Home sales, prices slide in July

The Las Vegas housing market may be headed for the dreaded "double dip" as home sales and median prices declined in July from the previous month, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday.

Inventory of homes on the Multiple Listing Service increased 6.5 percent from a year ago to 21,750, though more than half of those homes are under contract with contingent or pending offers.

Realtors sold 2,948 single-family homes in July, down 12.3 percent from June and down 21.1 percent from the same month a year ago. It's the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year decreasing sales.

The median price dropped 3.6 percent from June and 2.7 percent from a year ago to $135,000, according to the Realtors association.

There's no need for alarm over the latest housing statistics, association President Rick Shelton said. The market continues to bounce along the bottom and the decrease in sales activity was expected with the expiration of the government's home buyer tax credit in April, he said.

"With all-time-low interest rates and our hyper-deflated prices here in Las Vegas, we would hope not to see much more of an impact on sales volume," Shelton said.

Shelton noted that July was a departure from the previous three months, when local median home prices had been either stable or increasing compared with the year-ago period.

David Brownell of Keller Williams Realty found a few trends developing in July, specifically the fourth consecutive monthly increase in real estate-owned inventory, or bank-owned homes, and the third straight month that pending sales have declined.

Also, the share of short sales, or homes sold for less than the mortgage owed, slipped for the first time in six months. The gap between foreclosure sales and short sales is now back over 10 percent after narrowing to about 2.5 percent, Brownell said. Short sales accounted for 31 percent of July's transactions, compared with 42 percent for foreclosure sales.

"I think we were making great progress last year and through the early part of this year," the Realtor said. "The last three months are showing us some impact of the second and third wave of foreclosures. All the reports are saying we have another wave of foreclosures coming from strategic defaults, people who've got to throw in the towel."

Brownell said buyers lost motivation after the tax credit expired and he expects to see downward pressure on prices. Condos in the range of $30,000 to $40,000 and single-family homes under $100,000 probably won't go much lower, but higher-priced homes are still vulnerable to further dips, he said.

Collectively, with low interest rates and depressed prices, the local housing market looks to be at the bottom, but the data is not going in the right direction, Brownell said.

"It's sad. It's a bummer because we were hopeful of the signs," he said. "This is supposed to be the peak season. Wait until September and October and November, traditionally the slow months."

Blended inventory of foreclosures, short sales and regular listings is at a 3.6-month supply, while REO supply is at 1.8 months, the highest both have been in over a year, Brownell reported.

A market condition report from Nevada Title Co. showed 1,161 REO closings in July, 926 short sales and 773 standard closings. The title company reported 1,961 REOs, 7,994 short sales and 1,250 standard homes in escrow.

The median price of 800 condos and townhomes sold in July was $68,000, down 2.9 percent from June and up 1.5 percent from a year ago. Sales declined 11.6 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively, the Realtors association reported.

Shelton said the percentage of local homes purchased with cash went up to 45.9 percent in July from 42.5 percent in June.

Statistics from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors are based on data collected from the Multiple Listing Service and do not necessarily account for sales by owners, homebuilders and transactions not involving a Realtor.

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