Jul 11
15
It’s another hot July day in Vegas! Cool down with some Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. Make no mistake: it’s what you and your REALTOR 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 and every Friday at 1 PM. Today I’ll be letting you know about some new laws that will have an impact on buyers, sellers, and property owners in Nevada, along with an important update about our Foreclosure Mediation program.
Summary: We have 14467 available properties today, compared with 12521 a year ago. Remember that this time last year, we were just returning to a more normal inventory level after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit; I was predicting a target number of availables at around 15000 (we overshot then corrected to current levels). This week we did have a substantial drop in the median days on market. The number of contingent and pending listings is also stable, but it’s notable that the number of short sales in that total is down sharply from last year — a sign that we are moving through inventory (more on why that will go faster this afternoon!). Sold properties returned to a more normal number this week. Expect another surge near the end of the month, but not as big as last month! Unfortunately, prices of sold properties appears to be sliding again.
The News: Let me start off with some great news. Maybe you already knew that I moved to Prudential Americana Group, REALTORS, on Sahara — centrally located to serve the whole valley better. Thanks to their terrific IT department, I have another great site to share with you at YourVegasPlace.com. It features one of the best automated searches I’ve ever seen. Don’t forget to register as a VIP to get updates and newsletters from me, and set up a search for your dream home, your investment home, or just keep track of what’s going on in your neighborhood. It’s free and easy. Don’t worry, I’ll still be serving up Friday Figures and other real estate news here, and doing great shows every Friday afternoon on the Vegas Video Network!
Alright, on to everybody’s least favorite topic, foreclosure. A new study confirms what most of us have seen: the more somebody owes, the less likely they are to get a Notice of Default. When the bank stands to lose more than a quarter million dollars, they are less motivated to start the process. In other words, they will pretend everything is fine to make the shareholders happy (why the SEC isn’t investigating this, I couldn’t say). While this isn’t a huge problem locally, be aware that in some parts of the country, foreclosed homes may have a mold and mildew problem simply because they are not lived in. Another problem of empty properties is the possibility of squatters. Please, keep your brain working when touring available properties.
A new study shows that home ownership may still fall a little in the United States — unless it doesn’t. Meanwhile, mortgage rates are down again, now at 4.51% on average.
And remember: Vegas is still one of the 10 best cities to buy a rental property according to CNN. Tourist volume continues to rise, which means that resorts, casinos, and restaurants will continue to hire — and that in turn means that jobs will be created in the community. All those people need to live someplace.
Available Listings: There are 12022 single family homes (up), with a median price of $135,000 (unchanged), $72 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 81 days (down). In addition, there are 2443 condominiums and townhomes (up), with a median price of $61,500 (up), $55 per square foot (down), and median time on market of 69 days (down). A year ago we had 10131 single family homes with a median price of $160,900 and 2390 condominiums and townhomes with a median price of $75,000.
Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 6350 short sales (up) and 3416 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $110,000 (up); median price on a bank-owned home is $99,900 (unchanged). All short sale listings should be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4699 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $179,000 (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 year there were 5370 short sales, 2557 bank-owned properties, and 4550 non-distressed properties available.
Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 468 under $50,000; 3290 between $50,000-$100,000; 5190 between $100,000-$200,000; 2073 between $200,000-$400,000; 574 between $400,000-$700,000; 238 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 351 over $1,000,000. July 2010′s figures were 140 under $50,000; 1536 between $50,000-$100,000; 5101 between $100,000-$200,000; 2186 between $200,000-$400,000; 547 between $400,000-$700,000; 244 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 477 over $1,000,000.
Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 886 under $50,000; 1176 between $50,000-$100,000; 356 between $100,000-$200,000; 60 between $200,000-$400,000; 12 between $400,000-$700,000; 2 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 1 over $1,000,000. For technical reasons, these figures do not include high-rise communities. That compares to 507 under $50,000; 1231 between $50,000-$100,000; 547 between $100,000-$200,000; 118 between $200,000-$400,000; 22 between $400,000-$700,000; 5 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 2 over $1,000,000 last year.
Contingent and Pending Listings: Of the 13606 properties in the process of being purchased (up), 11279 are single family homes with median price of $124,900 (unchanged); 2326 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $57,500 (down). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 8329 are short sale, 3544 are foreclosed, and 1742 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. A year ago we had 14757 contingent and pending; 10536 were short sales. that’s a huge improvement!
Recently Sold: 635 properties closed this week, 4094 in the last 30 days, and 24072 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 34 days (down, time on market including the contingent period was 85 days). Median sales price was $107,000 (down); median list price was $109,900 (down). For single family homes, median sales price was $121,000 (down), and for condos/townhomes, it was $55,250 (down). Short sales accounted for 879 of the total, there were 1996 bank owned properties, and 1219 non-distressed sales. Last July we had 3933 sales in the last 30 days; median sales price was $125,000 and median list price was $125,000.
Rentals: 4208 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (up). Median square footage of these units is 1404 and median rent is $1100. There are 878 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2367 leases signed in the last 30 days (up) with median rent of $1150 (unchanged) and median square footage of 1518. A year ago it was 3968 available rentals at a median of $1100 and 1962 new leases with a median rent of $1145.
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.
