Oct 11
14
Thank goodness it’s Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. It’s what you and your REALTOR need to know before touring, making an offer, or preparing a listing in the Las Vegas Valley this weekend. Join me as I talk about the figures live on Getting REAL (Estate) in Vegas on the Vegas Video Network today and every Friday at 2:00 PM! Today we will focus primarily on sellers. Thinking of putting property on the market? Be sure to tune in!
Summary: The number of available properties slides once more, landing at 13254 this week. However, the number of properties under contract to be sold is up, hopefully to eventually move on to “sold” status. No surprise, the number of sold units has dropped as we get into the middle of the month. Prices for available units — particularly bank owned properties — are staying at slightly higher levels than we saw over the summer.
The News: While foreclosure filings may be up from last month (unless they aren’t), they are down sharply from last year. Foreclosures are also taking longer. On the upside, this may mean that banks are being more careful about their paperwork, avoiding mistakes and illegal foreclosures (probably not). On the downside, it will take longer for them to work through the backlog. As long as banks dump thousands of foreclosures into our real estate markets, it will be difficult to have a real estate recovery.
Speaking of foreclosures, the latest research would indicate that the foreclosure crisis was not I repeat not caused by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Community Reinvestment Act. Those who point to the CRA ignore the fact that the law was in effect for decades before there was ever a problem. In fact, most criticism I have seen of CRA is little more than dressed up racism with a hint of class-ism.
Having a hard time keeping up with all the Federal foreclosure programs that were supposed to help you out? Here’s a handy rundown of what they all are and whatever became of them. As a bonus, there’s a section about the ideas that sounded good but never happened. I would have liked to have seen links to the programs that are still running. Thankfully, Google and Bing can hook you up.
We continue to have strong sales here in Vegas, propelled by — you guessed it — investors with cash in hand. Some of these investors plan to rent out the properties, and others plan to “fix and flip.” However, Vegas is not the only housing market where available inventory is going down.
Available Listings: There are 11241 single family homes (down), with a median price of $136,888 (down), $72 per square foot (unchanged). In addition, there are 1239 condominiums, with a median price of $55,000, $54 per square foot and 778 townhomes with a median price of $79900, $60 per square foot.
Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 6028 short sales (down) and 2755 bank-owned properties (down). Median price for a short sale is $110,000 (up $1); median price on a bank-owned home is $107,000 (down). All short sale listings should be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4475 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $179,859 (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, 461 under $50,000; 3077 between $50,000-$100,000; 4739 between $100,000-$200,000; 2088 between $200,000-$400,000; 520 between $400,000-$700,000; 196 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 310 over $1,000,000.
Condo and Townhome Prices: Of available listings, 721 under $50,000; 908 between $50,000-$100,000; 332 between $100,000-$200,000; 66 between $200,000-$400,000; 20 between $400,000-$700,000; 0 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 2 over $1,000,000. For technical reasons, these figures do not include high-rise communities.
Contingent and Pending Listings: Of the 13348 properties in the process of being purchased (up), 10093 are single family homes with median price of $124,900 (unchanged); 1437 are condominiums with median price of $52,000; 819 are townhomes with a median price of $75,000. Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 8561 are short sale, 3257 are foreclosed, and 1536 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: 604 properties closed this week, 3944 in the last 30 days, and 36574 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 44 days (unchanged). Median sales price was $108,600 (up); median list price was $109,900 (unchanged). For single family homes, median sales price was $124,000 (down), for condos $47,500, and for townhomes $72,000. Short sales accounted for 962 of the total, there were 1960 bank owned properties, and 1024 non-distressed sales.
Rentals: 5353 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (up). Median square footage of these units is 1479 and median rent is $1100. There are 907 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 2463 leases signed in the last 30 days (up) with median rent of $1100 (unchanged) and median square footage of 1525.
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.
