Las Vegas resales rise in June

Southern Nevada real estate market is gradually changing for the better. The key word is gradually. There have been some subtle clues about it in the past several months and more are trickling in.

GLVAR, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, reports that a total of 3,785 single-family homes were sold in June, climbing a respectable 16.3% from May. What's even better is that this is a 70% improvement from the same month last year. REOs still dominate but it doesn't matter as long as the market remains active. Tough conventional mortgage requirements kept these numbers from going even higher, although FHA loans have elbowed into the void with their low down payment options and more flexible underwriting criteria.

More solid news follow. The inventory of resales on the MLS sank to 20,613, over 500 units less than in May and a good 11.9% dive from June of 2008. This is the third consecutive decrease and it is slowly approaching somewhat of a target for Las Vegas industry experts, the 20,000 home figure. Despite still being historically high, at least it is now steadily trending lower.

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