Gasoline isn't the only commodity selling at record prices in Las Vegas.

The median sales price of a single-family home rose to another record in August at $309,000, up from $306,950 in July, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Total single-family home sales increased 2.8 percent from the previous month to 3,331, while sales of condominiums and townhomes jumped nearly 17 percent to 814.

That's a change from previous months, when the number of homes and condos sold in the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area declined slightly.

GLVAR statistics are based on records from the Multiple Listing Service and do not account for newly constructed homes sold by local builders or other transactions, such as sales by owners.

The number of homes for sale on the listing service increased slightly in August, up 1.2 percent to 15,355 available single-family homes.

The number of condo and townhouse units listed for sale decreased by 0.5 percent in August to 2,649 units.

The median price of a condo was $199,000 in August, up 2.1 percent from the previous month and 15 percent from the same month a year ago.

Toni Sherman, spokeswoman for the National Association of Realtors' Council of Residential Specialists in Chicago, said the housing industry has been carrying the U.S. economy for the past few years and there's no telling when it will slow.

"I don't know, unless something drastic happens with the economy, with interest rates, or God forbid, we have another national disaster. It's anyone's guess. We've been at this rate for a long time now," Sherman said.

The Las Vegas Realtors' association showed 5,728 new listings in August with a median price of $349,000. That is unchanged from the previous month, a sign that prices are leveling off.

While the $309,000 median sales price in August was a record, it's just 0.7 percent above July, noted Linda Rheinberger, owner and broker of Las Vegas No Ka Oi Realty and president-elect of GLVAR.

"It's a slight increase, not a lot to worry about," she said. "When will it end? Who knows. We still have a healthy, stable market with a net influx of 5,000 people a month."

Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research, said problems may arise with highly leveraged investors in Las Vegas in the way of increased bankruptcies.

"There have already been some alarming increases in the number of homes for sale from bankruptcies in other states," he said, including Texas, with more than 12,000 homes on the market.

A total of 93,440 foreclosed residential properties were available for sale in the United States during August, according to a report from Foreclosure.com. That's a 3 percent increase from 90,611 foreclosed properties for sale in July. The number of new foreclosures in August was 24,328, which was a decline from July.

With home prices appreciating at nearly 27 percent in the second quarter, on top of two consecutive quarters of leading the nation in appreciation last year, Las Vegas is being closely watched as a "bubble" market that's becoming increasingly difficult to afford.

A housing affordability index compiled by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders ranks Las Vegas 124th out of 158 metropolitan areas, based on a median household income of $59,100 and median home price of $280,000.

Home prices could climb higher as a result of Hurricane Katrina, NAHB economists said. They're just beginning to assess the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the overall housing industry.

Chief Economist David Lereah said history has provided some basis for housing analysts to project the effects on construction activity, the supply and cost of building materials and construction labor and other implications for the housing market.

The materials that will be most affected, the economists say, are roofing and plywood panels. From July 1992 to September 1992, largely as a consequence of Hurricane Andrew, the average price for plywood increased from about $222 to $321 for 1,000 square feet and the price of Southern pine framing lumber rose from $264 to $308 for 1,000 board feet.