see it happening (for real at least, although you can probably find examples of news articles massaging the facts to make it seem so in the short term.

"Both residential and commercial transactions are slowly starting to pick up compared with the last couple of years" - the key words here are "the last couple of years", which were lousy. Comparing something negative to something even more negative makes your negatively seem less negative.

"The ones that take the jump now are poised to make the most profit when things turn around." - this statement is the single-most exact reason people hate real estate agents. And for obvioius reasons. When Starbucks tells you their coffee is great, watch out.

"There continues to be strong demand for quality properties." - Strong demand? I don't see it. Maybe in other markets, but since this article was written for a Las Vegas paper, I'm assuming they're referencing the Las Vegas market, where the exact opposite seems to be the case. Just look around you if you're a local.

We're getting a lot of activity, which is going in the right direction" - Trust me, the only activity people are seeing are investors looking for an unrealistic "steal", then looking to steal the steal. There's certainly a lot of activity there.

Here's the tough love folks: if you're looking to invest in commercial real estate, take my advice and WAIT. WAIT WAIT WAIT. It's going to get worse short-term. There will be great opportunities for profits in the future and we're currently paving the ground with that at www.CommercialREOs.com, but only when the time is right. It's not now. Turn off the TV and stop reading the newspapers with all those stories written by those with agendas.

Seriously, I Just Got This Email Regarding Commercial Real Estate

You know why people hate real estate agents? Because there's a perceived notion out there that real estate agents are all after the commission without regard to whether or not the purchase (or sale) is right for the CLIENT.

I want to share with you an email I just received that drives home exactly that. (I took out any references to the sender, or the company name that sent out this doozy):

There has never been a better time for business owners to purchase the commercial property their businesses occupy. It's a fact, and I'll tell you why.

The 20-year fixed interest rate on commercial loans projects continues to be historically low -- the effective rate for May is 5.52%. And that's fixed for 20 years! On top of that, the continued elimination of most up-front fees makes a commercial loan an unbeatable alternative to conventional financing . . . and a no-brainer for any business owner who recognizes the wealth-creating power of commercial property ownership.

The Experts in commercial property financing (that's us) make the purchasing process easy and simple because it's ALL we do. If you're the least bit interested in owning your commercial property, call me today

Is this guy doing ANY market research? Probably not - he just wants a deal. The fact is all RELIABLE DATA and market forecasting point to exactly the opposite - there's a perfect storm brewing in commercial real estate and if you think the residential foreclosure market got hit hard, just you wait.

"a no-brainer for any business owner who recognizes the wealth-creating power of commercial property ownership"?!?!? This must be a joke, right? It used to be "don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait". Not anymore. You'll be turning cartwheels of joy if you just wait around and get ready to pounce when the timing's right - but that time's certainly not now.

Commercial Real Estate Foreclosure Recovery? Not By a Long Shot

Lately, I've heard rumblings that we're actually entering into an economic "recovery". With high unemployment and massive household debt, that's hard to believe. Remember, many people have financed their expensive lifestyles and the bills are coming due. Financial services, home-building, auto workers, even lawyers, brokers and other traditionally well-compensated fields are feeling the brunt.

Here's the mission statement for why we're in for a rough stretch of commercial real estate: everyone borrowed too much!

Not painting a pretty picture as well is the long-term impact of colossal government spending and national debt which has yet to be felt. Jobs just cannot be created fast enough to fill the gaping holes in commercial real estate debt-service. In fact, you can make a case for the first time in quite a long time, American's standard of living may have begun to fall - low wages, shrinking insurance benefits, bankrupt pension plans, and how about that 401K for retirement?

Where will the new high-paying employment options to stir recovery be? Here's a few:

• Technology: engineers and scientists still will be highly desired as new high-tech products can increase sales to global markets.
  
  
• Healthcare: as the population ages, we'll continue to see demand for medical services, doctors, nurses, therapists, caregivers, etc.
  
  
• Education: if there's one area that's in desperate need of qualified individuals it's the teaching industry, especially for education targeting engineers, scientists, and doctors for jobs leading to innovations in their particular field of study.
  
  
• Housing: as long as the U.S. population continues to grow (which it will), homebuilders will eventually recover as all these people still need places to live.
  
  
• Wealth Management: We'll eventually have to pay the bills for all the borrowing that's been done.
  

The problem is that there aren't many good paying jobs around right now and the only way out of a doomed commercial real estate market is job creation. Even those with the most rosy-colored glasses point to an overall gloom and predict a prolonged slow recovery process. I don't think we're there just yet.

The Long Road Back - Commercial Real Estate: Absolutely No Demand

Commercial foreclosures are looming in the future. Here's more bad news for commercial real estate owners: there's no demand for your product. Looking to increase cash flow to meet expensive debt service? Not a good bet. As tenants continue to downsize to cut costs, landlords are facing serious challenges as their stifling mortgage statements stare them in the face month after month. In today's marketplace, commercial real estate is seeing the following trends:

• Retailers are closing their weaker stores, and concentrating mainly on only the strongest of large shopping centers
• Apartment renters are doubling up or moving back in with their parents or siblings
• Office tenants want big accommodations in rents and concessions.
• Warehouses are suffering record vacancies.
• Hotels are seeing "below break-even" occupancies, as families are eliminating travel more and more as a means to curtail their spending.

It's not new construction that we'll need in the commercial real estate world. New demand must be the keyword for the commercial real estate world to weather the upcoming storms of commercial foreclosures and commercial reos. Remember that employment growth always follows the growth of the economy, and unfortunately, real estate is typically the last to see any improvement.

And the Market to Watch Is..... (Drumroll please)

Well, unfortunately, according to the Emerging Trends, there really is no market to watch at this point. They are not bullish on any particular place. But they do say that investors tend to favor the following:

• Global gateway markets on the East and West coasts—featuring international airports, ports, and major commercial centers.
• Cities and urbanizing infill suburbs with 24-hour attributes—upscale, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods; convenient office, retail, entertainment, and recreation districts; mass transit alternatives to driving; good schools (public and/or private); and relatively safe streets.
• Brainpower centers—places that offer a dynamic combination of colleges and universities, high-paying industries—high tech, biotech, finance, and health care (medical centers, drug companies)—and government offices.
• Barrier-to-entry markets where geographic constraints—rivers, lakes, oceans, and mountains—limit development and help control overbuilding.

And what do investors tend to shy away from these days? Try these attributes:

• Midwest manufacturing centers—automaker travail deflates interest to new lows;
• Secondary and tertiary cities—anywhere you can’t fly direct to from the global pathway centers;
• Hot-growth bubble-burst markets, which collapsed under plunging housing prices;
• Fringe areas—the exurbs and places with long car commutes or where getting a quart of milk means taking a 15- minute drive.

So where does Las Vegas rate in all of this? Like the military, don't ask - don't tell... But if you'd like to register at www.CommercialREOs.com for some nice timing plays when the time is right, please be our guest and do so.

2010 Congressional Oversight Panel Report on Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability

Nobody likes to read government documents and reports. It's probably because they're all long, boring, drawn-out with pages and pages of fluff information that no one cares about. However, in the case of the 2010 Congressional Oversight Panel Report, I started reading the document, and I must say, the information contained is just plain shocking!

You thought it was bad now, their take on the commercial real estate marketing is downright frightening (and if history is any indication, usually correct!). Download the report (it's 190 pages!), but just read the Executive Summary. And make sure you're sitting down. Here's my favorite paragraph:

Between 2010 and 2014, about $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will reach the end of their terms. Nearly half are at present “underwater” – that is, the borrower owes more than the underlying property is currently worth. Commercial property values have fallen more than 40 percent since the beginning of 2007. Increased vacancy rates, which now range from eight percent for multifamily housing to 18 percent for office buildings, and falling rents, which have declined 40 percent for office space and 33 percent for retail space, have exerted a powerful downward pressure on the value of commercial properties.

The largest commercial real estate loan losses are projected for 2011 and beyond; losses at banks alone could range as high as $200-$300 billion. The stress tests conducted last year for 19 major financial institutions examined their capital reserves only through the end of 2010. Even more significantly, small and mid-sized banks were never subjected to any exercise comparable to the stress tests, despite the fact that small and mid-sized banks are proportionately even more exposed than their larger counterparts to commercial real estate loan losses.

Put on your seat belt and get ready for an interesting 5 years regarding commercial foreclosures and commercial REOs. If you're direct to a lender or direct to an investment group, contact us at www.CommercialREOs.com and at least register on the site so when the time's right, perhaps we can make lemonade out of lemons.

Commercial Real Estate Key to Success

I am currently reading the Emerging Trends Real Estate 2010 report and happened upon this quote to start the Second Chapter of the document:

“The key to success in real estate investing is to follow the capital flows, not the fundamentals. Anticipate what capital wants and be there.”

This is a must-read report for anyone in the commercial real estate world or just anyone looking for knowledge on where the industry has been and where it is going. You can download the report on the homepage at the www.CommercialREOs.com website.

According to the report:

Slowly, capital will flow back into commercial real estate markets during 2010, led by all-cash investors “looking for pop” in quality assets owned by distressed borrowers or sold by lenders out of growing REO portfolios.

... a very interesting read indeed

Get Your FREE Cash Back Membership for High Rise Condo Owners

Folks, we're launching a brand new FREE shopping service that allows you to get cash back on shopping you do anyway at brand name stores. In addition, you can also earn money when others shop as well. There's a video here that explains it all in detail - watch it!

The network is called ShopBest and all I can tell you is that it's brand new and I urge you to secure your position on our team RIGHT NOW. All you have to do is signup and download the free toolbar.

If you're a shopper, or would like to earn money when others shop, you need to be on our team with this - and if you know anything about viral marketing, it's always good to be in at the top!

Learn How to Get High Rise Condo Bank REO Foreclosure Listings

Real estate agents: complete BPO's for major banks for thousands of dollars in commissions!

Don't have another sleepless night worrying about where your next deal is coming from. Let's face it - the real estate market (and the high rise market in particular) is tough. We've changed our focus over the past year and have every expectation to make 2010 our best ever?

Why? Because I've discovered the secret on how to get listings from major banks to help them dispose of their non-performing assets. Want to find out how to do this yourself? Here's the secret that's already working for me and our team >>>

Real Estate Investments for those in the Horse Racing Industry? Here's the Resource

Two days ago, we published www.HorseRacingLuxuryRealEstate.com on behalf of a colleague of ours named Allan Herman.

Allan's a big horseracing fan and has been specializing in luxury real estate in Las Vegas for quite some time now. The website allows him to combine two of his biggest passions: the horse racing industry and luxury real estate.

Besides what you'd normally expect to see at a typical real estate website, we've implemented a LIVE Broadcast capability where Allan will be hosting weekly live streaming video sessions talking about not only what's been going on in the horseracing industry, but what's new in the luxury real estate market as well.

These shows have the capability of being archived as well as customizible branding for advertising - basically turning an advertising expense into another revenue stream for the show host.

You don't have to be from Las Vegas to take advantage of the resources this website provides. Nor do you have to be a horse breeder, horse trainer, jockey, or horse owner for that matter... but it sure does help if you are!

Please stop by the site, take a look, and give us your feedback on what you think. If you'd like to add live broadcasting capability to your site, please visit www.VegasVideoMarketing.com for further details. Sign up for an account, then contact us at info@videoemailresults.com and we'll do all the work for you.

Text Message Marketing Provides Opportunity for Luxury Real Estate Agents

As many of you already know, awhile back I started a text message marketing company called Gotta Go Text (www.G2GText.com). In case you don't already realize it, the text marketing industry is growing exponentially every day, as is G2G. One only has to point to the success of the donation program to the victims of the Haiti earthquake devastation to see how text messaging is the next big new thing. (Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross)

We'll... we've taken the text message concept to the Golf Course industry at www.G2GGolf.com with phenomenal success so far. If you would like to see it in action for yourself, just text "GOLF" on your cell phone to 69302 and you'll get an immediate indication.

So what does that mean to you, the real estate agent? We've also partnered with Never Search for golf in providing golfers with a fully customized golf trip planning software including links to nearby restaurants, driving ranges, courses, related sites of interest, and get this - LUXURY GOLF COURSE REAL ESTATE!

The Never Search Golf database is national and we've already been getting requests for information from golfers as to vacation homes at golf course destinations around the United States. My question to you seasoned real estate agents reading this blog post is this: Are you a luxury residential agent who can provide services to golfers looking to purchase real estate in your area?

If so, we'll provide you the lead from the contacts we get at www.G2GGolf.com in return for a 25% referral fee payable upon a closed deal. Interested? Contact me at ron@gottagotext.com and especially let me know the area of the US that you specialize in.

Las Vegas Project CityCenter Making News With Grand Opening This Week - But Many Questions Remain

Bet you're wondering why I don't update this blog very often any more, right? Well, the truth is there really isn't any good news arising from the Las Vegas high rise condo market these days. That's about to come to an end however now that MGM Grand's Project CityCenter will be opening its doors this week to a long awaited and skeptical crowd.

In fact, there's a very interesting article in yesterday's Las Vegas Review Journal that goes over City Center in great detail which anyone interested in the high rise market should read. For the most part, the article portrays a rosy future for this mega-project. However, myself (and a whole bunch of other readers - read the comments section at the end of the article for some REAL insights into this project) think there are big hurdles to scale before anyone can think CityCenter will be a success. Questions such as the following:

1) How's it going to pay for itself? How can they possibly get the ROI needed to keep this city within a city thriving? 8 BILLION dollars is a lot of money!

2) Who's going to play there? Certainly not the locals. Are there enough rich sultans in the world willing to visit, gamble, spend, eat, drink, etc. at CityCenter at the expense of Wynn and his casinos? I can see CityCenter packing them in for the first few months or so - and I myself can't wait to go and see it (and maybe even play a little $5 blackjack? - doubtful) - but after that when the luster's worn off, then what's going to happen? Ask the people over at the M Resort about that. That project was amazingly "successful" for the first few months. Now people leave that place faster than Tiger Woods drives his car out of his garage.

3) How will the condo portion of the project effect the market? Even while CityCenter slashed condo prices supposedly 30%, when you consider what's going on in the market, who'll buy them? Add the HOA fees and you probably have to be a partner in MGM somehow just to afford the payment plus mortgage. That is, if you can even get a mortgage! Since banks aren't lending on condos, pretty much any deal has to be all cash. Are there enough rich people overseas that will plunk down that kind of money for something they'll maybe visit twice a year?

4) Has anyone given any thought of the traffic nightmares this development presents on an already crowded intersection? Who's going to put themselves through all that on a consistent basis? Traffic and parking issues believe it or not are the single biggest predictor of whether or not a retail business survives. This is a serious point that everyone in the media seems to be overlooking.

5) Can bankruptcy be far behind? And if so, will MGM CEO Jim Murren still be considered the forward thinking poster child genious he's portrayed to be in another article regarding CityCenter published in the Las Vegas Sun? (read the comments on that story too!). Here's one of my pet peeves regarding the media: mixing news with promotion. According to the article, "Murren never doubted the success of CityCenter. It was right for the company, right for Las Vegas", spoken as if the project was already successful. It's not successful - yet. I'm from Vegas and plan on being here for years. I want this project to work, but let's hold judgment on whether it's a success or not until after it opens, okay?

And speaking of which, you may want to brave the traffic for just one night tomorrow (Tuesday, December 1st) when the Vdara opens its doors. Then go again on Thursday when the Crystals retail district opens within the development. The Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open on Saturday. Shortly after that, the Aria hotel casino opens on December 16th, followed by the Veer Towers opening in January 2010.

I can't wait to see the development myself. I love the way it looks - CityCenter in my opinion is absolutely gorgeous! But like a traffic accident, it's more like it's drawing my interest and curiosity more than being a destination I'll consistently go to. Perhaps I'll be wrong about that, but I am looking forward to the openings. I have a feeling I'm a lot like the average person in that respect. You'll go to CityCenter once, check it all out, maybe play a few hands of blackjack or craps (with a $25 minimum), walk through the shopping areas (while not buying anything), order a $18 martini (just to say you had one), wait forever to get your car, and drive back home.

Then like Kaiser Soze, my guess is CityCenter will never see you again.

Text Message Marketing is the Future in Real Estate and Beyond

The ability to spot trends has always been a valuable asset in any real estate agent's arsenal. In fact, trendspotting serves most people well in just about any industry. Sometimes, you get that "ah ha!" moment when it finally hits you and you say to yourself "this could be big!".

That is exactly what happened to me when I first discovered the power of text message marketing months back. I saw it as a way to communicate instantly with potential clients in an environment with a 95% read rate. Think about it... who doesn't read their text messages? I've been successfully text message advertising since then.

But I wanted to create a brand that I could bring to the forefront of the market to allow others to easily use this technology as well. I've literally spent the last 5 months developing a text message platform for retail use, and this morning (9/9/09) at 9:09am, we launched the product at http://www.GottaGoText.com.

Hence, we're very proud to bring you the most sophisticated text message marketing system available today - AND making it affordable for small business use. (especially for real estate agents!)

No more empty "Take One" sheets at houses that are for sale. Instead, have a sign asking the potential buyer to text a certain keyword (HOUSE) to our shortcode (69302) for instant information on the house they're looking at. (Plus you help save the planet without the use of tradition paper that ends up somewhere on the street most of the time).

Now you've captured that prospect's contact info where you can alert them to your new listings, open houses, special deals, foreclosure opportunities, or just about anything you can imagine at a simple click of the button for immediate feedback. Gotta Go Text is browser based, so you can create, send, and manage your contacts and text messages from anywhere in the world at any time. I'm sure you can see how you can develop a strong contact database in a very short period of time by text message marketing with G2G.

In short, texting facilitates sales. And if you think it's all overwhelming, I'm here to help you out every step of the way regarding how to use the system, create keywords, manage your database, and send out messages.

For the time being, I'm offering a FREE trial of this product at our website at http://www.GottaGoText.com. I'm also looking for affiliates to help me bring this brand to the forefront of the industry. Signup for the trial, create an account and give it a test drive. Then, if you like it, the basic cost is $50/month along with 7 cents charge per outgoing text message. There are no contracts to sign and you can cancel without penalty at any time.

This is not just for real estate agents - bars, restaurants, promoters, churches, schools, musicians, etc... all can find a unique use for text message marketing.

Download the promotional flyer here - and remember: When you want to skyrocket your response rates and grow your business, ya Gotta Go Text!

Using G2G will show you EXACTLY how powerful mobile marketing really is!!!

Investment Real Estate Webinar Almost a Sell-Out - Learn How to Pay No Taxes for 2009

Disillusioned with the Las Vegas high rise condo market? Fed up with Las Vegas real estate in general? Looking for cash flowing real estate with tremendous tax benefits? I'm sure the answer to that question is a resounding yes!

Many of you who follow and/or subscribe to this blog know I've been a proponent of GO Zone investing since the IRS sponsored program came out in 2005. Our latest buying event was a huge success as the entire Tara Brooke development project just about sold out as a result.

Many of the buyers on the call will now Legally be Paying NO Federal Income Tax in 2009! If you missed it and you'd like to learn more about why GO Zone investing blows away anything Las Vegas ever had, you can listen to a recording of the conference call by clicking here. You can also reserve a unit on that webpage using the Discount Code: "COSTA"

Time is absolutely of the essence here, because in order to have the home completed by the end of the year to qualify for the GO-Zone tax benefits, you need to reserve right away. There is only a fleeing moment of time while this tax benefit still exists and then it will be gone forever.

There still are a few units left, so listen to the archived conference call and reserve your unit today

Jewelry hub won’t adorn Symphony Park soon

From today's Las Vegas Sun:

Plans to build a key world jewelry industry hub in downtown’s Symphony Park will take years longer than originally planned. At today’s Las Vegas City Council meeting, the city and the World Jewelry Center’s Beverly Hills-based developer are set to amend their agreement to give the center six more years to fulfill its original plans — including the option to scale them back.

If this project ever happens, what a much-needed boom this would be to Las Vegas in general, and downtown in particular.

Article on Las Vegas High Rise Condos Says It Best - Maybe

The Las Vegas Review Journal recently published an article regarding the status of the high rise condo market here in Las Vegas. You can read the article here.

I've heard all the jokes: What does the Las Vegas high rise market and Michael Jackson have in common? - they're both dead. And other jokes along those lines. What are your feelings regarding Las Vegas real estate today on August 4th, 2009? Is there any hope?

I was wondering if you could take time out of your day, read the article, then "Tweet" any comments you may have on my newly created Twitter account. What do you think is the future of this market? I'd be interested in your responses. Thanks!

Latest Economic Indices Not Painting a Rosy Picture

Here's the most recent data according to R. Keith Schwer of the The Center for Business and Economic Research regarding the Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators:

The Index rose a modest 0.6 percent for June, essentially standing still on a month-to-month basis. The sharp decline of the past year or so has at least hit a pause, however. Visitor volume, down a modest 2.89 percent for the same month a year ago, contributed the most to the strength of the index. All in all, we may be starting to get around the corner. We remain cautiously optimistic that a turn up in the index is forming -- giving us some hope that a recovery may start in the next six months or so.

CBER Clark County Business-Activity Index:

The Business-Activity Index continues its downward trajectory, reversing last month’s one-time rise -- a one-month change that was only a desert mirage. The index offers a perspective of the stage of the business cycle we are in. In short, a recession is from peak to trough and a recovery from trough to peak. Taken as a whole, we have strong evidence that the recession we are in continues.

CBER Clark County Tourism Index:

The Tourism Index improved for the third month in a row, though up a modest 0.79 percent over last month. The rise in visitor volume explains this strength. Aggressive advertising of value opportunities seems to be working. To be sure, this improvement is modest and has yet to gain enough momentum to curtail the recession, but clearly this is a glimmer of hope for better things to come.

CBER Clark County Construction Index:

The roller-coaster decline in construction that started from 2006 has pushed the
index below the values when the index starts in 1995. The index shows a one-month rise of 2.17 percent. Still, the index is near and all-time low. Moreover, the prospects for improvement remain weak. We lost about 15,000 construction jobs over the past year. With excess residential, commercial, and industrial space, further contraction seems inevitable at this time.

Are you on Twitter? Follow Me!

I finally gave in - after months (and literally MONTHS) of everyone I know trying to get me to put a presence on Twitter, I finally caved in and did it. Here's my Twitter page:

http://www.twitter.com/highriser

In the short time I've been online with this, I have to admit I am totally addicted to it. It's great - and it's skyrocketed my video and text business to the point where I'm so mad at myself for not doing this sooner.

Granted, you have to work at it. You have to post valuable info (called "tweets") so people will be more inclined to "follow you". The viral marketing concept that you can create with this platform is mind-boggling.

So take it from me. Get on Twitter today and start Tweeting. If Shaquille O'Neal can do it, so can you. And it's actually kind of fun as well.