Good Signs in the Market

Local housing statistics for April 2008

GLVAR reports fourth straight month of increased local home sales

Local housing statistics released today by the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR) show that the number of homes sold in Southern Nevada increased for the fourth straight month, while local home prices decreased slightly April.

“We continue to see this as a good sign for the local housing market,” GLVAR President Patty Kelley said. “With four months in a row of month-over-month gains in homes sold, we see this as a positive trend.”

GLVAR statistics for the month show a slight decline in the median price of homes, condos and townhomes sold in April. As in past months, Kelley said GLVAR experts continue to attribute this slight price decline to the number of short sales and bank-owned properties selling for prices below market value.

“Properties owned by banks and other lenders are still accounting for more than half of all the homes sold each month. Until recent months, this sort of thing was unprecedented,” Kelley said. “Of course, if you’re in the market and qualified to buy a home here in Southern Nevada, this situation works in your favor. Bargains abound.”

This month’s GLVAR statistics include activity through the end of April. The association distributes such statistics each month based on data collected through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which does not necessarily account for newly constructed homes sold by local builders. This month’s highlights include:

The total number of local single-family homes sold in April was 1,794. That’s up 21.4 percent from 1,478 homes sold in March. For condos and townhomes, 212 were sold in April, up 7.1 percent from 198 sales in March and down 28.4 percent from last April.

The median price of a single-family home sold in the Las Vegas area decreased by 3.0 percent from $243,169 in March to $235,875 in April. That’s down 22.7 percent from last April.

For condos and townhomes, the median sales price decreased 4.9 percent from $163,000 in March to $155,000 in April. That’s down 23.3 percent from last April.

The number of local homes listed for sale through April increased 0.8 percent for single-family homes, with 22,942 homes listed for sale, compared to 22,763 homes listed for sale in March. That’s up 3.1 percent from last April.

The number of condos and townhomes listed for sale increased 1.7 percent from 5,373 in March to 5,466 in April. That’s a decrease of 11.5 percent from last April.

Kelley said that all local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during April totaled more than $510 million of sales volume, up 13.1 percent from last month.

Through April, 53 percent of all single-family homes and 49.1 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. In March, 47.3 percent of all single-family homes and 52.0 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

To arrange interviews with GLVAR experts, please call George McCabe or Elizabeth Holzhauer at (702) 967-2222.

GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its nearly 15,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of REALTORS®, GLVAR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each GLVAR member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit www.lasvegasrealtor.com.