By Tim Richardson (contact)

Tue, Sep 9, 2008 (10:48 a.m.)

A glut of foreclosed homes in the Las Vegas area is continuing to drive prices lower while buyers snatch up properties at nearly twice the rate of last year.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said 2,545 single-family homes were sold in August, which is up 93.4 percent compared to a year ago. The number of sales was down slightly from July -- less than 2 percent -- ending a seven-month streak of increasing home sales in the Las Vegas area.

But while the number of sales is up from a year ago, the price those homes are fetching continues to slide.

The Realtor association said the median price of single-family homes sold by a Realtor last month was $210,000. That's down from $220,000 in July -- and down 30 percent from August 2007.

In the condo market, the price drops were steeper.

The association reported that 385 condos and townhouses were sold last month, which is up 7.5 percent from July and 35.1 percent compared to last year. The median price of those condos was $123,000 last month, which is down from $135,000 in July and down more than 35 percent compared to a year ago.

The median list price of single-family homes last month was $225,000, meaning sellers got about 93 percent of their asking price.

Patty Kelley, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, said the the number of homes on the market is declining, although bank-owned properties -- which account for nearly two-thirds of sales -- are dragging down prices.

"What we do know is that, once we sell off this inventory of homes in or nearing foreclosure, home prices will begin to increase," Kelley said in a statement.

The Las Vegas area had 22,710 single-family homes on the market at the end of August, which is down from 23,423 homes a month earlier. Last month's number is down nearly 7 percent from a year ago. There were 5,390 condos and townhomes on the market, which is down nearly 3 percent in the past month and down 13 percent from last year.

At last month's sales pace, the Las Vegas area has a nine-month supply of single-family homes and a 14-month supply of condos and townhouses on the market.