LV doesn’t follow downward homes trend

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Sales of existing homes dropped 1.5 percent in October, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, a real estate trade group reported.

In Southern Nevada, sales rebounded in October after a September slide.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said there were 739 single-family homes sold in October, a 10 percent increase over the 672 sold in September and a 1.7 percent increase over the 727 sold in October 1995.

The National Association of Realtors said that resales of single-family homes dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.97 million units last month, compared to a September level of 4.03 million units.

Sales have been steadily declining since May, but housing industry executives noted that the decreases were coming after sales hit record highs earlier in the year and have stayed above the 4 million mark until the latest month.

"This places us well on track to set a new resale record this year, surpassing the previous high of 3.99 million recorded in 1978," said Russell Booth, president of the National Association of Realtors. "If there's any surprise in all of this, it's that sales stayed at such high levels for so long."

Booth predicted that sales will stay at healthy levels through 1997, giving a boost to the overall economy. NAR is forecasting sales this year will hit a record 4.09 million units and then decrease by 6.1 percent to 3.84 million units next year.

"When the home resale pace is above 3.5 million, this stimulates other industries tied to housing and that boosts the overall economy," Booth said.

The national median, or midpoint, price for homes sold in October was $116,400, a drop of 1.2 percent from a September median price of $117,800.

The median price for a home sold in the Las Vegas area was $119,900 while the average price was $138,554.

John Tuccillo, chief economist for the Realtors, said that the dip in the median price reflected the fact that more singles and childless couples typically buy smaller, lower-priced homes during the fall while the majority of more expensive, larger homes purchased by families with children are sold during the spring and summer.

By region, sales took their biggest tumble in the South, a drop of 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.45 million units. Sales also fell 1 percent in the Midwest to an annual rate of 1.02 million units.

Sales were up 10.3 percent in the Northeast to a rate of 620,000 units and rose by 3.5 percent in the West to an annual rate of 880,000 units.