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Aug. 08, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas home sales climb higher in July

Inventory stable; prices down 25.4 percent from year ago

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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Home sales in Las Vegas increased for the seventh straight month to 2,592 in July, the most since September 2005, and inventory remained stable at 23,423 units, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Sales nearly doubled from the same month a year ago and inventory has declined 2.8 percent.

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    • With a high percentage of foreclosures and short sales, or homes sold for less than the mortgage balance, median home prices continued to fall in July to $220,000, down 25.4 percent from a year ago.

    Housing market statistics are a "mixed bag," association president Patty Kelley said.

    While it's painful to watch home prices slide, large chunks of foreclosures are being taken out of the inventory each month, she said.

    "Until we get rid of foreclosures, prices are going to keep on dropping," Kelley said. "I don't know how things are selling if it's not a foreclosure."

    Once the foreclosure inventory is reduced, the resale market will correct and median prices will begin to appreciate rather quickly, she predicted.

    Foreclosures have accounted for 50 percent to 60 percent of home sales over the past few months, according to local sources. Robin Camacho of American Realty & Property Management found 74 percent of MLS sales in July were foreclosures and another 9 percent were short sales.

    "Chances of selling your own home in this market are very, very slim," she said.

    Camacho's research showed 40 percent to 50 percent of listings as short sales, yet only one in five escrow closings was a short sale.

    "I don't show them and I know many other agents don't either," Camacho said. "I will list them occasionally, but it is such a struggle to get them approved that I really can't devote a lot of time to this. It's really just a service to some of my clients."

    Realtors sold 358 condos and townhomes in July, a 21.8 percent increase from the previous month and an 18.2 percent increase from the same month a year ago. The median price dipped to $135,000, compared with $137,500 in June. It's down 30.8 percent from a year ago.

    Association statistics are based on data collected through the MLS and do not necessarily account for new homes sold by local builders and other transactions not involving a Realtor.

    The largest segment of single-family and attached homes sold in Las Vegas during the first half of the year was in the $150,000 to $250,000 range, Bob Hamrick of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty said.

    The average size was three bedrooms and 1,700 square feet. Some of these homes were purchased at bargain prices, Hamrick said.

    He reported that 64 percent of closed sales in June were bank-owned, while 52 percent of contracts in escrow were bank-owned.

    Looking at days on the market, Hamrick noted that homes below $400,000 are selling in 150 to 200 days, about the same as last year. That's probably a reflection of price cuts to get those homes sold in a timely manner, he said.

    Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.



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    Tom wrote on August 10, 2008 10:55 PM: This seems to be congruent with what ListingSupply.com data is showing. The site says that MLS listings were down .50% in July, with the southwest leading the way (presumably because of the extremely low prices in the SW).


    Short end wrote on August 08, 2008 10:46 PM: My GF made an offer on a house 3 months ago, and still no word if the bank will accept it. In the mean time it seems prices have gone down and there are bank owned properties going for even less now. Everyone agrees that for the last several months, sales are up, and prices are down. Get Real is right, houses are selling because the prices are coming down. It doesnt matter who owns the house, there is a price that can be set that will make it sell quickly. That price is getting lower, and lower. For some places you can pay less for a new mortgage than you would pay to rent the same place. Of course just try to get a new mortgage if you dont have great credit and money for a down.

    I don't know where or how it will end, but I am sure prices can't keep going down, and sales keep going up. Supply demand will not allow this trend to continue indefinately. It will be interesting to see what things look like when the dust settles.


    Resident wrote on August 08, 2008 08:35 PM: In case any of ya forgot:


    “'The bottom line is that all those McMansions that were bought during this housing boom are going to go the way of the 1973 Lincoln Continental,’ Merrill Lynch’s David Rosenberg writes. The housing bubble was the most over-owned, overleveraged and oversupplied real-estate market ever, he says, and its unwinding will take years. The revival of consumers saving their money for retirement - rather than expecting their homes to provide the cushion - added with ‘move down’ buyers will depress real-estate prices, he says.”

    Dow Jones, December 20, 2007


    Robin Camacho wrote on August 08, 2008 08:31 PM: Oops! Obviously that was 4 weeks, not 4 months! But this is definitely not the norm; I did a very large one that took over 5 months to close. The deal was good enough that my buyer, an investor, was willing to wait. Most buyers don't want to wait that long when the chances of approval are 1 in 5. If you have time to wait, it would certainly be helping out a distressed homeowner.


    Robin Camacho wrote on August 08, 2008 08:24 PM: I'm afraid the answer is much too long for this space. The short answer is that there are many reasons. Each one is different. I've closed short sales in as little as 4 months, but 8 to 12 weeks is really more the norm. And with only 1 in 5 closing (I close about 60%), these can be heartache for both buyer and seller. They tend to be better for the seller than a foreclosure, so I do them for my clients if asked, even though I don't take many listings (I'm a buyer's agent). I wish every distressed homeowner could sell their home via short sale rather than lose it. But the numbers are the numbers. I recommend only getting involved in a short sale when both agents have short sale experience. I'd refer you to my blog for a better answer, but I'm afraid I'd be eaten up alive by some of the readers who think all Realtors are sharks...or should be shark bait, anyway. :) My kids and my clients love me, even if HousingDoom is definitely not a fan!


    Buyer wrote on August 08, 2008 05:46 PM: Ms. Comacho: I am am in the market to buy. Please tell us why " only 1 in 5 " homes have a chance to close in a short sale? I have heard it takes maybe 3 months to get one approved if there is really hardship or seller is upside down, so what's the problem with these short sale opportunities?


    HousingDoom wrote on August 08, 2008 05:39 PM: Robin Camacho is another shill for GLVAR and undoubtably in need of a good bull whipping! Those of us who saw these parasite real estate sharpies operate during the artifical boom, would love to tie everyone of thes sob's to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and whipped their fat asses until they bled!


    Robin Camacho wrote on August 08, 2008 05:20 PM: To Roger: Sorry if I came across like that - it's pretty hard to say much in a short interview! I have a great track record on closing short sales; however, with so many great REOs on the market I would be doing a disservice to my clients by getting them involved in an unapproved short sale, with a 1-in-5 chance of closing, if it means they miss the opportunity to buy an REO listed at a better price. When it's the best thing for my client, the other agent is also experienced, and it's an approved short sale, I will recommend it as long as the price is right. I'm a buyer's agent, Roger; as I said, I only take listings as a service to my clients. My buyers keep me jumping!


    Robin Camacho wrote on August 08, 2008 05:10 PM: To clarify: 40-50% of listings are short sales. One in five closings is NOT a short sale; one in five short sales close. Nearly 75% of sales of single family residences (excluding condos) in July was a foreclosure. Add in the 9% of sales that were short sales, and at least 84% of July sales can be attributed to the short sale process.


    Get Real wrote on August 08, 2008 03:24 PM: "Until we get rid of foreclosures, prices are going to keep on dropping," Kelley said. "I don't know how things are selling if it's not a foreclosure."

    What a moron!!! -- they are selling because of the price -- not because it's a foreclosure!!! Homes go into foreclosure because people can't sell them for what they owe!! BUYERS buy because of the price!!

    Don't you get it??????


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