Las Vegas home prices tumble to 1999 levels, report says

By Steve Green

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 | 8:07 a.m.

Las Vegas-area home prices fell again in December to levels last seen in 1999, according to the widely-watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

With the local market burdened by foreclosures and high unemployment (14.5 percent), Las Vegas-area prices have now declined three consecutive months based on Standard & Poor's data.

Las Vegas prices fell 1.1 percent from November to December and were down .6 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis. These compare to declines of 1 percent and .4 percent, respectively, for the 20 big U.S. cities tracked in the Standard & Poor's report.

Compared to December 2009, Las Vegas prices were down 4.7 percent vs. the 2.4 percent year-to-year 20-city decline.

"Despite improvements in the overall economy, housing continues to drift lower and weaker." David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement. "Unlike the 2006 to 2009 period when all cities saw prices move together, we see some differing stories around the country.

"California is doing better with gains from their low points in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. At the other end is the Sun Belt – Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Tampa. All four made new (index) lows in December," he said.

"Cleveland and Las Vegas have the dubious distinction of average home prices now below their January 2000 levels. Detroit was the only market that was in that group prior to December," Blitzer said.

Standard & Poor's data show Las Vegas home prices through December had fallen 58 percent since their peak in April 2006.

The Standard & Poor's report is expressed in index values rather than dollars and is based on a three-month moving average of prices in the markets it tracks.

The December index value for Las Vegas, 98.91, is the lowest since 98.99 recorded in October 1999.

In terms of actual dollars, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported that the median single-family home price during January locally was $125,000, down 5.3 percent from December and down 7.4 percent from January 2010.