It’s time for Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. This is what you and our Realtor need to know if you are touring, making offers, or listing property this weekend in the Las Vegas Valley!

Summary: Available listings remain under 11,000 for a third week. Prices of available single family homes are stable, but prices of available condos and townhomes are sliding. Since time on market continues to decline, it appears that sellers are pricing aggressively. The number of pending and contingent units is stable, just under 15,000. However, 59% of those are short sale, with a risk of never closing. This week saw fewer closes than the week prior, which is not unusual for the first week of the month. Next week, banks and title offices will be closed on Wednesday the 11th for Veterans Day, so I expect another week of soft closings. The following week may well be madness for title offices as people try to get closed before the Thanksgiving holiday week and the end of the month. Realtors, title officers, loan officers, and buyers all need to be on top of details to make sure those escrows close on time!

Other Information: It’s official: the President has signed an extension of the home buyers tax credit into law; this version includes a credit of up to $6500 for non first time buyers. The same bill also extends unemployment benefits, which is a good thing since the official national unemployment rate is up over 10% for the first time since 1983 (remember, this is the “optimistic” U3 number and doesn’t reflect several types of jobless people). Some experts are noticing “Home Buyers Doing More Shopping than Buying.” And one last item: a round-up of opinions on what is in store for housing prices in Las Vegas.

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