At last, positive signs in housing

For the first time since September 2005, sales of single-family homes in Las Vegas rose from the same month of the previous year, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

Home sales jumped to 1,794 in April, up nearly 30 percent from April 2007 and the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

The inventory of homes available for sale on the Multiple Listing Service has stabilized at 22,942, a 3.1 percent increase from a year ago.

These are good signs for the local housing market, said Patty Kelley, president of the local Realtors association.

"Things are really improving as far as the number of sales, up 20 percent (from March) and the fourth month of steady increases," she said.

The median price of a single-family home continued to decline in April, dropping 3 percent from March to $235,875, according to GLVAR statistics. The price is down 22.7 percent from a year ago.

As in past months, Kelley attributes the slight decline to the number of short sales and foreclosures selling for prices below market value. Properties owned by banks and other lenders still account for more than half of all homes sold each month, she said.

"Every month we've got to work through those foreclosures until we get through 2009," she said. "All those (adjustable rate) loans from 2006 come due in 2009, so we're going to have the problem of foreclosures with us for a while. What it means for buyers is, there are tremendous buys out there right now."

Jeremy Aguero, principal of Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis, said he's encouraged by the declining inventory, which is near a 12-month low, though the number of vacant units on the market is higher than he'd like to see.

"More important than that, the number of pending and contingent sales are at their highest number in the past 12 months," he said. "So not only are people taking units off the market, but houses are selling."

Las Vegas still has to get past some hurdles, primarily working through the oversupply of homes for sale, but the numbers are encouraging, Aguero said.

GLVAR 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.

For condos and townhomes, sales increased to 212 in April, up 7.1 percent from March and down 28.4 percent from April 2007. The median price fell to $155,000, down 4.9 percent from March and down 22.3 percent from a year ago.

Condo and townhome listings increased 1.7 percent to 5,466 in April. That's down 11.5 percent from last April.

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.

Kelley said homes are coming onto the market priced much lower than in the past. She's listing a home in Queensridge for around $300,000 that sold for $525,000 in 2005. Anything under $350,000 is receiving multiple offers, she said.

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