Thanks for dropping by to read Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. Here is 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 units remain over 11,000, a nice stable sign. It is encouraging to see that the number of non-distressed sales is rising and the number of bank-owned properties is declining, even if the market is still dominated by distressed sales. I am concerned by the sudden jump in availability for condos priced under $50,000. Hopefully this is just a blip rather than a trend. Speaking of trends, contingent and pending listings rose again this week to about 13,500. Not surprisingly, the number of contingent short sales is also up; in order to return to a normal market, these short sales must be worked through one way or the other.

Other Information: The one biggest thing you should remember if you are out looking at property this weekend is that this week we have had a lot of rain! Please drive carefully, and be on the lookout for flooding. In some high elevation parts of Summerlin and Anthem, there may have been snow. Take this opportunity to inspect properties for signs of roof leaks or other water damage. A few local interest real estate items, few taking advantage of foreclosure mediation (and that is a shame), City Center’s anti-flip clause, and one analyst expects housing prices to remain around this level for a while. As for issues that will effect the housing market nationwide, banks accused of short sale fraud, why there will be another surge of foreclosures unless something drastic is done, why  write-down on mortgage balances may yet have to happen, an item on the commercial market, and what Fair Housing Law means to you.

Available Listings: There are 9204 single family homes (up), with a median price of $171,990 (up), $88 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 90 days (up). In addition, there are 1971 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $80,000 (down), $72 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 81 days (up).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 4931 short sales (up) and 2095 bank-owned properties (down). Median price for a short sale is $129,000 (down); median price on a bank-owned home is $129,000 (up). Short sale listings, whether available or contingent, must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties. The 4129 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $249,500, down.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 179 under $50,000; 1366 between $50,000-$100,000; 4136 between $100,000-$200,000; 2214 between $200,000-$400,000; 693 between $400,000-$700,000; 239 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 538 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 397 under $50,000; 866 between $50,000-$100,000; 529 between $100,000-$200,000; 152 between $200,000-$400,000; 34 between $400,000-$700,000; 10 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 8 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13512 properties in the process of being purchased (up), 10811 are single family homes with median price of $135,097 (down); 2702 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $65,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of those, 9045 were short sale (up), 3247 were bank owned (up), and 1203 were non-distressed sales (up).

Recently sold: 568 properties closed in the last week, 3146 in the last 30 days, and 1820 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 25 days (unchanged, time on market including the contingent period was 93 days). Median sales price was $120,000 (down); median list price was $119,900 (unchanged). Short sales accounted for 629 of them, there were 1895 bank owned properties, and 615 non-distressed sales.

Rentals: 5210 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley according to the MLS system. Median square footage of these units is 1384 and median rent is $1100. There are 737 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 1499 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.