Welcome (or welcome back) to Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. This is the state of the local real estate market right now, and what you and your Realtor need to know before touring, making an offer, or listing a home in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend.

Summary: Available listings continue to slowly decline, with condo availability finally dropping below 3000. Pendings likewise continue to rise. The declines may not seem like much, until you consider the fact that there have been over 750 new listings in the last 3 days alone; the market is absorbing every new listing and then some. The effect of many multiple offer situations is starting to be seen in the sales figures, where median sales price was higher than median list price.

Available Listings: There are 9735 single family homes (down), with a median price of $179,900 (unchanged), $94 per square foot (up), with median time on market of  99 days (down). In addition, there are 2957 condominiums and townhomes (down), with a median price of $115,000 (unchanged), $99 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 121 days (up). 709 (24%) of those units are in high-rise communities, with a median price of $475,000 and median 181 days on market.

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 5114 short sales and 2732 bank-owned properties. Both figures are down.  Median price for a short sale is $135,000 (unchanged a 3rd week); median price on a bank-owned home is up quite a bit at $112,900. The 4799 non-distressed properties for sale had a median price of $349,000, unchanged again.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 218 under $50,000; 1516 between $50,000-$100,000; 3832 between $100,000-$200,000; 2777 between $200,000-$500,000; 842 between $500,000-$1,000,000; and 678 over $1,000,000. Declines in every price range.

Condo and Townhome Prices: 384 under $50,000; 979 between $50,000-$100,000; 801 between $100,000-$200,000; 481 between $200,000-$5000,000; 224 between $500,000-$1,000,000; 141 over $1,000,000. Declines in all but one price range.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13221 properties in the process of being purchased, 10744 are single family homes with median price of $145,000 (unchanged), $77 per square foot (down), 71 days on market median (up); 2477 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $70,000 (down), $65 per square foot (down), 63 days days on market median (down).

Recently sold: 827 properties closed in the last week, bringing us back to a more typical figure than the last 2 weeks. Next week should have higher closings ahead of month end. Of this week’s closings, 137 properties were on the market less than a week; 55 were on the market more than 6 months (9 over a year); median time on market was unchanged at 34 days (median time on market including the contingent period dropped to 100 days). Short sales accounted for 76 of them, there were 827 bank owned properties, and 145 non-distressed sales. Median sales price rose to $127,950 while median list price dropped to $125,000. 4386 have closed in the last 30 days and 23508 have closed since the first of the year.

Rentals: 4968 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley according to the MLS system. There are 568 contingent leases and 1859 leases signed in the last 30 days.

Other information: As challenging as the residential real estate market has been, commercial real estate is having issues too. The foreclosure problem isn’t going away anytime soon, with record filings in the first half of 2009. The initial sub-prime problem has been compounded by plunging values and high unemployment. Nevada continues to be hard hit. Luckily the banks are starting to get a handle on how to handle modifications, short sales, and liquidating hundreds of properties. However, banks still need to do the math and realize that in most cases, they will lose less money by going ahead with loan modifications. Housing starts are beginning to climb, but from historically low levels. There are a couple of need-to-know mortgage items. First, new disclosure rules are in effect, so be aware of the time periods required or risk delayed closing! Second, be aware that as many as 98% of existing mortgages are eligible for renegotiation because of Truth in Lending Act violations. And last, a bit of good news from our neighbor, California. Median home prices in California rose 7% from May to June.

For more information or to get help with your real estate needs, call me today at 702-727-7842 or email bmagnus@bridgetmagnus.com. Although this information is available to all GLVAR members through the MLS system, this article was written and copyright by Bridget Magnus, and is her sole property.