CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES…
Las Vegas area home sales rose in March from a year earlier, when the homebuyer tax credit was in place, to a five-year high. Almost 5,000 homes sold in the Las Vegas metro area during the month, the highest volume since March 2006, according to DataQuick. Sales were up a staggering 27.3% compared to the month prior and up 1.6% compared to a year earlier.
The San Diego-based research firm said that “unusually strong” demand came in the distressed properties sector, as activity among investors, cash buyers and others targeting properties less than $100,000 increased. In March, 54% of all homes were purchased with cash, up from 47.7% in March 2010. The median sale price for cash transactions was $88,450.
DataQuick believes the trend toward more cash purchases reflects the effects of tighter lending standards as well as a preference among buyers to invest their cash in real estate as opposed to other investments states Housing Wire
