Thursday, October 22, 2009
by Tim Kuptz
Here is an update to the state of the greater Las Vegas market. We continue to experience an artificial shortage of available homes for purchase. Our own market tracking here at RE/MAX Advantage reports as of 10/20 there were only 8076 single family homes on the market. 46% of those were short sales, leaving a little over half of the inventory to be REO (bank owned) 18% and the remaining owner occupied or corporate owned. This translates to about 4000 homes available for purchase with an option to close in 30 to 45 days for buyers in the market place. With 3127 detached homes closed in the last 30 days, and just over 4000 homes available for traditional closing timelines, the market is ULTRA tight for those looking to buy and close within common timeframes. 70% of those closed are bank owned.
What to expect looking for a home here in Las Vegas and Henderson? Today, the under 200K price point will likely require multiple offers before getting a house unless you are open to looking at short sales – and allow for a longer closing timeframe. The 300 to 400K price point is fairly active as well with good homes selling within 48 hours of list. Above $400k price point and in age restricted areas the market is a little slower – you can actually think about a house for a minute of two before deciding to act.
In any case, be prepared to work in a climate that resembles the period of hyper inflation in 2004 and 2005. The good news is, prices are not escalating like they did back then. Of course better news are the prices of homes today are 1/3 of what they were just 36 months ago. There are increases in prices in micro markets around Las Vegas but overall little movement in the median price in the last 3 months.