Welcome to a special edition Friday Saturday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. It’s what you and your Realtor should know before touring, making offers, or listing property in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend!

Summary: The number of available listings edged over 11,000 again, which seems to be a stable level for the time being. Short sales continue to rise, and despite Federal encouragement it is unknown whether these properties will be sold or foreclosed upon. The jump in available properties under $100,000 is of concern, but probably just an attempt to get multiple offers before the year end. Contingent and pending sales finally dropped below 14,000; even though closing sales were light due to the holidays, few properties went into escrow for the same reason. Next week we will be able to close out 2009. Although another light week would not be unexpected, institutional sellers such as banks will want to get these homes closed and off the books.

Other Information: The foreclosure crisis is far from over with serious delinquencies up 20%. In fact, the rate of home ownership is predicted to decline. At least one economist is predicting that interest rates on mortgages will rise in 2010 to about 6% — a reason for people to consider getting their mortgage applications together now. Sales of existing homes are up both locally and nationally, particularly as compared to sales of new homes. Our local economy isn’t out of the woods yet, however. Taxable sales in Nevada plunged 17.8% year over year in October.

Available Listings: There are 9090 single family homes (up), with a median price of $173,000 (unchanged), $89 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 86 days (up). In addition, there are 1972 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $84,500 (down), $73 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 79 days (up).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 4653 short sales (up) and 2273 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $129,900 (unchanged); median price on a bank-owned home is $129,000 (down). Short sale listings, whether available or contingent, must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties. The 4108 non-distressed properties for sale (down by 1) had a median price of $250,000, down.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 191 under $50,000; 1395 between $50,000-$100,000; 3978 between $100,000-$200,000; 2157 between $200,000-$400,000; 704 between $400,000-$700,000; 255 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 565 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 386 under $50,000; 881 between $50,000-$100,000; 538 between $100,000-$200,000; 150 between $200,000-$400,000; 42 between $400,000-$700,000; 10 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 13 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13823 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 11122 are single family homes with median price of $137,500 (up), $75 per square foot (unchanged), 25 days on market median (unchanged); 2701 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $65,000 (unchanged), $60 per square foot (unchanged), 31 days days on market median (up). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Days on market is limited to the time the property was actually available and excludes the contingent period. Of those, 8991 were short sale (down), 3611 were bank owned (down), and 1201 were non-distressed sales (down).

Recently sold: 459 properties closed in the last week, 3407 in the last 30 days, and 45715 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 23 days (up, time on market including the contingent period was 92 days). Median sales price was $125,000 (unchanged); median list price was $122,900 (down). Short sales accounted for 653 of them, there were 1991 bank owned properties, and 754 non-distressed sales.

Rentals: 5326 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley according to the MLS system. Median square footage of these units is 1396, and median rent is $1100. There are 608 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 1537 leases signed in the last 30 days.

Need more information or 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.