Realtors group says June home sales down in Las Vegas

Home sales in Las Vegas fell in June as the inventory of single-family homes for sale continued to decline, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday.

The median home price increased 5.9 percent from a year ago to $131,785, the fifth straight month of rising prices. It's the highest median price since December 2010.

Single-family home sales dropped to 3,214 in June, an 11.4 percent decrease from the same month a year ago, while 731 condos and townhomes were sold, down nearly 20 percent from a year ago.

Short sales, or homes sold for less than the principal mortgage balance, pushed higher to 1,350 in June, or 34.2 percent of all sales. The number of real estate-owned, or bank-owned, home sales fell to 1,097, or 27.8 percent of all sales.

Inventory of single-family homes available for sale in June fell 25.4 percent to 16,930, about the same rate of decline as the previous month. Of those, 3,690 homes are available without a pending or contingent offer.

The good news for people wanting to sell their home is the 11.5 percent bump in the median price of new listings, which went to $144,900. The median price for real estate-owned homes rose 5.3 percent from the previous month to $118,000, while short-sale prices dipped 1.2 percent to $117,250.

Most of those contracts were written 60 days ago or more, and probably don't reflect today's prices, said Colleen Kelley, president of the Realtors association.

"Overall, prices are going up a bit," she said. "I don't know if it's going to sustain itself. It kind of depends on how they (lenders) handle the remaining inventory of REOs."

Kelley said banks are giving incentives for short sales, including $3,000 in relocation expenses, to avoid going to foreclosure.

"It depends on where the need is. Some have extreme conditions. They should move on and get on with life," she said. "Others are in strategic default where they don't want to deal with it. It doesn't sit in their portfolio any longer."

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