Las Vegas October 2008 Home Sales Report

The Las Vegas region's median sale price fell below $200,000 in October for the first time in nearly five years. Price slashing kept sales of existing single-family houses at more than double the year-ago pace, while foreclosures accounted for two-thirds of all resales, a real estate information service reported.

Although October sales of existing single-family houses rose 121.3 percent from a year ago, the increase in overall transactions was lower because of declines in new-home sales.

A total of 4,146 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County) in October, down 3.0 percent from September but up 40.4 percent from October 2007, according to MDA DataQuick. The San Diego-based firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

October marked the seventh consecutive month in which sales of existing single-family detached houses rose on a year-over-year basis, and the second month in which the annual gain exceeded 100 percent. Sales for that category were the highest for an October since 2005.

Total home sales, which have suffered from the decline in new-home construction, were the second-lowest for an October since 2000.

The median price paid for all homes sold in the Las Vegas metro area was $196,000 in October, down 4.4 percent from $205,000 in September and down 29.9 percent from $279,790 in October 2007.

The overall median sale price has fallen on a year-over-year basis for 18 consecutive months and is now 37.2 percent below the region's peak $312,000 median in November 2006. October’s median was the lowest since it was $192,000 in January 2004.

Another gauge analysts watch suggests greater price weakness: The median price paid per square foot for resale detached houses fell to $104 in October – the lowest since May 2003. Last month’s figure was down 34.8 percent from a year ago and down 45.1 percent from the $190 peak reached in June 2006.

The median sale price – the point where half of the homes sold for more and half for less – has plunged for several reasons: Widespread home price depreciation; higher prices and qualifying standards for "jumbo" mortgages, which has undermined higher-end sales; and buyers’ preference for discounted foreclosures.

About 67 percent of the Las Vegas-area houses and condos that resold in October had been foreclosed on at some point in the prior 12 months.

Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA

	# of Sales			Median Price
	Oct-07	Oct-08	% Chg	Oct-07	Oct-08	% Chg
Resale houses	1,312	2,903	121.3%	$275,000	$193,140	-29.8%
Resale condos	317	506	59.6%	$175,000	$110,000	-37.1%
New homes	1,323	737	-44.3%	$297,550	$247,582	-16.8%
All homes	2,952	4,146	40.4%	$279,790	$196,000	-29.9%