Home sales up last month as prices continue tumble

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 2:43 p.m.

Sun archives

Sept. 12 -- Nevada holds on to nation’s highest foreclosure rate
Sept. 9 -- Home prices slide as sales activity stays steady

Beyond the Sun

Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors

The trend of more sales and lower prices in the Las Vegas housing market showed no signs of change last month.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said 2,783 single-family homes were sold by a Realtor in September. That's an increase of more than 9 percent from a month earlier and up 181 percent from September 2007.

Despite the increase in sales, prices are headed in the opposite direction.

The Realtor association said the median price of a single-family home last month was $195,000. That's down 7 percent from a month earlier and down 32 percent from last September.

The Las Vegas area had 22,784 homes on the market last month, which is down about 6 percent from last year.

The trend also is evident in the condo and townhouse market.

Sales are up about 81 percent in the past year (386 sales last month), although the price has dropped to $119,450 -- a fall of 32 percent since September 2007

"As home prices keep getting lower, sales keep going up. This month’s statistics show the greatest increase in year-over-year sales that we’ve seen in many years," GLVAR President Patty Kelley said in a statement. "This tells us that qualified buyers are recognizing that now is a great time to buy a home, especially here in Southern Nevada."

At last month's sales pace, the Las Vegas area has an eight-month supply of homes on the market.

Discussion: 2 comments so far…

By VegasRepos

10/10/08 at 8:06 a.m.

Suggest removal

This is the silver lining to the cloud. Prices below $200,000 and well under $100 are not realistic. These prices are here only because of the glut of foreclosures currently here. When the foreclosues stop prices will rise. Many of these homes today are being sold for well under replacement cost. See:

http://www.VegasRepos.com

for examples.

Smart buyers realize this and are jumping in again in big numbers.