Prices of new, resale houses take a fall

Jennifer Shubinski

Thursday, March 24, 2005 | 11:26 a.m.

New and resale house prices in Las Vegas dropped substantially in February -- the first time resale prices have declined in more than a year, a local research firm reported.

Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq, reported in his monthly newsletter that the Las Vegas housing market is being transformed.

"The Las Vegas housing market has undergone a profound change and is struggling with its future," Murphy wrote. Murphy publishes the newsletter with Steve Bottfeld of Marketing Solutions.

The price of a resale house in the Las Vegas Valley in February was $235,000 -- $15,000 less than the previous month. But despite the decline, the February price tag for an existing house was still 20 percent more than the same time last year, when the price for a resale house was $195,000, research firm SalesTraq reported Wednesday.

The price of a new house in the Las Vegas Valley in February was $286,805 (including 169 apartment-to-condo conversions), a decline of $11,727. Even though there was a decline, February's housing price was still almost 35 percent over the same time last year, when the price of a new house was $212,966, SalesTraq reported.

If apartment conversions are taken out of the new home statistics, the median price of a new home in February was $296,515, a decline of about $2,000, Sales Traq reported.

Sales prices for new houses fell once last year, when prices dipped by slightly more than $1,000 in July, SalesTraq reported. The firm's data also shows a fall in prices from December to January 2005 of more than $2,200.

Resale housing prices were stagnant much of last year, remaining at about $250,000 from July through January.

While the sales price of houses dipped in February, more new and resale houses sold in February than in January.

There were 2,382 new houses sold in February, compared to 2,313 in January. Existing housing sales totaled 4,162, an increase over 3,250, SalesTraq reported.

Murphy noted in his newsletter that the Las Vegas housing market is breaking into four distinct segments, the traditional housing market, conversions, luxury and high rise.