BluefoxToday blog : LV existing home sales increase in March

The spring real estate season kicked off nicely last month, with resales again showing strong numbers. That has been the direction of this segment of the market for a good stretch now.  

All in all, 2,980 single-family houses were closed then that translates to a serious jump of 30% from February, as was reported by Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, or GLVAR. The figure is double of that from March of 2008. As has been the pattern recently, distressed sales dominated the statistics and most of them were in the lower end of the market where first-time buyers and investors excitedly grab affordably-priced property.

Nothing seems to be in the way of continuous price erosion, though. This time the median value fell another 4.2% from the month before, down to $149,000, shattering in the process a sort of a benchmark of $150,000. When the previous standard of $200,000 was busted months ago people in the Las Vegas valley were gasping for air. It's anyone's guess what they are doing now. It's a 38.7% downward correction from a year ago. Spiritedly-priced foreclosures and short sales are the unmistakable factors pressuring prices down a steep slope.

The MLS inventory grew a little from February, going up to 22,812, but is just about at the same level as it was last year. Yet, everyone in the housing business in Vegas wants see it start losing steam. The sound sales numbers, however, just don't seem to be enough to bring it down. Again, more mortgage foreclosures are obviously still entering the Southern Nevada marketplace, quickly displacing homes that are sold.  

The stats are clearly mixed, although the healthy sales increase does give the market some sense of optimism.