Home resales for '08 already near to matching '07 level - Business

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Sep. 23, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Home resales for '08 already near to matching '07 level

Existing-home sales lead new-home sales by more than 3-1 in August

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Housing in Southern Nevada

The Las Vegas housing market is "moving along" and eating through excess inventory of foreclosures, which now account for about 80 percent of resales, a local housing analyst said Monday.

Dennis Smith of Home Builders Research reported 829 new- home sales in August and 3,051 recorded resales. New-home sales are down 48.3 percent from a year ago at 7,324 units, while existing-home sales are down only 2 percent at 18,720 through August.

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Median home prices continued to slide. The new-home median was $256,000 in August, a 3.4 percent decline from the previous month and a 24 percent decline from the same month a year ago.

The resale median price dipped to $200,000, down 4.8 percent from July and down 27 percent, or $75,000, from August 2007.

"It's an amazing thing for us to think about 3,051 resale transactions in August and to realize that half of those sales were for under $200,000," Smith said

Nonetheless, housing trends have remained "pretty steady," he said. "Hopefully, the government bailout will ease the credit crunch."

The inventory of single-family home listings dropped sharply in the first week of September and pending sales on the Multiple Listing Service have been hovering around 200 since June. The resale market continues to absorb inventory of foreclosures and short sales, or homes sold for less than the mortgage owed.

New-home permits fell to 485 in August, compared with 668 in July and 802 a year ago, Larry Murphy of SalesTraq reported. Overall, permits are down 55 percent for the year at 4,216.

Murphy counted 3,218 resales in August at a median price of $200,000 and 792 new-home sales at a median of $259,847. He's seeing an increase in high-rise foreclosures, including five at SoHo Lofts and three at Panorama Towers in August.

Smith of Home Builders Research said the market hasn't gotten any worse over the last couple of months in terms of qualifying for home financing.

"Qualified buyers are still out there," Smith said. "I've talked to brokers who are very busy with foreclosures, getting them ready for sale, and I've talked to a few people investing in distressed properties. Las Vegas' housing market is not going to die and blow away. There are many respectable economists around the country that have said Las Vegas will be one of the first markets in the country to turn around, but not tomorrow."

Tim Sullivan of San Diego-based Sullivan Group real estate advisers said the good news for Las Vegas is the uptick in sales since the beginning of the year, which is a direct result of people realizing value from the presence of real estate-owned, or bank-owned homes.

"That's a motivating factor for home buyers and while it's uncertain how much lower prices will move, it is a very good indication that there is a price at which units will sell and ultimately that's what we need to find in this market," Sullivan said.

Frank Nason of Las Vegas-based Residential Resources estimated the current housing supply at 16.5 months as of Sept. 14, compared with roughly a three-year supply in September 2007. Excluding condos and townhomes and taking out pending transactions, the supply of single-family homes is down to 11.8 months, he said.

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

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Rent, Rent, Rent wrote on September 24, 2008 09:51 AM: "Too much compared to what?" I think you missed my point as that's exactly what I was saying...."$211K in Summerlin....sounds nice!" I was being a smart a$$ when I referenced what the neighbor most likely paid two years ago...as in, If $211K is paying too much - my neighbor paid $400K two years ago..so did I really pay too much - No, I came nowhere close to paying too much. Too much compared to What? wrote on September 24, 2008 06:35 AM: Location, location, location. Lot is huge. Land is expensive. Huge lot in Summerlin. You figure it out. Rent, Rent, Rent wrote on September 23, 2008 09:23 PM: "Dear Rent" - He paid too much for it compared to what? The neighbor who probably paid twice that two years ago? Sounds to me like he loves living in his house - even if in your eyes he paid a couple too much. I'm just upset he'll be paying off his own mortgage, instead of one of mine...$211K in Summerlin....sounds nice! Dear Rent wrote on September 23, 2008 09:01 PM: While the market is getting better, the reference to the "13,000 sq. ft." property is an ironic typo. If you paid $211,000 for 1300 sq. feet, you paid too much. Dear Rent, Rent, Rent wrote on September 23, 2008 08:27 PM: I just bought a house in Summerlin. No depreciation over the previous month in my area. Homes don't stay unsold long here. Loving my new house. Closed at $211,500 for a 13,000 sq. ft. 3 BR, super quiet, with a HUGE lot. Life is good. Say "HI!" to our Pals in the Secret Service! wrote on September 23, 2008 07:47 PM: OsamaBinBama sez: "This Muslim terrorist filth deserves a slow painful death, not unlike that of the faltering U.S. economy." Cool, "OsamaBinBama"! I just reported your threat to a presidential candidate to the Secret Service! Expect a visit from the feds. Keep the welcome mat out--who knows when they might show up (??). Love, David Tracy Rent, Rent, Rent wrote on September 23, 2008 07:01 PM: Rent, rent, rent... The stock market is way too crazy right now, so I pulled some cash out, put 20% down on a $200K house that sold for $375K back during the boom....My payments are less than $1150 a month - but I leased it out for $1350 a month...I love having other people pay off mortgages for me! I'm looking to maybe pick up another one - so if any of you want to pay off a mortgage for me, just let me know... Lil Bimbette wrote on September 23, 2008 05:13 PM: Hey Buy, Buy, Buy,, you better not try to steal my buyer or I smack you around. I see the buyer first! This buyer belongs to me! You stay away from my buyer! I no share my commission with you! Buy, Buy, Buy wrote on September 23, 2008 05:12 PM: I am realtor Bimbo and I say buy, buy, buy! Didn't you foolish boys read yesterday's RJ where it was printed that there is a feeding frenzy of foreign buyers out there? Better buy now or forever be priced out of hot Las Vegas market. Buy before someone else beats you to purchase. Buy, buy before bidding war starts Buy, Buy, Buy You may think mother know best. Not true. Realtor knows best BUY NOW! Jim Nance wrote on September 23, 2008 12:18 PM: http://www.desertconservative.com/2008/09/19/fight-the-good-fight/ Clinton and the Democrats have pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crazy push for sub-prime loans so that minorities could get into more houses. Obama is number two on the list of getting cash from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and he only has been a US senator for 3 years. John McCain tried to save America in 2005. John McCain was one of the 3 co-sponsors to S190. A bill that would have saved America a lot of money ache that is happening now. All the Democrats in the Committee voted against the bill. Below is part of McCain's speech in 2005 on the Senate floor. Too bad, they did not listen to him. "For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market." "I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole." Read All Comments