Home listings suggest valley back to normal

Jennifer Shubinski

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

Things appear to be back to normal in the Las Vegas home market, a stark contrast when compared with the market earlier this year.

Many homes are staying on the market longer and in November, the median price of houses sold that were listed within the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) actually fell slightly month over month, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported.

"I think we're seeing the market do a normal correction," said Lee Barrett, president of the local Realtors association and broker and president of Century 21 Barrett & Co. Inc. "It is not anything negative, it's not the same market we had in January or February, but there's nothing wrong with it."

The number of new listings posted within the MLS continues to fall since reaching a peak in July, with 6,998 new listings posted that month alone. In November there were 2,488 homes newly listed within the service, the association reported.

The number of overall available units listed continues to fluctuate from month-to-month. In November there were 14,890 single-family homes listed, compared with 16,115 in October, the association reported.

Homes in the MLS represent only resale houses that are being sold through a Realtor.

Bob Hamrick, chief executive of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty in Las Vegas said one reason for the downturn in the number of resale houses is the holiday season.

"We typically do have a bit of a slowdown in the amount of inventory on the market in November and December," he said.

Hamrick, who tracks the weekly number of homes for sale within the MLS said the total number of houses listed in the service peaked the week of Oct. 25, with 11,711.

There also may be investors who had their homes on the market but have taken them off after they didn't sell or obtain the prices investors were expecting, Hamrick said.

The median price of houses sold that were listed in the MLS also dipped slightly in November to $275,000 compared to $284,000 in October, the association reported.

While it is a slight decline month-over-month, it's a 43.6 percent increase over the previous November the association reported.

In fact, Las Vegas continued to lead the nation with the strongest price appreciation -- even over California -- at the end of the third quarter, the National Association of Realtors reported. The national association reported that at that time the Las Vegas-area median resale home price was $283,200, or 53.7 percent higher than a year earlier.

The next highest appreciation was in Bradenton, Fla., with a 40.7 percent appreciation rate, the national association reported.

Mike West, Century 21 Moneyworld broker, said prices are still going up across the valley, but at a more moderate rate.

"I think the market is strong and in the first quarter it will really start picking up," he said. "Part of it is seasonal and it is also a little bit of an adjustment to the craziness of earlier in the year."