A Visual Look at How the Las Vegas Market has Changed!
It’s so interesting to listen and read all of the national pundits that take nationwide data to proclaim how grim the Las Vegas market is and how much more it will decline in 2011. Let’s start by dispelling the myth about how the nature of the 2010 Greater Las Vegas market by looking at an eleven year history of closed sales in the resale market. 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 in the wake of the 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 November 2010, which can be downloaded below.)
For the complete Equity Title Market Update Report for November 2010 – Click Here.
A Shift in the Types of Closings
The single best way for any real estate agent to lose market opportunities these past couple of years was to ignore the dramatic market shifts and not take action to adapt to those changes. That includes many who rode the REO horse right off the edge of the cliff last year. Here is the market mix for 2008:
By contrast 2009 witnessed the surge of REO closings:
But alas, 2010 saw banks becoming more efficient in processing short sales and traditional home owners who properly priced their homes to the market win big in the closing game:
So the bottom line for the first eleven months of 2010 is that the market is down 3.6% from a year ago and 2011 looks to be a continuation of 2010 with relatively flat market prices. However, the market value chart above demonstrates the stability that the current market enjoys – even if the levels harken back to 2000 and 2001. I recommend remaining cautiously optimistic with an eye towards job creation over the next couple of years. More importantly for REALTORS, follow the market, follow the changes, and then in the profound words and wisdom of Gunnery Sgt. Highway in Heartbreak Ridge: “Improvise, adapt, and overcome.”
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