With the Treasury predicting that millions more foreclosures are coming, it is clear that the markets will be dominated by the banks for some years to come. While foreclosure filings are up month-over-month, they are thankfully slightly down over last year.  No surprise that Nevada has the most foreclosures, although an 8% drop from last month is impressive.

The Review-Journal has chosen to spin our sales and availability numbers in a negative light, telling us that both sales and prices are down. However, even they have to admit that once you take pending and contingent sales out of the figures, actual inventory is down. A bright spot is the media coverage of short sales, which done right do save families and banks money by preventing foreclosure. Remember, it’s called a “short sale” because the bank will be “short” money at the end.

Foreclosures aside, we also have a big problem moving high-rise condos. This is particularly true of the developments on the Strip itself, where resale prices are down 50-70%. Great deals can be had for cash purchasers who want to be in the middle of everything.