it's always been a mecca for individuals to make a new beginning. >> scott grew up here and has seen the city's population explode. as a vegas native, you've see it through big ups and downs, huh? >> plenty. i remember driving through las vegas. even as a young boy, there was next to nothing out there. desert on either side of the road. now it's house after house after house. >> americans keep snapping up real estate at a record pace. >> fortune magazine is calling it the real estate gold rush. >> vegas went through what much of the country did in the early 2000s. the housing boom. you could buy a house for 130, and by the time you closed, it could have been worth 200 or more. >> you make pretty good money during that time? >> we all did. >> then it all went bust. >> the bank-owned signs are all