Happy Friday… Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. It’s the critical, no-spin data you and your REALTOR need to know before touring, listing, or making a purchase offer in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend. You can also watch me talk about the figures live on the Vegas Video Network Fridays at 1 PM. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our scheduled guest won’t be able to appear. So I’ll be giving you a very brief tour of the “South” neighborhoods of our MLS.

Summary: Available homes continue to be at a stable number, ending this week at 16417. Short sales continue to dominate our market. Looking at the year-over-year numbers, I was struck by the increase in very low price properties: more than double the number of properties under $50,000 (remember, these should be considered cash only), and more than double the number of single family homes between $50,000 and $100,000. This smells like a potential opportunity for a smart investor with plenty of cash. While the number of foreclosed properties is down from last week, it is up almost 1300 year-over-year. The number of contingent and pending listings did drop slightly, but remains just over 12,000. Closings continue to be a little light due to the Holidays; only people who have to move in December do so. The median sales price on closing homes did drop below the range we have been in for a year and a half, so I will be watching to see what happens to prices next.

Other Information: Nationwide, home prices dropped 1.9% in October, and new housing starts continue to flounder near all time lows. Mortgage rates continue to rise, with average rates reported at 4.83%-5.0%. Just for fun, check out this chart of global real estate prices since 1997!

November foreclosures dropped 21% from October, but this was mostly a side effect of several large lenders voluntarily freezing the foreclosure process; expect a jump after the first of the year as both the paperwork moratorium and any holiday moratorium programs end. Meanwhile, Bank of America is trying to reach a deal with holders of mortgage backed bonds that want their money back. Of course, I am also aware of stories such as B of A accidentally doing things like trying to foreclose on homes where the mortgage is current. Some banks are apparently trying to hurt your credit score if you are so bold as to ask for a copy of your actual mortgage documents. This sounds like something that can and should be disputed with the credit reporting companies. Speaking of the actual note, Alternet has a great article on MERS, how it created the robo-signing mess, and how it is cheating your local government in the name of “convenience” for banks.

Even though the Leading Economic Indicators rose, Nevada unemployment is up to 14.3%. However, the Cosmopolitan just opened 3000 hotel rooms; historically, each Vegas hotel room creates 2 jobs in the hotel/casino complex and an additional 2-5 jobs in the community. Nationwide, Hotel Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) is up 11.5%. In other local news, Vegas has been named the brightest city in the world, and there is a sledding ban on Mount Charleston due to a lack of snow.

Available Listings: There are 13454 single family homes (down), with a median price of $139,990 (down), $76 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 101 days (up). In addition, there are 2962 condominiums and townhomes (down), with a median price of $69,000 (down), $61 per square foot (down), and median time on market of 93 days (up). Last year we had 9005 single family homes with a median price of $175,000 and 1967 condos/townhomes with a median price of $84,900. Median time on market was around 80 days.

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 7966 short sales (up) and 3516 bank-owned properties (down). Median price for a short sale is $115,000 (down); median price on a bank-owned home is $112,000 (down). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4904 non-distressed properties for sale (down) had a median price of $185,000 (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. Remember that the current drop in available foreclosed homes may in part be due to various institutions that halted foreclosures, either to review paperwork or as part of a holiday delay program. In mid-December of 2009 we had 4604 short sales, 2230 bank-owned properties and 4109 non-distressed properties for sale.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 328 under $50,000; 3125 between $50,000-$100,000; 6690 between $100,000-$200,000; 2293 between $200,000-$400,000; 594 between $400,000-$700,000; 229 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 400 over $1,000,000. Year over year that compares to 164 under $50,000; 1371 between $50,000-$100,000; 3906 between $100,000-$200,000; 2173 between $200,000-$400,000; 709 between $400,000-$700,000; 265 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 575 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 841 under $50,000; 1513 between $50,000-$100,000; 568 between $100,000-$200,000; 85 between $200,000-$400,000; 14 between $400,000-$700,000; 6 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 2 over $1,000,000. For technical reasons, these figures do not include high-rise communities. Last December’s numbers were 386 under $50,000; 867 between $50,000-$100,000; 544 between $100,000-$200,000; 155 between $200,000-$400,000; 41 between $400,000-$700,000; 10 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 15 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending Listings: Of the 12050 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 9765 are single family homes with median price of $130,000 (down); 2283 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $62,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 7908 were short sale (down), 2858 were bank owned (up), and 1265 were non-distressed sales (down). This time last year we had 11421 are single family homes with median price of $137,000 and 2739 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $65,000 — all things considered, not a big change in price.

Recently Sold: 676 properties closed this week, 3422 in the last 30 days, and 40716 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 42 days (unchanged, time on market including the contingent period was 121 days). Median sales price was $118,500 (unchanged); median list price was $119,900 (down). For single family homes, median sales price was $132,500 (down), and for condos/townhomes, it was $60,000 (unchanged). Short sales accounted for 906 of the total, there were 1574 bank owned properties, and 942 non-distressed sales. Last December, in the previous 30 days, median sales price was $125,000 and median list price was $124,250. Only 686 had been short sales — there has been a huge improvement.

Rentals: 4312 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (up). Median square footage of these units is 1368 and median rent is $1100. There are 659 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 1894 leases signed in the last 30 days (down) with median rent of $1100 (unchanged) and median square footage of 1523. December of 2009 had 5365 available, 621 leases to be signed, and 1668 new leases already signed. Median rent was still $1100.

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.