Valley home sales jump in March

Jennifer Shubinski

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

Home sellers have hope: The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported today that the number of homes sold in March increased over February and those homes sold faster than in recent months.

During March, there were 3,127 single-family houses that sold, based on records from the association's Multiple Listing Service (MLS). That is a 53 percent increase over February, when 2,038 houses were sold.

Statistics are based on records from the MLS, which is largely made up of resale houses listed with a Realtor.

Of the houses that sold in March, almost 43 percent of them sold in 30 days or less, according to the association. While that is a jump from February, when 38 percent of MLS listed houses sold in 30 days or less, it is still much lower than March 2004, when 77 percent of all houses listed in the MLS sold in 30 days or less.

Linda Rheinberger, GLVAR president-elect, said the March statistics actually show the increase in activity that picked up in February. She said the numbers are a delayed statistic because it usually takes 30 to 40 days to close on a house.

Rheinberger, also broker/owner of Las Vegas No Ka Oi Realty, said it is not uncommon to see an uptick in activity in March after slower winter months.

"Based on the activity level, I have polled a lot of my constituents and many saw increased activity at the beginning of March going forward," she said. "And with our economic setup in Las Vegas, there is no reason for it to slow down."

The region of the valley that had the most single-family houses sell -- 307 -- during March was the north part of the Las Vegas Valley, outlined by Decatur Boulevard, Cheyenne Avenue and Interstate 15 -- largely the area of the master-planned community Aliante.

Houses in that area sold for the median price of $259,900 and an average price of $275,218. The median price means that of the houses sold, half sold for less while the other half sold for more.

That is compared with the median price of $295,000 and an average price of $354,313 for all houses sold throughout the valley in March, listed in the MLS.

Condos and town houses also had increase in the number of units sold in March, according to the association.

There were 737 units that were sold, an almost 57 percent increase over February. The median price of the condos and town houses sold that were listed within the MLS was $182,000, while the average price was $193,757.

Rheinberger said the popularity of apartment-to-condo conversions with investors has helped boost the number of units sold.

"Investors have been flocking to apartment condo conversions, so a huge number closed," she said.