TGIF! You know what that means? No, not a lunch suggestion. It’s time for Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. This is the real deal: information you and your Realtor need to know before touring, listing, or making a purchase offer in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend.

Summary: Available listings continue their climb, now at 14357. At this rate, we will see if my prediction for stability around 15,000 holds within a month. I am concerned about the number of very cheap properties out there. I do get calls from people who think they can afford the mortgage on a $50,000 home, but the catch is that it’s almost impossible to get a mortgage on a home in that price range. That doesn’t even address the fact that such homes always need extensive, expensive repairs. Only investors and other buyers with cash will get us out of that pickle. Contingent and pending listings dropped below 14,000. Once more, a good sign that banks are working through the backlog of short sales one way or the other. Median time on market for sold homes finally crept over 30 days, mostly because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t consider investor offers for the first 30 days. Speaking of investors, there is plenty of action in homes for lease.

Other Information: A lot has been made of the most recent court rulings against MERS. Remember, we don’t have judicial foreclosure here in Nevada; the bank can foreclose without ever going before a court. An expert I consulted feels that the only way to get your mortgage case into a courtroom is bankruptcy! Since a lot of people are staying put (not necessarily by choice), check out these home remodeling tips. Some sources are asking today whether some lenders might be procrastinating on foreclosures. The answer is yes, particularly if the property is occupied. And who can blame them when 1 in 10 homes nationwide may face foreclosure, maybe more (my math says that 14% is more than 1 in 10). Of course, that doesn’t mean that banks are keen to deal with principal writedowns, HAMP, or other loan modifications. Major media is pessimistic about the housing market in general, but at least one expert sees foreclosure rates dropping. While some are pessimistic about Vegas, I would like to say that if you’re going to argue that, don’t use a house in Mesquite as your example! That’s saying Waco and Dallas are the same place. New homes are getting smaller on average (more to the point, new homes are getting more “value priced”). Local commercial real estate is not a happy place right now. And don’t fall for this builder rip-off! Take your money and your purchase offer elsewhere!

Available Listings: There are 11732 single family homes (up), with a median price of $155,000 (down), $82 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 77 days (down). In addition, there are 2650 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $70,000 (unchanged), $65 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 74 days (up).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 6574 short sales (up) and 2884 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $125,000 (up $3); median price on a bank-owned home is $122,000 (up). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4885 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $199,900 (down). While many of the non-distressed properties are traditional sellers, many others were purchased fairly recently as short sale or bank owned, and then renovated by investors. Remember to tell your mortgage professional up front if you are considering such a property.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 199 under $50,000; 2129 between $50,000-$100,000; 5910 between $100,000-$200,000; 2337 between $200,000-$400,000; 639 between $400,000-$700,000; 246 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 448 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 632 under $50,000; 1383 between $50,000-$100,000; 564 between $100,000-$200,000; 96 between $200,000-$400,000; 19 between $400,000-$700,000; 5 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 3 over $1,000,000. These figures exclude high-rise communities for technical reasons. If you are considering financing a condo, ask your mortgage professional and your Realtor if the community is on the HUD list and/or the Fannie Mae Approved list before you make an offer. Finding out up front can save you the heartache of discovering you can’t get financing.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13944 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 11262 are single family homes with median price of $134,900 (down, the first change in months); 2679 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $65,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 9737 were short sale (down), 2696 were bank owned (down), and 1492 were non-distressed sales (up).

Recently sold: 663 properties closed in the last week, 3454 in the last 30 days, and 27810 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 32 days (up, time on market including the contingent period was 105 days). Median sales price was $123,000 (down); median list price was $124,000 (down). For single family homes, median sales price was $137,000, and for condos/townhomes, it was $64,900. Short sales accounted for 1048 of the total, there were 1526 bank owned properties, and 872 non-distressed sales.

Rentals: 4008 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (down). Median square footage of these units is 1384 and median rent is $1100. There are 852 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2245 leases signed in the last 30 days (up) with median rent of $1150 and median square footage of 1528. As you can see, we don’t even have 2 months inventory of rental homes despite the problems apartment management companies report. Investors wanted!

Need more information or help with your real estate needs? Call me today at 702-727-7842 or email bmagnus@bridgetmagnus.com. Based on information from the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service for the date specified above. This article was written and copyright by Bridget Magnus, and is her sole property.