Las Vegas Home Prices, Sales Uptick in May

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According to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR), local Las Vegas home prices and sales both increased slightly, during May.

"This was the first time so far this year that both of these key indicators increased in the same month for both single-family homes and for condos and townhomes," said GLVAR President Paul Bell, a longtime local Realtor. "One month doesn't constitute a trend, but it's certainly welcome news to our members and most homeowners to see more homes selling at slightly higher prices."

Bell said many GLVAR leaders also see a positive trend in the increasing number of home sales involving "traditional" buyers and sellers, as opposed to the investors and lenders who have been the dominant buyers and sellers in Southern Nevada for many months. He noted that the number of traditional home sales increased in May while the percentage of local home sales involving bank-owned homes and short sales declined.

"It's a gradual trend, but it certainly is an improvement over what we've been seeing," he said.

Homes sold by traditional sellers sell for a higher price than bank-owned homes, Bell added.

The total number of local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in May was 3,991, up from 3,902 in April and up from 3,653 one year ago. Within that total, single-family home sales increased by 7.9 percent, while sales of condos and townhomes increased by 14.4 percent compared to May of 2010.

According to GLVAR, the median price of a single-family home sold in May was $126,000, up 0.8 percent from $125,000 in April, but down 11.3 percent from one year ago.

Meanwhile, the median price of local condominiums and townhomes sold in May was $62,750, up 4.6 percent from $60,000 in April, but down 12.8 percent from one year ago.

According to GLVAR, 51.4 percent of all existing homes sold in Southern Nevada during May were purchased with cash. That's down from 51.9 percent in April but remains near record levels.

In May, 23.0 percent of all existing homes sold in Southern Nevada were short sales, which occur when a bank agrees to sell a home for less than what the borrower owes on the mortgage. That's down from 23.8 percent in April, and down from a peak of 34 percent set in June 2010.

GLVAR found that bank-owned homes accounted for 43.8 percent of all existing home sales in May, down from 46.3 percent in April.

GLVAR reported that the total number of homes listed for sale on its Multiple Listing Service increased slightly from April to May, with a total of 22,767 single-family homes listed for sale at the end of May. That's up 1.4 percent from 22,443 homes listed for sale at the end of April, and up 7.7 percent from one year ago.

GLVAR reported a total of 5,255 condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS at the end of May. That's down 1.1 percent from 5,315 in April and down 11.0 percent from one year ago.

At the same time, the number of available properties listed for sale without any sort of pending or contingent offer decreased slightly from the previous month. By the end of May, GLVAR reported 11,277 single-family homes listed without any sort of offer. That's down 0.8 percent from 11,366 homes in April, but up 40.1 percent from one year ago.

For condos and townhomes, the 2,674 properties listed without offers in May represented a 1.9 percent decrease from the 2,727 properties listed without offers in April, but an increase of 10.1 percent from last year.

This month's GLVAR statistics include activity through the end of May 2011. GLVAR distributes such statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not necessarily account for newly constructed homes sold by local builders or for sale by owners.

Other highlights reported by GLVAR include:

• The monthly value of local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during May increased 0.3 percent for homes, to more than $491 million. For condos and townhomes, the total value of all sales in May was more than $76 million, up 11.9 percent from April. Compared to one year ago, total sales volumes in May were down 0.1 percent for homes, but up 7.5 percent for condos and townhomes.

• Through May, 62.5 percent of all homes and 68.9 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That compares to April, when 60.8 percent of all homes and 64.5 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

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