Las Vegas Homes News

Statistics for homes for sale in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 2006 shows us that the inventory of homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Service in Las Vegas declined to 19,729 in November, down 16 percent from the previous month, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Las Vegas homes for sale are still up nearly 34 percent from a year ago, but the number appears to have peaked at 23,474 in October, a good sign for the local housing market, we are still in a Buyer’s Market at this time, and sellers have had to get more in line with their pricing compared to the times when we had no available inventory. It doesn’t really indicate that our housing prices and values have dropped, simply gotten realistic.

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Feb. 22, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Observer recounts bumpy housing year

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A worker frames a house Wednesday at Palisades Estates in Las Vegas. Recorded sales of new homes in Las Vegas totaled 36,156 last year, down 7.2 percent from 38,957 in 2005, an analyst said. Photos by Gary Thompson. A worker finishes a house at Palisades Estates on Wednesday. At Las Vegas Housing Outlook 2007, housing analyst Dennis Smith said he expects the valley to tally 37,000 new home sales this year.

When someone asks housing analyst Dennis Smith how the Las Vegas market is performing, he has to ask what segment they’re talking about.

Sales declined for both new and existing homes and for apartment conversions in 2006, while high-rise and mid-rise sales increased, the president of Home Builders Research said Wednesday at Las Vegas Housing Outlook 2007.

“This market is too segmented to describe it in one sentence,” Smith told 1,200 people attending his annual presentation at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Recorded sales of new homes totaled 36,156 last year, down 7.2 percent from 38,957 in 2005. Without apartment conversion and high-rise sales, the number dropped to 29,493. Resales fell 28.4 percent, to 41,892 from 58,522.

The “traditional” single-family home is losing market share, Smith said. Detached home sales sank to 62 percent of the market in 2006, compared with 85 percent just a few years ago.

Age-restricted housing is going to be flat at 6 percent of the market and apartment conversions settled into a 12 percent share. Attached dwellings such as condos and townhomes account for 10 percent of sales and high-rise units are 9 percent of the market, headed for 10 percent, Smith said.

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Feb. 16, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

REAL ESTATE: Housing sales slide in 40 states

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A construction worker frames a house at Allerton Park near Charleston Boulevard east of the Las Vegas Beltway. Sales of new homes in Las Vegas slipped 7 percent to 36,051 in 2006. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

WASHINGTON — The slump in housing deepened in the final three months of last year, with sales falling in 40 states and median home prices dropping in nearly half the metropolitan areas surveyed.

Formerly red-hot areas such as Las Vegas were among the hardest hit as the five-year housing boom cooled considerably in 2006.

While some economists said the worst may be over for housing, others predicted more price declines to come until near-record levels of unsold homes are reduced.

The National Association of Realtors said the states with the biggest declines in sales from October through December compared with the same period in 2005 were Nevada, down 36.1 percent; Florida, down 30.8 percent; Arizona, down 26.9 percent; and California, down 21.3 percent.

In all, the Realtors said sales declined in 40 states, six states showed gains and one state, Utah, had no change in activity in the final three months of last year. There was not enough information from Idaho, New Hampshire and Vermont to make a comparison.

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Feb. 02, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Housing cooling? Hardly, forecaster says

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A worker frames a house Thursday at Allerton Park near Charleston Boulevard. Crystal Ball 2007 presenter Steve Bottfeld predicted Las Vegas home prices will rise this year. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

The only thing missing from real estate consultant Steve Bottfeld’s presentation Thursday at Crystal Ball 2007 was his cheerleader outfit.

Bottfeld, principal of Marketing Solutions, predicts that median new home prices in Las Vegas will increase 7 percent to 9 percent this year and existing home prices will rise 3 percent to 7 percent, most of it coming at the end of the year.

Those forecasts contradict what housing analysts and business sources such as Fortune magazine and Moodys.com have forecast. They’re calling for price declines ranging from 6 percent to 30 percent.

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Jan. 27, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

HOUSING: Home sales end 2006 on decline

By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Click image for enlargement. Construction continues Friday on homes in the Valencia Terrace development near Bonanza Road and Pecos Road. The median new home price in Las Vegas was $337,781 in December, up 8.9 percent for the year. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

Las Vegas took a beating last year from analysts who predicted housing prices would decline anywhere from 6 percent to 30 percent, that it was one of the most overvalued markets in the nation and the “bubble” had finally burst.

Although new home sales started strong in 2006, at least part of their predictions were ringing true. By the middle of the year, the housing market had definitely pulled the parachute, finishing with six consecutive months of declines. There were 3,034 new home closings in December, compared with 4,161 in December 2005, Home Builders Research reported.

For all of 2006, Las Vegas had 36,051 new home sales, down 7 percent from the previous year.

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Jan. 27, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Statewide sales show increase of 1.9 percent

By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY — Statewide taxable sales rose 1.9 percent in November over the same month in 2005, representing $3.9 billion in goods sold, the state Department of Taxation reported Friday.

For the first four months of the fiscal year that began July 1, taxable sales are up 3.5 percent over the prior fiscal year.

Clark County showed a 0.1 percent increase to $2.8 billion in November 2006 over November 2005. Washoe County taxable sales fell by 3.8 percent for the same period.

Eight counties showed a decrease in taxable sales for November 2006 compared to November 2005: Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lincoln, Lyon, Washoe and White Pine counties.

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