Welcome to Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. It’s what you need to know before before touring, listing, or making a purchase offer in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend! You can also watch me talk about them live on the Vegas Video Network Fridays at 1 PM.

Summary: There are 15675 total units available, and the rate of this number rising is slowing down. Interestingly, bank owned and non-distressed available units were down, so the gain was entirely in short sales! Pending and contingent sales are down again, but remain over 13,000; fewer than 9000 of those are now short sales. The sales figures confirm that yes, many of these short sales are being approved and closing. We do have the first substantial drop in rental prices in recent memory, but new leases are still at higher rents that local apartments.

Other Information: As much information as was crammed into yesterday’s item on foreclosures, we’ve got more news. Flawed documents are starting to hold up sales of bank-owned properties. More lawmakers are calling for a halt to all foreclosures until this mess is straightened out (some experts think it can’t be straightened out). Even comedians are piling on. Bank of America has decided to halt foreclosures in all 50 states while they review their documents. At the heart of the problem is a company called MERS, as this sympathetic Washington Post item explains. Beyond foreclosures, Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a $78,000,000 settlement to Nevada homeowners over certain adjustable rate mortgages. Mortgage paperwork is now sufficiently complicated that half of borrowers couldn’t even figure out what the loan amount is (take your time; make them explain anything you don’t understand! I know getting your home is exciting, but take the time to get the details right). With mortgage rates at 4.27%, USA Today asks if you should rent or own (Bloomberg thinks you should take advantage of distressed properties). The CSM noticed what I’ve been telling you for months: the home buyer’s tax credit borrowed buyers from the future. Nevertheless, pending sales are still up. As for local news, lenders are being more aggressive on foreclosures of commercial property. This very distressing chart illustrates why some people think cramdown has to be part of the foreclosure solution. But some people think that the biggest problem in Vegas is the bad press about us. After all, Strip casino business is up 21%. And one last item, a “most dangerous neighborhoods” list does include 3 Vegas neighborhoods.

Available Listings: There are 12784 single family homes (up), with a median price of $149,900 (unchanged), $79 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 83 days (up). In addition, there are 2890 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $70,000 (unchanged), $64 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 77 days (up).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 7364 short sales (up) and 3310 bank-owned properties (down). Median price for a short sale is $120,000 (up $1); median price on a bank-owned home is $119,800 (up). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4967 non-distressed properties for sale (down) had a median price of $193,990 (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.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 266 under $50,000; 2574 between $50,000-$100,000; 6454 between $100,000-$200,000; 2366 between $200,000-$400,000; 621 between $400,000-$700,000; 260 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 441 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 729 under $50,000; 1495 between $50,000-$100,000; 607 between $100,000-$200,000; 95 between $200,000-$400,000; 18 between $400,000-$700,000; 4 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 3 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13091 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 10624 are single family homes with median price of $134,900 (down); 2467 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $64,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 8912 were short sale (down), 2710 were bank owned (up), and 1455 were non-distressed sales (down).

Recently sold: 471 properties closed in the first week of the month, 3464 in the last 30 days, and 32750 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 36 days (up, time on market including the contingent period was 118 days). Median sales price was $122,000 (up); median list price was $124,500 (up). For single family homes, median sales price was $136,000 (up), and for condos/townhomes, it was $62,000 (down). Short sales accounted for 1078 of the total, there were 1443 bank owned properties, and 935 non-distressed sales.

Rentals: 4137 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (down). Median square footage of these units is 1372 and median rent is $1100. There are 723 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2159 leases signed in the last 30 days (down by 1) with median rent of $1100 (down) and median square footage of 1526.

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.