Las Vegas home sales slip; median price rises to $140,000

Home sales in Las Vegas slipped to 2,666 in September, while median prices climbed for the eighth straight month to $140,000, up 1.4 percent from the previous month and up 13.5 percent from a year ago, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday.

One of the more significant trends in the latest data is the market's flip from foreclosures to short sales, said Kolleen Kelley, president of the Realtors association.

Short sales, or lender-approved sales for less than the principal mortgage balance, increased to 45 percent of all sales, while foreclosures accounted for less than 14 percent. A year ago, prior to Nevada's robo-signing law, foreclosures were half the market and short sales one-fourth.

"That's strictly because banks have no incentive to foreclose or they can't foreclose," Kelley said. "We probably would not see a rise in short sales if they could foreclose."

Overall, single-family home sales decreased 13 percent from the previous month and decreased 17.8 percent from the same month a year ago. Cash buyers continue to account for nearly 55 percent of all sales transactions.

The drop in sales is partly attributable to declining inventory, Kelley said. The number of homes available for sale on the Multiple Listing Service fell 23.3 percent from a year ago to 16,775 in September. Of those, only 3,943 are available without a pending or contingent offer, down 63 percent from a year ago.

With fewer homes for sale, list prices are increasing. Median price of new listings jumped 19.3 percent to $155,000. That's up $25,000 from a year ago.

Tim Kelly of ReMax Extreme estimated there are 15,000 homes currently in escrow, and 12,000 of those are short sales. He's concerned those deals might not close escrow by the end of the year when the Mortgage Debt Relief Act is set to expire. It exempts sellers from paying income tax on the amount of debt forgiveness.

Kelly said he asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan if the act will be extended, and his answer "was more negative than positive." "My concern is these 12,000 homeowners and buyers who are hoping to have a deal done may not have one at all," he said. "If the transaction closes in 2013, many homeowners will cancel and not go through with the short sale. Reason is the huge IRS bill they will incur."

The condo and townhouse market also saw improvement in September. The median price for 632 condos sold during the month was $70,250, a 24.3 percent increase from a year ago.

Realtors' statistics are based on data gathered from the MLS, and do not necessarily include new homes sold by builders, for sale by owner and other transactions not involving a Realtor.