Employment in valley tops 1 million

The Las Vegas area has passed an employment milestone.

The 2,200 seasonally adjusted jobs added during May put total employment at about 1 million, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported Tuesday.

The Las Vegas area saw a 2.9 percent increase in employment from a year earlier, about the same as Nevada. Small businesses are responsible for half of local employment.

“The latest job market performance is nothing short of impressive,” said Brian Gordon, principal at local research firm Applied Analysis.

About 200,000 jobs were added locally since September 2010.

Job gains in a variety of fields is the best news from

JOBS

come its way, he said. It typically rejects luxury properties and homes in rough physical or financial shape.

Las Vegas broker and investor Josh Galindo, who flips houses for clients, said companies like Opendoor are “mop-and-glow house flippers” that make minor upgrades before selling. Their profit margins are so “razor thin” they need continued price growth, and they’ll have to create a very “streamlined system” in order to make money, he said.

“What happens when Las Vegas stagnates and their margin isn’t

there?” said Galindo, owner of Galindo Group Real Estate.

‘Not the traditional model’

Opendoor is ramping up its purchase volume “quite quickly,” said Daren Blomquist, Attom’s senior vice president of communications. There could be concern about its growth rate, but its activity level highlights the demand “for this type of service.”

Blomquist has heard some skepticism about whether Opendoor’s business model can hold up if home prices stop accelerating. Also, its profit margin on sales is “much lower” than a typical flipper’s, he noted.

Its focus on fees, though “not the traditional model,” could help offset slower price growth, he said.

Las Vegas is among the most popular places in America to flip houses, but overall, the investment tactic is waning, and investors can make a lot more money elsewhere.

Opendoor’s competitors include Offerpad (“Welcome to the easiest way to sell your home,” its website says) and online listing service Zillow, which unveiled plans in

April to get into the house-flipping business, with Las Vegas among its first targets.

Still, Wu has plenty of backers. He said the company has raised $645 million in equity investments and another $1.5 billion in debt.