Workers build a home Feb. 1 in the Mountain's Edge community near Blue Diamond Road and Buffalo Drive. Prices for single-family homes, condos and townhouses stabilized in February. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Las Vegas housing prices remained fairly stable in February for single-family homes as well as condominiums and townhouses, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

The median price of a single-family home in February was $286,000, relatively unchanged from January but up 39.4 percent from the same month a year ago. Condo and townhouse units showed the same trend at $180,000, a 52.5 percent increase from a year ago but unchanged from January.

Realtors sold 2,038 homes in February, an 8.1 percent decline from a year ago.

"The market has stabilized," said Myrna Kingham, president of the Realtors' association and principal of Tower Realty Group in Las Vegas. "Even though prices aren't going up, we still have sales. Houses are selling, but prices aren't going crazy."

The North Las Vegas area north of Cheyenne Avenue and east of Decatur Boulevard showed the highest sales activity with 217 closings. The highest median home price was $442,500 in the Henderson area south of Lake Mead Drive.

Kingham said it's probably a good time to buy because the market is stable. She expects some increase in prices heading into the summer months, though not as dramatic as last year.

Many buyers with children in school will start looking in March and April and get something in escrow to close in June or July, she said.

The Realtors' statistics show more than 14,000 homes available on the Multiple Listing Service, including 4,283 new listings in February. The median price of new listings is $335,000, down 1.2 percent from January.

Also, homes are staying on the market longer than during the booming months of early 2004, with 38.3 percent selling within 30 days, compared with 65.9 percent a year ago.

"I think people are waiting (to buy)," Kingham said. "A lot of people put their house on the market in January and February with inflated prices. They're realizing they're going to have to come down on prices and be realistic."

Sellers are trying to factor in a 40 percent to 50 percent rate of appreciation that Las Vegas' housing market put up last year, but they need to look at what houses are selling for today, not last year, Kingham said.

"They may be on the market at those prices, but they're not selling at those prices. Appraisers are being really conservative and really looking at the comps (comparable sales)," she said.

Total value for home sales in February was $682.2 million, a 20.5 percent increase from a year ago. Condo and townhouse sales totaled $89 million, up 42.6 percent.

The Realtors association's statistics are based on records from the Multiple Listing Service and do not account for all transactions, including newly constructed homes sold by local builders.