The median price of a home in Las Vegas rose to $310,000 in November, a $2,000 increase from the previous month, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

The number of homes available for sale on the Multiple Listing Service dropped 3.5 percent to 14,735 and the number of new listings was down 14.7 percent to 4,078.

A slight uptick in price and a decline in inventory show that the Las Vegas housing market remains strong and stable, despite gloom-and-doom predictions that have surfaced in the national market, one Realtor said.

"Obviously the market has slowed down in the last quarter of the year," Rick Brenkus of Keller-Williams said. "Houses are still selling, but with the inventory growing, it's more of a buyer's market. So sellers need to be sure their home looks clean and sharp as well as being marketed aggressively."

Realtors sold 2,441 single-family detached homes in November, down 5.2 percent from October, and 601 condominiums and townhomes, down 7.8 percent. Total dollar volume for November home sales was $911.6 million, a 2.4 percent decrease from the previous month.

These numbers reflect seasonal trends, such as fewer people moving into new homes during November and December, GLVAR President-elect Linda Rheinberger said.

The $310,000 median price is up 12.7 percent from November 2004, when the median price was $275,000, according to GLVAR.

A study from University of California, Los Angeles, released Wednesday predicts a sustained decline in the housing market that will slow the economy and eliminate 800,000 jobs.

"Economists need to be negative because if they're wrong, everybody says, 'Good,' " Brenkus said.

The median price for the condos and townhomes sold in November was $201,000, up 3.1 percent from the previous month and up 13.4 percent from a year ago.

The number of single-family homes listed for sale dropped from the 15,262 in October and remains 1 percent down from a year ago.

Brenkus said the heated investment housing market in Las Vegas is being equalized by more owner-occupied homes as out-of-state investors who purchased within the last couple of years are selling.

Homes were selling at 10 percent and 20 percent above comparable value 18 to 24 months ago. They're now priced about the same as comparable homes in the neighborhood that have sold in the past 30 to 45 days, Brenkus said.

GLVAR statistics are based on records from the listing service and do not account for newly constructed homes sold by builders and other transactions not involving a Realtor.