December 22, 2010: Home sales in the Las Vegas region continued to fall in November as investors and first-time homebuyers dominated the market.
A total of 3,693 new and resale houses and condos sold in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in November, down 6.8% from October and down 22.9% from a year ago, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.
New home sales suffered the biggest drop in November, down 15.6% from October and 42.2% compared to November 2009. This is the slowest November DataQuick has recorded for new home sales since they started recording and distributing data in 1994.
Existing single-family home sales fell 7.3% from October and 20.9% from one year ago. Condos resales were down 14.4% from October and 14.1% from the same period in 2009.
DataQuick said current homeowners are on the sidelines because so many are upside down — they owe more on their homes than what they are worth and “therefore aren’t in a position to move.” A Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance survey found this to be a nationwide trend.
The median home price in the Las Vegas metro area was $134,900 in November, up from $132,000 in October and almost equal with the price a year ago of $135,000. However, the current median home price is 59.1% below its peak in November 2006 at $312,000 states Housing Wire.
