Las Vegas existing home sales stay strong in January

The familiar pattern keeps more or less repeating itself when it comes to monthly Southern Nevada real estate numbers. In essence, there are some good news and then some less than good news. One way of putting is that the Las Vegas housing market is simply trying to find its bearings.

As usual, GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, is providing a detailed look at what happened in January in the local housing sector. Altogether 2,224 single-family houses were closed, amounting to a stellar 126% jump from the year ago figure. That trend has been evident for quite some time now and it does instill some optimism that the shredded market is working hard to right itself. As a caution, the sales are about 11% less than in December, so the slight decline is worth keeping in mind. Perhaps it's temporary, with people just taking the frigid month, believe me Vegas can be cold in January, off from looking at houses or are waiting to see what the Obama administration will do about providing fresh home buyer assistance.