Las Vegas House Sales Jump [Housing Tracker]

House Sales and Price Data 

State Home Sales Decline In May.  “Warren Group real estate data firm: Massachusetts home sales fell steeply in May. The number of single-family home sales that closed last month, 3,739, was the least for that month since the real estate downturn in 1990. Continued sales declines also knocked house prices down further: The January-May price decline - 8.6%- was the biggest since Warren Group began collecting the data in 1987.”  (Boston Globe, June 24^th) 

County Home Prices Rising.  “Pennsylvania: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight [says] Lancaster County home values rose 2.77% in Q1’08 and 4.66% over the past 12 months. That put the county 36th out of 292 metropolitan areas nationwide in terms of home price appreciation. Nationally, the OFHEO's all-transactions House Price Index shows prices fell 0.2% in Q1 and flat over the past year. The "all-transactions" index includes home sales and refinancing by existing homeowners.” (Lancaster Online, June 24^th)

D.C. Housing Prices Up, Sales Down.  “Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors: Home and condo prices in D.C. were up in May, but so were the number of listings and sales are down sharply. Prices and sales [are] both lower in Montgomery County. In the District, the median condominium price in May was $359,900, up 2.8% from May 2007. There were 1,530 condos listed for sale in May, up 9.2% a year ago, and actual condo settlements were down nearly 24% from a year ago. Single-family home prices in D.C. were up 0.6% to $535,000. Single-family listings were up 19.1% and single-family settlements were down 15.6%.” (Washington Business Journal, June 23^rd) 

With Boom Just A Memory, South Florida Homes Can Now Take Months, Even Years, To Sell. “ZipRealty: At least 9,828 homes — about one of every 10 homes for sale in South Florida — have been on the market for more than a year. At least 1,058 have languished for more than two consecutive years in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Yet even that estimate is too low, because the numbers don't count homes pulled off the market and put back on when sellers switch agents, make improvements, or let the listing expire and enter a new sales so the home does not look stale.”  (South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 22^nd) 

Local Housing Crisis.  Indiana: “Fort Wayne-Allen County Comprehensive Plan joint study: Though new construction has slowed dramatically, houses continue to be built. Meanwhile, the number of unwanted houses is growing at an unprecedented pace: In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 10,160 vacant housing units in Allen County. By 2006, that number was estimated to have grown to 15,821. That would mean more than one of every 10 housing units in Allen County is vacant. In Vanderbugh County, 9% are vacant.”  (Journal Gazette, June 22^nd)

Some Home Builders Thrive In Tough Housing Market.   Michigan: “The Home and Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids reports home starts in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, and Allegan Counties were down 29% between January and May 2008 compared to the same time period last year. In that same time frame, Kent County's home starts fell 11% and home starts in Montcalm and Ionia Counties fell 14%.”  (WZZM13, June 21^st) 

Local Existing Home Sales Surge.  Las Vegas: “Home Builders Research and SalesTraq revealed a 5.2% jump in resales in May, with buyers snapping up 2,606 units. Buyers bought 2,477 existing homes in May 2007. The last time resale closings surpassed 2,600 homes in a single month was March 2007. Closings on existing properties spent fall and winter mired at around 1,500 units a month. SalesTraq President Larry Murphy: "May data for the Las Vegas housing market suggests that recovery has begun for the resale market.” Sales of new homes, however, stayed below 1,000 units in May. March [excluded], new-home sales have languished below 1,000 houses a month since January.”  (Big Builder Online, June 19^th)

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Comments

[billddrummer]

Hi Judy,

Ran across this article regarding the Case/Schiller index for metro areas:

www.bloomberg.com/apps...

It's good to see sales finally rising in Las Vegas. But the article points to an inventory overhang despite price decreases, which will continue to restrict a true recovery.

[billddrummer]

Hi Judy,

Additional data from the northern NV real estate community.

As I mentioned earlier, the $1 million+ housing supply is 5 years based on current selling patterns. In the $300K-$500K range (sweet spot for move-up buyers), there's an 18 month supply of existing homes, based on YTD sales activity. This doesn't count new homes supplied through the builders still offering product in this market.

An 18-month supply of move-up housing suggests that not many families are in the shape to move up. With 60% of closings between banks and buyers, and most of them below $300K, there are precious few homes being sold that give the sellers the wherewithal to buy a more expensive home. Sellers these days are happy to walk away without contributing cash at closing.

Just wanted to add this tidbit to the pool of data out there.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

Bill