Local housing statistics released April 7 by the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR) showed a significant increase in home sales and a modest increase in home prices last month.
GLVAR President and longtime local REALTOR® Rick Shelton said single-family home sales jumped 32.8 percent from February to March. He attributed this sales increase to a combination of factors, including buyers rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit set to expire April 30 and to more buyers believing that home prices in Southern Nevada are likely to increase in the future.
"I think the tax credit is driving some of the increase we’re seeing in home sales," he said. "But I think other forces are contributing to this, too. Part of it is seasonal, since we typically see more homes selling in the spring than in the winter months. I also think consumer confidence is coming back as more buyers believe the local housing market is either at or past its lowest point."
Shelton said a declining supply of available homes listed for sale is also driving demand.
As in past months, GLVAR reported a continued increase in short sales and decrease in sales involving foreclosed homes. In February, 22 percent of all existing homes sold in Southern Nevada were short sales. That number increased to 25 percent in March. At the same time, Shelton said bank-owned homes are accounting for a decreasing percentage of all local home sales, dropping from 57.4 percent of all sales in January to 53.0 percent in February to 50.0 percent in March as lenders are more willing to work with homeowners to work out short sales as an alternative to foreclosing on homes.
Shelton said the percentage of local homes purchased with cash continues to approach GLVAR records, though that percentage slipped from 48.7 percent in February to 43.8 percent in March.
According to the GLVAR, the total number of local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in March was 3,989. That's up from 3,075 total sales in February and up from 3,584 one year ago.
In March, GLVAR reported the median price of single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada was $136,000, up 0.2 percent from $135,694 in February, but down 8.7 percent from one year ago. The median price for condos and townhomes also increased, climbing 4.9 percent from $65,000 in February to $68,200 in March, but still down 3.3 percent from $70,500 one year ago.
By the end of March, GLVAR reported 7,589 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of pending or contingent offer and another 2,285 such condos and townhomes. That's down 4.8 percent for homes, but up 1.3 percent for condos compared to February.
As for the larger, or gross, number of listings on GLVAR's Multiple Listing Service, GLVAR reported a total of 20,548 single-family homes listed for sale at the end of March. That's up 1.4 percent from 20,262 homes listed for sale at the end of February, but down 9.9 percent from 22,812 homes listed one year ago.
GLVAR reported 5,658 condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS at the end of March, up 3.0 percent from 5,495 in February, but down 3.8 percent from 5,884 such listings one year ago.
This month's GLVAR statistics include activity through the end of March 2010. GLVAR distributes such statistics each month based on data collected through its Multiple Listing Service, which does not necessarily account for newly constructed homes sold by local builders or for sale by owners. Other highlights reported by GLVAR include:
- The total number of local single-family homes sold in March was 3,175, up 32.8 percent from 2,390 in February and up 6.5 percent from 2,980 in March 2009.
- The total number of condos and townhomes sold in March was 814. That’s up 18.8 percent from 685 in February and up 34.8 percent from 604 such sales a year ago.
- The value of local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during March increased 32.5 percent from nearly $403 million worth of single-family home sales in February to more than $533 million in March and increased 29.1 percent from nearly $59 million in condo and townhome sales in February to nearly $76 million in March. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in March were up 3.4 percent for homes and up 38.1 percent for condo and townhome properties.
- Through March, 65.6 percent of all local single-family homes and 70.5 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That compares to February, when 65.3 percent of all homes and 72.8 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. Homes are selling faster than they did one year ago, when 55.7 percent of all single-family homes and 53.1 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.
Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 9:08AM 