And once more it’s time for Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. Here’s what you and your Realtor really need to  know before touring, making an offer, or preparing a listing this weekend. You can see me tell you about the figures live on Getting REAL (Estate) in Vegas  on the Vegas Video Network today at 1 PM. Today I’m talking about online real estate searches.

Summary: We’re down to 14846 available properties. The amazing thing is that this is happening without a home buyers’ tax credit, even though all the major banks have resumed foreclosures. The list of homes to be sold on the “courthouse steps” is still daunting, so this number may not stay low. Unfortunately, the price of available units is down. The number of short sales available and contingent continues to go down, which is probably a good sign (unless of course it means the homes that would be short sales now will be foreclosures by summer!). Closings are up as the end of the month approaches, and may remain elevated through spring and summer. However, seasonal buying patterns have been disrupted by the large number of low price distressed properties available over the last few years.

The News: I’m not a fan of any article that includes the phrase “throwing your money away on rent.” Did you get a roof over your head for that money? Yes! However, the article makes some good points about how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of owning your home. This is more true since it seems that higher down payments will be the rule. While down payment assistance programs do exist, they are not always the best option. While mortgage rates remain below 5% at 4.81%, they are going up. It is my personal opinion that rates almost certainly will be higher a year from now. Home sales nationally are certainly in an interesting spot: sales are down almost 10%, yet inventory of available homes is down too!

Possible agreements for preventing foreclosures — or at least minimizing the damage they cause — are still flying back and forth with no actual settlement in sight. Shareholders in the big banks are also upset and want answers about how we got here and what’s going to make things right going forward. I certainly have no sympathy for Florida courts, where there is a big budget problem because foreclosure freezes mean no foreclosure fees!

Sometimes no news is good news: the Las Vegas unemployment rate remains at 13.7%, but at least it didn’t go up. Passenger count is up at the airport, which means more people are traveling in and out of Las Vegas, spending money while they are here. The Nevada Supreme Court is looking for ways to improve our mediation process, and they want volunteers from the public to help! The deadline to apply is Monday.

Available Listings: There are 12278 single family homes (down), with a median price of $136,000 (down), $74 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 106 days (unchanged). In addition, there are 2566 condominiums and townhomes (down), with a median price of $65,000 (up), $58 per square foot (unchanged), and median time on market of 97 days (down).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 7438 short sales (down) and 2635 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $111,950 (down); median price on a bank-owned home is $103,100 (down). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4772 non-distressed properties for sale (down) had a median price of $179,900 (up). 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, 380 under $50,000; 3192 between $50,000-$100,000; 5708 between $100,000-$200,000; 2006 between $200,000-$400,000; 556 between $400,000-$700,000; 212 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 386 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 788 under $50,000; 1340 between $50,000-$100,000; 420 between $100,000-$200,000; 62 between $200,000-$400,000; 12 between $400,000-$700,000; 3 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 2 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending Listings: Of the 12999 properties in the process of being purchased (up), 10741 are single family homes with median price of $129,000 (unchanged); 2259 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $59,900 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 8134 are short sale, 3087 are foreclosed, and 1780 are traditional sales. While the bank-owned and traditional sales are likely to close within 30-45 days, no time frame is available for unapproved short sales.

Recently Sold: 741 properties closed this week, 3784 in the last 30 days, and 9095 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 49 days (down, time on market including the contingent period was 128 days). Median sales price was $113,000 (down); median list price was $115,000 (down). For single family homes, median sales price was $129,000 (unchanged), and for condos/townhomes, it was $58,500 (down). Short sales accounted for 915 of the total, there were 1865 bank owned properties, and 1005 non-distressed sales.

Rentals: 3813 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (down). Median square footage of these units is 1367 and median rent is $1100. There are 945 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2355 leases signed in the last 30 days (up) with median rent of $1100 (unchanged) 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. 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.