Forrest's Blog

February Makes Gains Over January and Last Year!

Single family residential (SFR) closings for February were up 3.3% from January and 8.8% better than February 2010. The median sales price of an SFR also improved by just over 2% to $128,000.  Overall inventory continues to slowly shrink even as demand remains steady. This is also true for REO inventory which has dropped from a recent high of 3600 available properties to under 2900 as of this report.  Reports of phantom inventory may be more myth than reality based on this fact!

For the complete Equity Title Market Update Report for March 2011 – Click Here.

How Did the Las Vegas Market Fare in 2010?

2010 ended up being a stellar year for closings with only 2009 and 2004 being slightly better. Demand remains strong despite the expiration of the first time home buyers tax credit. The following chart can also be downloaded for your use. Click here to download as a pdf.

What this clearly shows is that 2010 was only bested by 2009 and 2004. Of course we acknowledge that market prices of the single family residence are down significantly from 2004, but the fact is that resale closings remain strong – even though tax credits for first time home buyers having been eliminated. So let’s now look closely at an eleven year history of both median and average sale prices for the Greater Las Vegas market. (This chart is included in the Equity Title Market Update Report for January 2011, which can be downloaded below.)

This month’s report is a year end special with extra charts to illustrate how strong and stable the market has been during 2010.  Also included are charts depicting the market shifts with respect to both closing type and terms.  For example, FHA closings have enjoyed approximately the same amount of market share for the past three years while Conventional loans have given way to Cash transactions due to a mix of circumstances, including more stringent underwriting requirements.

For the complete Equity Title Market Update Report for January 2011 – Click Here.

A Year of Stability!

Single family residential (SFR) closings for December are up more than 12% over November 2010 and is the second best December on record for closings. The median sales price of an SFR dropped to $132,000 for an overall drop of 2.9% for 2010.  Compare that to the 22.3% and 32.3% market value decline for 2009 and 2008 respectively.  That demonstrates stability and healing in this market. 

REO listings and closings are on the rise and that has been generally good for buyers. Nearly 30% of those listings are Fannie Mae Homepath qualified properties that offer owner occupied buyers additional leverage when competing with investors for ownership.

So What About 2011?

I’m a firm believer that usually nothing is ever as bad as the naysayers predict nor as good as the blinded optimist believes it will be.  Of course 2007 was the exception to that paradigm! Nevertheless let’s look for the Las Vegas market to build upon the present stability while enjoying the current level of demand.  Then we need to see what will happen with employment in the Las Vegas Valley.  Finally, we will just have to wait to learn how banks will manage the mix of foreclosures with short sales.  And if that weren’t enough, the real wild card is that we can look forward to an interesting political year – both on the state and federal level!  So fasten you seat belts and enjoy the ride!!

Bank of America announced a moratorium on forecloses effective October 9, 2010.

Single family residential (SFR) closings declined by 13 units from August sales but were down 552 units or (-16.4%) from September 2009.  Median sales prices have fluctuated between $135,000 and $140,000 throughout 2010.  This demonstrates the stability of the Greater Las Vegas Market despite economic, political, appraisal, and constantly changing loan underwriting standards that have all had an impact on residential resale transactions.  Sixty percent (60%) of all listings have closed during 2010.  This is down from 67% from 2009, but remains significantly strong compared to 41% in 2008 and 24% in 2007.  Available REO properties peaked just at 3400 units but have pulled back a bit.  Bank of America announced Friday afternoon that they have placed a moratorium on all foreclosures effective October 9, 2010 until further notice.

 For the complete Equity Title Market Update Report for September 2010 – Click Here.

Nevada Early Voting for the 2010 General Election begins October 16th and runs through October 29th.  Please TAKE TIME TO VOTE this year as every vote truly counts!  Remember that February 2011 is the start of a new legislative session that will see a number of bills introduced that will potentially have a tremendous impact on how we conduct business!