Welcome to 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: Not surprisingly, available units are up slightly to 10127. That’s still a far cry from the 18077 we had at this time last year! Contingent and pending units rose again and are now over 16,000! It’s almost a 60% increase year over year. The market has come a long way since last year but we aren’t out of the woods yet. There are still thousands of short sales awaiting approval and new challenges on the horizon.

Other Information: Some experts say there is a new wave of foreclosures coming, and some other experts aren’t sure about that (be vigilant about foreclosure fraud if your home is at risk!). What is for certain is that both new and existing home sales are up. Hotel occupancy is up — great news for a town that lives on hospitality! The Nevada unemployment rate is up to 13.4% but the Las Vegas rate dropped slightly to 13.8%. Believe it or not, this isn’t what bothers me about the local market. I am much more concerned about speculators in the current environment, and I hope to write more about it tomorrow.

Available Listings: There are 8198 single family homes (up), with a median price of $179,900 (unchanged), $89 per square foot (down), with median time on market of 71 days (down). In addition, there are 1930 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $75,900 (down), $69 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 63 days (down). Last year we had 13871 available single family homes, 4206 condominiums and townhomes.

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 4352 short sales (down) and 1605 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $130,000 (unchanged); median price on a bank-owned home is $131,900 (down). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4143 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $239,900 (unchanged). While many of the non-distressed properties are traditional sellers, many others were purchased less than 6 months ago as short sale or bank owned, and then renovated by investors. Last year we had 6749 short sales and 5193  bank-owned available listings.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 122 under $50,000; 1032 between $50,000-$100,000; 3666 between $100,000-$200,000; 2131 between $200,000-$400,000; 623 between $400,000-$700,000; 246 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 497 over $1,000,000. A year ago it was 250 under $50,000; 2070 between $50,000-$100,000; 5899 between $100,000-$200,000; 4024 between $200,000-$500,000; 1032 between $500,000-$1,000,000; and 762 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 399 under $50,000; 933 between $50,000-$100,000; 492 between $100,000-$200,000; 115 between $200,000-$400,000; 28 between $400,000-$700,000; 6 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 2 over $1,000,000. Last year it was 498 under $50,000; 1495 between $50,000-$100,000; 1195 between $100,000-$200,000; 659 between $200,000-$500,000; 268 between $500,000-$1,000,000; and 166 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 16154 properties in the process of being purchased (up), 13068 are single family homes with median price of $135,000 (unchanged); 3085 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $65,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of those, 11394 were short sale (up), 2712 were bank owned (down), and 2031 were non-distressed sales (up).

Recently sold: 639 properties closed in the last week, 3437 in the last 30 days, and 12228 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 30 days (unchanged, time on market including the contingent period was 108 days). Median sales price was $129,900 (up); median list price was $129,900 (unchanged). Short sales accounted for 886 of them, there were 1586 bank owned properties, and 960 non-distressed sales. Last year median sales was $130,000 and median list price was $135,000. Clearly prices have stabilized and the market changed!

Rentals: 4269 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system. Median square footage of these units is 1368 and median rent is $1100. There are an amazing 854 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2129 leases signed in the last 30 days with median rent of $1100 and median square footage of 1507.

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.