Quantcast
MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

sponsored by
Business
Oct. 09, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

HOUSING SECTOR: Economic woes hit home

Sales in Las Vegas continue to increase as prices continue to tumble

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
More Info


Martine Welch moves boxes out of the house of John and Maria Therian in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Home sales in Las Vegas have increased in all but one month this year.
Photo by John Locher.





Single-family home sales in Las Vegas tripled in September from the same month a year ago and inventory remained stable, but median prices dropped 31.8 percent, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Home sales have increased in all but one month this year as prices continue to fall, indicating that the housing market is still declining.

Most Popular Stories
  • Fraud with Portent
  • Debt-ridden casino operators told to expect pressure
  • REAL ESTATE: Las Vegas home prices stabilize as threat of foreclosure flood wanes
  • GAMING COMPANY EARNINGS: Station drops $455.4 million
  • THE STRIP: License backed for Aria
  • GLOBAL GAMING EXPO: Recession over? Don't bet on it
  • THE STRIP: License approved for Aria
  • Union wants insiders to help pull Station from bankruptcy
  • Foreclosure wave continues
  • INSIDE GAMING: Missouri outburst hurts Lee, Pinnacle




    • "These two statistics are obviously related," association President Patty Kelley said. "As home prices keep getting lower, sales keep going up. This month's statistics show the greatest increase in year-over-year sales that we've seen in many years."

    Kelley has been saying for months that the unprecedented number of foreclosures on the market continues to drive down prices. Roughly two out of three home sales in Las Vegas over the past few months have been bank-owned properties, she said.

    Realtors sold 2,783 single-family homes in September, compared with 2,545 sales in August and 990 in the same month a year ago. Sales of condos and townhomes increased 81.2 percent from a year ago to 386 in September.

    The inventory of homes on the Multiple Listing Service remained steady at 22,784 in September, compared with 22,710 in August. It's down 5.9 percent from 24,218 in September 2007.

    The median single-home price slipped 7.1 percent to $195,000 in September. Condos and townhomes were down 2.9 percent to $119,450.

    "I didn't think I'd ever see the median price under $200,000," Kelley said. "The bottom must be in sight because I don't see how much further we can go. There's great buys if you can get the funding. I'm trying to get someone closed today, but it's becoming an impossibility. It's getting tougher and tougher to get them closed."

    Prices of properties listed for sale fell in 21 of 26 major markets, according to a report published by Mountain View, Calif.-based Altos Research and market analysis firm Real IQ.

    Asking prices fell at the fastest rate in Las Vegas, down 3.5 percent during September and 8.1 percent over the most recent three-month period. It is the sixth consecutive month that Las Vegas has posted the fastest rate of declining prices among major markets.

    The Altos 10-City Composite Price Index showed a decline in asking prices of 1.4 percent in September and 2.9 percent for the past three months. Denver, San Diego and Houston are the only markets showing three months of sequential price increases.

    "The fleeting signs of stability we saw during the summer have largely vanished," said Michael Simonsen, chief executive officer and co-founder of Altos Research. "Job losses and the credit crunch will aggravate typical seasonal weakness during the coming fall and winter months."

    Citing Moody's Economy.com, the Wall Street Journal reported that roughly 12 million households, or 16 percent of all U.S. households, owe more than their homes are worth. Steve Hawks of ReMax Platinum said it's more like one in three in Las Vegas.

    Local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS totaled nearly $642 million in September, up 1 percent from August and up 84.2 percent from a year ago.

    Nearly 68 percent of all single-family homes and 58.3 percent of condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

    As prices continue to plummet, houses are selling more quickly, Frank Nason of Residential Resources said. Homes are on the market for an average of 58 days, he said. Nearly 29 percent of single-family homes and more than one-third of attached units are under contract in 15 days.

    Nason said his experience with buyer representation continues to be frustrating in that most bank-owned properties receive multiple offers. Buyers are frequently outbid even when a submitted offer is above list price, he said.

    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 good news in the equation is sales are up and inventory is down," Rick Brenkus of Keller Williams Realty said. "The third leg is prices need to stabilize, and unfortunately we haven't seen that yet. We're still burning through the foreclosures and bank-owned properties."

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

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 20 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    Mark wrote on October 20, 2008 12:31 PM: Please print this article and add it to our agenda:)


    Investor wrote on October 17, 2008 02:17 PM: You all keep on talking... I got mine at the right price.


    rb wrote on October 14, 2008 01:43 AM: You know I left in 98 and this was a really cool town to live and work in, what happened? It feels like a smaller version of LA now..damn shame.


    steve wrote on October 09, 2008 04:29 PM: sophie...

    be VERY careful. there is now getting to be a huge inventory of rental homes and fewer people with jobs in las vegas to rent them.

    it's going to be the same thing all over again. instead of people buying to "flip" in a few years, people are going to just assume they'll get a renter and be able to ride it out for 2 or 3 years.

    i wouldn't THINK about buying a rental home until encore, aliante station, etc. open up and there are jobs in las vegas again.


    Comment Reviewer wrote on October 09, 2008 02:27 PM: Realist- great retort! Funny too!
    Hilobama- you're funny too!
    housingdoom- gin and kimchee, funny!
    Sophie- landlord = babysitter = not sexy, even at $200/mo "flow".


    CAS127 wrote on October 09, 2008 12:55 PM: Hey RJ,

    Are foreclosure sales counted as sales?

    If so, the "tripling" of sales is much less than meets the eye.

    Having a "sale" where the home simply ends up in some bank's already overstuffed inventory isn't likely to help stabilize demand - ultimately that home must be resold into the private market...


    Sophie wrote on October 09, 2008 12:48 PM: For the first time in Las Vegas after 5 years, an investor can get in and buy a house, rent it out and make positive cashflow. Same goes for a person renting, if they are paying 800-$1,000 in rent - they can get a house/condo for the same amount. That's why people are going crazy buying houses right now.


    ...got me where? wrote on October 09, 2008 12:36 PM: Steve Hawks of ReMax Platinum said "it's more like one in three in Las Vegas" - I would like to see your stats to be printed please.

    Frank Nason of Residential Resources said "Homes are on the market for an average of 58 days." I would like to see your stats to be printed please.

    Banks holding homes off the MLS? There are three abandoned homes on my street. Only one is on the MLS. The one I had to chase 4 kids away from at 10 o'clock on a school night. There response to my question what the hell are you doing? "No one lives here." - Priceless. One of them had a baseball bat. - Priceless. I called the police twice. The second time because the kids circled back 15 minutes later. I knew they were going to do that, I was a kid once too. Police never came. - Priceless.

    Is this happening in your neighborhood? At nights do you hear the crickets? Not the little bugs. No, the sound of house fire alarm batteries chirping up and down the street throughout the community because the power has been turned off in the empty homes and the batteries are about to die. - Priceless.

    We'll folks I'm about to test the statement that SFD are sold in 58 days. Meeting with the realtor today.

    lv h8r - we need to get a drink together to commiserate... Anyone else want to join in? Maybe we can get a bar to reduce drink prices for publicity on our little group!


    HousingDoom wrote on October 09, 2008 12:33 PM: Wow, you schmucks who believe even a fraction of what this GLVAR shill has to say are greater fools than I could ever imagine! Folks, are you watching the marktets? We are heading into a world wide depression and these idiots are telling you to buy! Vegas is ground zero for the housing implosion! Read the news for god's sake! Put down that glass of gin and drop that toke for five minutes and look out around you folks! We are in deep kimchee and these economic forces will have to burn themselves out over the next 5 to 10 years, This is the big one and no BS will forestall the chickens coming home to roost!


    KDR81 wrote on October 09, 2008 12:16 PM: Based on the S&P housing price index for Las Vegas I bet the median housing price can fall AT LEAST another $25,000 before we reach the bottom.


    Read All Comments