Here’s what you and your Realtor need to know about local market conditions before touring homes or making offers this weekend. Figures are from the GLVAR MLS system, including outlying areas.

Available listings for sale:  16406 available single family homes, 4578 condominiums and townhomes. That’s down slightly from last week.

Distressed Properties: Of those listings, 6930 are known to be short sales (up almost 100) and 7205 are bank-owned (down over 200). This reflects several bank-driven initiatives designed to reduce foreclosures.

Contingent and Pending listings:  These properties are in the process of being purchased and are likely to close in the next 30-60 days.  6,200 single family homes (up over 250), 1176 condos and townhomes (close to unchanged).

Single Family Home Prices: 282 under $50,000; 2048 between $50,000-$100,000; 7126 between $100,000-$200,000; 5120 between $200,000-$500,000; 1204 between $500,000-$1,000,000; and 808 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: 397 under $50,000; 1608 between $50,000-$100,000; 1392 between $100,000-$200,000; 775 between $200,000-$500,000; 300 between $500,000-$1,000,000 (a big drop); and 169 over $1,000,000.

Recently sold: 469 properties have closed in the last week, and 4086 have closed since the first of the year.  Of the properties closed in the last week, 42 properties were on the market less than a week; 7 properties were on the market for longer than a year; median was 50 days. Two $1,000,000+ properties closed. Whether a property finally sold for more or less than list price varied wildly by area and condition — be sure your Realtor runs the numbers in the neighborhood you are considering before you write an offer. Five properties bigger than an acre sold, ranging in price from $69,000 to $495,000. Square footage ranged from 520 to 10,728, with median square footage at a mere 1564.

Other data to consider: Thanks to a friendly title office, I was able to get the actual number of closed properties total, including those that were never in the MLS system. That totals 39,881 houses, condos, and townhomes, but does not include land, apartment buildings, or commercial property. That’s still quite a lot more than the 27,857 reported through the MLS system, and supports my theory that the banks are in fact not sitting on thousands of properties waiting for better market conditions. The average single family home sold in 2008 was $259,084 and 1951 square feet.

And one more thing: Here’s some interesting thoughts on the new housing relief plan.

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Posted in Las Vegas Real Estate by Bridget Magnus Comments Off