Las Vegas Housing Market Update 2009 as of middle of October is there has not been a significant shift in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market. We experienced a slight rise in Las Vegas home sales for September versus August; but, only a 4% increase.
One big shift in the numbers reflects year over sales numbers, we sold 3,358 Las Vegas Homes in September, which reflects an increase of approximately 20% from a year ago.This is probably the stand out number for our Las Vegas Housing Market Update 2009.
Las Vegas Housing Market Update 2009
Inventory is still declining, which can be viewed in a negative or positive manner. Drops in inventory typically help to drive prices up; we saw an very modest increase in median Las Vegas Home prices of 1.8%. But, the flip side to the reduced inventory issue is the ongoing multiple bid situation, especially by investors, who are snapping up homes in the $50-150K range.
Nothing has changed in the last 90-120 days in terms of what is driving our market. First time home buyers are aggressively moving into the market to take advantage of the $8K Federal Government Tax Credit and investors are buying 30-45% of our available homes (our rough estimate).
Predicted Las Vegas Foreclosure Avalanche
Contrary to what many analysts and national media wrote the last 6-12 months, we are not seeing an avalanche of Las Vegas Foreclosures. In fact, just the opposite is occurring, the rate of foreclosures dropped approximately 20% from July to August.
Based on our analysis and conversations with analysts, bankers and others, it appears banks are not releasing “bank owned homes” in large numbers either, which helps to stabilize the market.
Where’s the Las Vegas Market Heading in 2009?
Tough question with a complex answer. We don’t anticipate any significant deviation from the existing trends occurring in the Las Vegas Housing Market Update 2009 – we think our market will continue to be driven by first time homeowners and investors through the end of this year.
We may see more very modest appreciation in pricing, depending on inventory released by banks and larger economic issues. But, we don’t think this increase will be significant in the near term. And, as we move into the long term, we anticipate seeing a modest increase per annum.
Graphical Snapshot of Las Vegas Housing Market 2009:
