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GLVAR Housing Statistics Point to
Stable Market in Las Vegas.
LOCAL HOUSING STATISTICS released today by the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR) show local housing prices hovering at 2005 levels, with more homes on the market and fewer homes sold than in previous months.
This month's GLVAR statistics include activity through the end of September. 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. This month's highlights include:
- The median sales price of a single-family home sold in the Las Vegas area in September was $310,000, down less than 1 percent from $312,000 in August and matching the median price set in September 2005.
- For local condos and townhomes, the median sales price in September was an even $200,000, down 3.1 percent from $206,500 in August and down just 0.2 percent from one year ago.
- The total number of local homes sold in September was 1,739, down 17.1 percent from August and down 41.7 percent from September 2005. For condos and townhomes, 438 units were sold, down 14.5 percent from the previous month and down 34.5 percent from the previous year.
- The number of local homes, condos and townhouses listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service continued to increase slightly. The number of available homes listed in the Las Vegas area through September was 20,815. That's up 2.1 percent from the previous housing inventory record of 20,384 set in August and is an increase of 57.4 percent from last September. The number of available condos and townhomes in September also set a new record, with 5,135 listings. That's a 1.9 percent increase from last month and a 117 percent increase from last year at this time.
- Through September, 55.4 percent of all single-family homes and 61.4 percent of all condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That's down slightly from August, when those percentages were 59.1 percent for homes and 64.3 percent for condos.
According to GLVAR President Linda Rheinberger, these statistics show continued stability in the local housing market. "As we've been saying all year, prices are stable," Rheinberger said. "In reviewing these monthly statistics, people should be careful not to jump to any hasty conclusions."
Rheinberger said she and other GLVAR leaders do not necessarily agree with national studies that predict double-digit declines in local housing prices as part of a national housing slowdown. She said such studies generally don't give enough weight to local economic conditions, especially the lack of private land for development and the continued job and population growth that sets Southern Nevada apart from other parts of the country.
"All real estate is local," Rheinberger said in response to these national reports. "Barring some sort of catastrophic event, we don't expect that to happen here. Instead, we see continued signs of what we would call a soft landing, or a market correction. We're not expecting local housing prices to drop by double digits. The history of our housing market makes that very unlikely."
She added that the GLVAR's Multiple Listing Service shows relatively steady sales activity, with "more than 3,400 local properties about to close" and positive results in emerging housing categories such as condo conversions, mid-rise and mixed-use developments.
To arrange interviews with GLVAR experts, please call George McCabe or Brandi Segura at (702) 967-2222 or (702) 325-7358. 
About the GLVAR GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 16,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of REALTORS®, GLVAR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each GLVAR member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit www.lasvegasrealtor.com.
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