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Sales of single-family homes rise in November
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Reflecting bargain prices and strong demand, single-family home sales in Las Vegas rose to 3,159 in November, a 1.3 percent increase from the previous month and 13.8 percent increase from a year ago, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.
The median price was $125,000, up 3.3 percent from October, but a 7.3 percent decrease from a year ago.
Just as important, the inventory of available units on the Multiple Listing Service fell to 20,818, down 8 percent from November 2010. The number of homes without contingent or pending offers fell 22.3 percent to 9,780 in November.
The modest increase in median price is attributed to strong demand, coupled with decreasing supply, said Paul Bell, president of the Realtors association.
Real estate agents have been expecting a decline in inventory after a Nevada law that took effect Oct. 1 requiring lenders to provide an affidavit of authority to foreclose and other documents, backlash from the robo-signing scandal that emerged last year.
"It's more of a function of our third year with 40,000 or more closings," Bell said. "There's just less inventory, especially in areas where homes are really selling ."
The number of desirable properties listed for sale continues to decrease, especially in good neighborhoods in master-planned communities and near large employment centers, he said.
Bell said that ongoing sales surge continues to be driven by investors buying homes at bargain prices.
"Investors are definitely making a difference right now by restoring homes and helping to drive up prices," he said.
The market saw a slight uptick in short-sale closings, or homes sold for less than the principal mortgage balance, which could be in response to the new law, Bell said. Also, asset managers have been approving more short sales and taking incentives offered under programs such as the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative, or HAFA.
There were 150 to 250 homes a day receiving default notices before the law went into effect. Now it's maybe three to five a day, said Tony Martin of LV Default, a company that buys homes at trustee auctions.
Bell said the full impact of the law won't be realized until the first or second quarter of next year.
A lot of Las Vegas neighborhoods have gone through 40 percent to 60 percent turnover of inventory, and that's another reason why the market has seen a decline in inventory, he said.
Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@review journal.com or 702-383-0491.
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@gbigs...you sure banks take a hit on short sales? it is my understanding the owner is liable for a deficiency balance.... it is at the banks discretion..a quality borrower who sells short may not be relieved of the deficiency...the american dream is no longer home ownership..it is run up an outrageous amount of debt and then file bankruptcy when the time is right....
I'm calling a monthly bottom. Another one, that is.
whistleblower, nice try at the conspiracy game. hot news flash, banks do not collude, they are victims in the housing crash, and now are holding an ugly bag of dead houses, and angry, misled public. banks take a loss on short sales. is that how you run your life dude? take losses?
Folks, it's not rocket science, the banks want out of the foreclosure game....they are taking a public relations hit at their main cash cow, the "teller window"....people are finally fed up with their hypocrisy, "let us take your money and hold it for you and let us take your house too"....over the last couple of months the banks have been holding conferences to get the word out that they want more "short sales" so they can be seen as working with the public...As for the investors driving the market, it's true, why, NO ONE IN TOWN HAS A JOB AND CAN PAY FOR A HOUSE AND IF YOU DO CHANCES ARE YOU HAVE A FORECLOSURE OR SHORT SALE ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT AND HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE YOU CAN GET A LOAN...Why is AB 284 important?...it will stem the tide of the "renter's society" we are fostering here in the valley....Not all of the homes investors are buying are being flipped to owner occupied buyers, they are being put into rental property portfolios which when the market spikes they will sell in bulk to other investors who want them for their rental portfolios...happened in '03, '04, '05, people made a small fortune of which they came back to the market with now to do it again....Who does this affect long term? The people who made the real estate business their careers and the everyday consumer....ehhh, who cares about those people anyway!