It’s time for Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. Here’s the no-spin real data you and your Realtor need to know before before touring, listing, or making a purchase offer in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend!

Summary: Available properties rose yet again this week to 15507. That’s almost 800 more homes since early September, and a sign that we will be headed back towards 20,000 available over the coming months — unless something serious happens to both stall foreclosures and encourage short sales. It’s no surprise that the number of distressed properties available is up; what is surprising is the sinking price of non-distressed properties. I would have to examine the Recorder’s office records in detail to know for sure, but I suspect this is due to investors doing a “fix and flip” to distressed properties. Contingent and pending properties are down, partly as properties close and partly as some short sale properties become available again. As usual, the month end was a busy time for properties to close. Rentals slowed slightly, which is typical for fall.

Other Information: This week, Chase Mortgage joined GMAC in halting foreclosures in 23 states — not Nevada, but the 23 states that require judicial or sheriff review of the paperwork. Those judges are getting pickier about what they will allow. What makes this interesting is that several states Attorney General are investigating the mortgage giant for misteps in that paperwork that might amount to fraud. Some people at the Federal level even want an investigation. It will be interesting to see if they really prosecute. Organized Labor has called for a nationwide moratorium while this mess is investigated. One bit of good news is that Fannie and Freddie are reporting a lower serious delinquency rate. Mortgage rates declined again this week to 4.32% on a 30 year conventional loan. Unfortunately, almost 1 in 3 Americans can’t qualify for a mortgage right now. Short sales are difficult now, but they are in the process of getting harder: Wells Fargo will not give any extensions on closing for any reason, and other banks are expected to follow suit. Sales of new homes were lower than expected in August. We now know that nationwide, home prices rose slightly in June (although my readers know that’s not true locally). More people are moving in with one another, a bad sign for housing and the economy going forward. In local housing news, Nevada is set to get $57,000,000 in foreclosure aid. Taxable sales are up 5.3% over last year, and Clark County School District has 500 more students than last year. Some people are seeing a rise in homes being bought by foreign nationals lured by low prices on foreclosures. These will be cash buyers. One last thing: Happy birthday to the Hoover Dam.

Available Listings: There are 12635 single family homes (up), with a median price of $149,900 (down), $79 per square foot (down), with median time on market of 80 days (up). In addition, there are 2874 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $70,000 (unchanged), $64 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 75 days (down). The first week of September, we had 12002 single family homes with a median price of $153,900 and 2708 condominiums and townhomes with a median price of $79,999.

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 7211 short sales (up) and 3344 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $119,999 (down $1); median price on a bank-owned home is $118,900 (down). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4921 non-distressed properties for sale (down) had a median price of $195,000 (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. Last month we had 6749 short sales at a median price of $124,000 and 3030 bank-owned with a median price of $119,900.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 263 under $50,000; 2539 between $50,000-$100,000; 6365 between $100,000-$200,000; 2343 between $200,000-$400,000; 610 between $400,000-$700,000; 259 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 443 over $1,000,000. September’s figures were 219 under $50,000; 2121 between $50,000-$100,000; 6054 between $100,000-$200,000; 2385 between $200,000-$400,000; 626 between $400,000-$700,000; 239 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 453 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 719 under $50,000; 1479 between $50,000-$100,000; 615 between $100,000-$200,000; 93 between $200,000-$400,000; 19 between $400,000-$700,000; 5 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 3 over $1,000,000. A month ago it was 660 under $50,000; 1419 between $50,000-$100,000; 562 between $100,000-$200,000; 95 between $200,000-$400,000; 19 between $400,000-$700,000; 6 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 3 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13203 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 10726 are single family homes with median price of $135,000 (up); 2479 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $64,000 (up). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 9117 were short sale (down), 2613 were bank owned (down), and 1460 were non-distressed sales (down). Last month we had 9518 were short sale, 2579 were bank owned, and 1421 were non-distressed sales for a total of 13533.

Recently sold: 927 properties closed in the last week ahead of the end of the month, 3186 in the last 30 days, and 31956 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 35 days (unchanged, time on market including the contingent period was 109 days). Median sales price was $120,000 (down); median list price was $124,000 (down). It looks like there may be a gap opening between list and sales prices — good news for buyers and bad news for sellers. For single family homes, median sales price was $135,000 (down), and for condos/townhomes, it was $62,500 (down). Short sales accounted for 960 of the total, there were 1367 bank owned properties, and 855 non-distressed sales. At the beginning of September, median sales price was $123,175 and median list price was $124,900.

Rentals: 4007 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (down). Median square footage of these units is 1369 and median rent is $1100. There are 758 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2160 leases signed in the last 30 days (down) with median rent of $1145 and median square footage of 1534. Last month we had 4072 available and 2193 new leases.

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.