Friday, May 15, 2009 | midnight
The 3,198 Realtor-listed home sales in April were the most sales since August 2005, and a whopping 78 percent more than sold last year, in April 2008.
Sharply dropping prices fueled the sales jumps, and Las Vegas is on pace to set a monthly record for the most sales in the next month or two if recent trends continue.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported the April sales number, a 7.3 percent increase over March and the first time sales have surpassed 3,000 since August 2005’s 3,331. Sales have continued to increase as prices have declined and given the trend, sales could soon surpass the all-time high of 3,552 in June 2004.
The median price of homes sold in April was $141,720, a 4.9 percent decline from $149,000 in March and a 40 percent drop from April 2008 when the price was $235,875.
The median sales price of homes listed by Realtors peaked at $315,000 in June 2006. That means the price has dropped 55 percent in nearly three years and is at its lowest level since 2001, Realtors’ President Sue Naumann said.
Foreclosed properties accounted for 80 percent of the sales in April.
“Whether this is good news or not depends on your point of view,” Naumann said. “But buyers are taking advantage of historic bargains, with mortgage interest rates at an all-time low, and home prices more affordable than they’ve been in a generation.”
The demand for homes is also reflected in the time homes are on the market. Forty-four percent were on the market for 30 days or less. That’s up from 38 percent in March.
The increase in sales is eating away at inventory. At the end of April, 22,122 homes were on the market, down 3 percent from March. There were 4,297 new listings in April, a 24 percent decline from March and 16 percent decline from April 2008.
The mix of homes listed in April indicates they are more expensive than those put on the market in March. The median price of new listings was 0.06 percent higher than March. The average price of the new listings was $245,690, a 10 percent increase over March.
In April 727 condo and town-houses sold, a 20 percent increase over March and 243 percent increase over April 2008 when 212 sold.
Prices continue to drive condo and town-house sales with the median price at $64,500, an 8.5 percent decline from March. The price is down 58 percent from $155,000 in April 2008.
Many of these sales are condos in Henderson and other locales off the Strip.
The group tracks homes sold by Realtors in Clark and surrounding counties,
and some of those sales could include new homes. Homes sold by the owner are not included.
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