Number of underwater properties down in Las Vegas, still leads nation

Ever wonder exactly how many properties in Las Vegas are underwater?

A recent report gives an answer – and even though the tally is big, it’s a lot smaller than it once was.

A total of 132,352 properties in the Las Vegas area were underwater – meaning the mortgage outweighed the property’s value – in the fourth quarter last year, according to housing tracker Attom Data Solutions.

That’s down 17 percent year-over-year and 55 percent from the second quarter of 2013, the furthest back Attom’s findings go in this category.

The tally includes all types of real estate, not just homes, said Daren Blomquist, Attom’s senior vice president of communications.

Despite the drop, Las Vegas remains the underwater capital of America: 22.7 percent of local properties were upside-down last quarter, highest among 88 metro areas listed in the report.

Nationally, 9.6 percent of properties were underwater.

Las Vegas’ rate of upside-down borrowers has shrunk in recent years amid rising property values. But the rate has consistently stayed among the highest in the nation.

That’s because Las Vegas’ housing bubble was one of the most bloated in the country last decade, its crash was among the most severe, and home prices still are well below peak levels.

The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes – the bulk of the residential market – was $238,000 in January. That’s more than double the low point of $118,000 in early 2012 but below the peak of $315,000 in mid-2006, according to Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors data.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.