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twitterVegas home sales slip as prices continue fall
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 | 9:12 a.m.
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The red-hot Las Vegas housing market cooled off a bit in August as home and condo sales dropped and prices edged lower.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported today that the 3,229 sales of single-family homes in August were 14 percent less than July when 3,738 homes sold.
The median price of homes sold in August fell 2.4 percent to $135,500, from $138,800 in July, according to the Realtors.
Overall, total sales of homes, condominiums and town houses fell from 4,602 in July to 4,039 in August, the group reported.
Condominium and town house sales fell by 6.3 percent to 810 in August. The median price was down 1.1 percent to $66,288.
Despite the drop in sales, GLVAR President Sue Naumann said the numbers posted in August show demand is high. Sales were 27 percent higher than August 2008.
Bank-owned properties accounted for 70.5 percent of all home sales, down from recent months, she said.
The Realtors reported 20,999 homes and 5,508 condos and town houses were on the market at the end of August. Both categories increased by more than 2 percent over July.
The group began tracking a new category in August: the number of homes and condos available for purchase. That excludes homes that don’t have pending or contingent offers.
That category shows 8,579 homes and 2,545 condos and town houses avaiable. The median price for available homes was $185,000 — $30,000 higher than when contingent and pending sales are included.
That shows how much of the activity is centered on lower-priced properties, analysts said.
“It appears that in August only 41 percent of the nearly 21,000 total reported listings did not have an offer,” said John Restrepo, principal of Restrepo Consulting. “This is an encouraging sign.”
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Banks have been holding inventory and have raised prices. That strategy is starting to fail. I will wait for a better deal. The reality is defaults are not slowing.
The market wont work itself out until people stop playing with the fundementals. Why get in a bidding war in a city with no jobs, transportation, and a failing goverment?
Bank should list all the properties and encourage more sales.
who is more pathetic...
the so called "experts" that the sun and rj quote in these stories...
or...
the sun and the rj for going back to the same old so called "experts" over and over and over...
hmmm...
listen to the brilliant birdie...
the old axiom of real estate that the 3 most important things in real estate are location, location, and location is dead wrong...
guess what boys and girls...
there are actually 3 things that are more important...
jobs, jobs, and jobs...
and guess what else boys and girls...
there ain't no jobs in las vegas...
ergo...
the real estate market ain't going no where...
period!!!
end of story!!!
I found a very nice house for $56,000. Will be going to look at it this weekend. I remember last year at this time, people were saying, "You should buy a house right now, it's stupid not to!" I told them I was waiting for a better deal.
Over 3000 sales seems like alot of homes sold to me. I know there are alot of defaults on loans which means people are going to be getting good deals on homes for a while. I dont understand why people are so negative about this. Its good for anyone who is looking for an affordable home.
just wait...wait until city center finishes up and and all those construction workers leave town.
the rental vacancy will sky-rocket, forcing rent prices down, and pretty soon all those new landlords won't be able to cover the mortgage.
Until people go back to work, more houses will come on the market and as usual, the Banks are "playing" with the market. When are we going to fire the banking idiots that gave out the stupid mortgages or approved them? I don't see Obama demanding that like he did of Rick Wagner at GM.
Hey jspence, how many offers above list price does that "nice house" already have on it? Twenty? Thirty? Good luck to ya!
What happens when all the construction jobs end at city center? The next wave of failures is just starting.
You people act like declining home prices are a bad thing. I for one plan on living here until I die and am thrilled with the prospect that my property taxes are declining. Unless you want to sell your home and leave Las Vegas there really is nothing to worry about. People far underwater can simply walk away and start over again someplace else. Everyone needs to just relax.
VC
the point is they are not yet really affordable or even worth the money, don't forget over the next two years many mortgages are set to reset which will mean huge defaults, also the banks can't hold onto empty properties much longer..
this is a double dip waiting to happen, much worse second time around..
The longer you wait, the cheaper the house will be, until about 2014 or so, when all the interest only ARM's are finally shaken out of the system.
The one trade-off/unknown will be interest rates.
The Keynsian economics that Obama has continued from the Bush administration will keep our collective heads above the water line, but at some point interest rates have to go up and go up huge. Like 1980 style HUGE.
So hold out for the cheapest deal but keep an eye on that mortgage rate number. Better to buy the house for a 10 or 20 grand more than you would have to if you get an interest rate a few points less than what they will probably be at in 2012 or 2013.
azbycx0918 Im with you! I bought last October and I dont plan on selling for 20 years maybe more. I got them to lower the property taxes to what I paid for the house $80,000 rather than $249,000 they had it at the year before. I am thinking the price is around $50,000 by now maybe, so in January I will dispute it again and see if they lower it again. Im in for the long haul and wonder why people would buy if they had no intention of owning for decades. Even if I leave Las Vegas I will just rent it out but buying and flipping I think those days are over for a while.
I agree with you azbycx0918, all the investors who bought are the ones getting screwed. I love it here and intend on being here for the long run, the market will turn around
Birdiedreamin
you are the most negative person, lighten up, your always a "debbie downer" in all your comments... take a deep breath, relax... athough things are bad, theres always the positive out there too... the market will turn around just as it always had.
I love the statements of azbycx0918, LasVegas2009 and tdoma!! I love Vegas and have been here for the past 13 years. There wasn't a lot when I moved here and kinda thankful there's not a lot here now. I liked it better when we were "small taters". Things will turn around and be positive again but I hope not to the extent of what we've seen (i.e. one company owning the strip).
Nice point Geena.
I think we were let down by what ever governing body (Gaming Control, State Legislature, whoever) when 'they' allowed the gaming properties to be consolidated under so few companies control.
If you think they messed up the strip you should see how bad Tahoe has become.
The lack of competition has really degraded overall customer service.
If the Gaming Control Board does not already have jurisdiction to prevent monopolization of the major gaming properties, they ought to.
The consolidation into Harrah's, MGM/Mirage/MandalayBay, and Stations Casinos in the Las Vegas market has not really helped labor, management, or the community.
This consolidation also creates a barrier to entry to the next "Steve Wynn". And as long as he doesn't recklessly damage priceless art works I would hate to see that next Steve Wynn shut out of a monopolized market.
Hey at least I didn't mention the derringer :)
Let's end the Steve Wynn myth right now. He was already "juiced in" when he hit Vegas as a 26 year-old kid. He was the pretty face for the "the boys" who still ran town in the late '60's. Read up on him. John L. Smith's book is as good a starting place as any.
As for those who are delighted in sinking property taxes, don't think for a moment that the state won't make up that lost revenue elsewhere. Those of you who have had the fortune of renewing your car's registration since September 2, have gotten just a glimpse of what I'm talking about. Renewal fees on some older cars will even double. And there's talk that even more hikes are in store for 2010. But that's not all. We've seen our sales tax increase, room taxes have increased (which hits us indirectly), and though I don't want it anymore than the next person, the introduction of a state income tax is gaining more traction every day.
Look for ALL taxes to be on the table as Nevada forages for revenue. This even includes a raise in property tax rates, 3% cap on year-on-year increases, notwithstanding.
New sources of economic development are the only way to stop the downward spiral. Empty houses everywhere are going to create Detroit-like blight. We've got to renew Las Vegas, not look backwards. I agree with the sentiment yearning for a return to yesteryear. But unfortunately, those days aren't coming back. We need to figure out and take charge of our future. Or else it will all fall apart on us.
JSpence, you found a house for $56,000? It's gotta be in Northtown or similar. I know it's cheap but is it worth it to live in a place surrounded by crackheads?
"JSpence, you found a house for $56,000? It's gotta be in Northtown or similar. I know it's cheap but is it worth it to live in a place surrounded by crackheads?"
I was thinking the EXACT same thing, Lenny! A person can try to make it sound as rosey as they want, but a $56K house here is in a terrible area. :(
"I liked it better when we were "small taters"."
You have only been here for 13 years, geenab. That is 1996. You have no idea what "small taters" really is.
You needed to be here at least in the early 80's or earlier to make that statement.
at some point, nevada is going to have a state income tax.
the revenue they made during the boom years is gone.
forever.
we don't have the same amount of land to build on to ever get that engine humming again.
we'll never have the miles and miles of new homes, new stores, etc.
SteveM,
"at some point, nevada is going to have a state income tax."
SHHHHH! I alluded to that too. But don't say it out loud. All the legislators need is a whiff of resignation in the air from constituents, and they'll try and enact one.
DOES ANY1 HAS INDYMACBANK CONTACT CALLISTER AND REYNOLDS THEY WON A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THEM THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO FORECLOSURE AGAINST YOU NO FORESEEABLE COURT DATE IN THE HORIZON
"I liked it better when we were "small taters"."
You have only been here for 13 years, geenab. That is 1996. You have no idea what "small taters" really is.
You needed to be here at least in the early 80's or earlier to make that statement.
___________________________________________________
We were small taters in 1996 compared to today and compared to where I moved from (Los Angeles), so my earlier statement STILL stands.