GLVAR releases May stats

Local housing statistics released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors show that the number of homes sold in Southern Nevada increased again in May, while prices for local homes also increased for the first time since last summer.

"May marks the fifth straight month where we sold more homes here in Southern Nevada than we did the previous month," GLVAR President Patty Kelley said. "This is a positive trend for our local economy and for our housing market. We were also encouraged to see the sales price and supply of homes starting to stabilize. These are all good signs for a local housing market that has been working its way through some unprecedented challenges over the past 16 months."

Compared to April, GLVAR statistics for the month of May show a 0.3 percent increase in the median price of single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada -- from $235,875 to $236,692.

"We had been reporting a steady decline in the median home price for the past few months that has been due in large part to the high number of bank-owned properties selling in our area," Kelley said. "News of an increase is very welcome. And while a one-month increase in value does not constitute a trend, combined with the activity we're seeing in homes priced under $300,000, we are very optimistic."

The association distributes such statistics each month based on data collected through its Multiple Listing Service, which does not necessarily account for newly constructed homes sold by local builders.

The total number of local single-family homes sold in May was 2,026. That's up 12.9 percent from April and 29.2 percent from May of 2007. For local condos and townhomes, 266 were sold in May, up 25.5 percent from the 212 units that were sold in April.

For condos and townhomes, the median sales price decreased 10 percent from $155,000 in April to $139,450 in May.

The number of local homes listed for sale through May remained fairly steady, increasing by 1.8 percent for single-family homes, with 23,348 homes listed for sale in May, compared to 22,942 homes listed for sale in April. That's up 1.3 percent from last May.

The number of condos and townhomes listed for sale decreased 0.4 percent from 5,466 in April to 5,445 in May.

Through May, 59.6 percent of all single-family homes and 50.6 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That's an improvement from April, when 53 percent of all single-family homes and 49.1 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.