December homes sales increase in Las Vegas as prices drop

By Buck Wargo

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 | 12:37 p.m.

Sales of Southern Nevada homes picked up in December but prices fell slightly, according to statistics released today by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

The 3,117 sales of single-family homes rose 12.2 percent from November, but remained nearly 9 percent below the mark of December 2009.

The median price of homes sold in December was $132,000, a 2.1 percent decline from November’s price of $134,900. The price is about 3 percent lower than it was in December 2009.

GLVAR President Paul Bell said the decrease in price is better than the 33 percent decline in 2008 and 22 percent decline in 2009.

“We’ve at least stopped the bleeding, and are now bouncing along the bottom of the market,” Bell said.

The total number of existing homes, condos and town homes sold in 2010 was 43,877 -- the third best sales year on record -- trailing 46,879 in 2009 and 71,963 sold in the boom year of 2004, the GLVAR reported.

The 890 condominium and town home sales in December were 21 percent higher than November and nearly 15 percent higher than December 2009.

In December, 25.3 percent of all existing homes sold were short sales, down from 26 percent in November. The peak was 34 percent in June. Bank-owned homes accounted for 49.8 percent of sales in December, up from 44 percent in November.

Some 48.2 percent of home sales in December were purchased with cash, up from 47.8 percent in November.

The sales include homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service in Clark, Nye, Lincoln and White Pine counties.