The current housing market in Las Vegas is on a steady rise. Based upon recently released information from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors,the average price of a home was $200,000. This is the highest it has been since 2008. The housing market is finally creeping toward healthier numbers.
However a decline in spending has occurred during 2014 to date. This is due to the federal lawnot being renewed as to income taxes on forgiven mortgage debt.
Nevertheless, short sales have been steadily increasing. In May, short sales were at 7.9 percent. One month later, short sales increased to 10.8 percent. Bank owned sales were up 9.1 percent in May an increase to10.1 percent during June. Some people don’t think that June’s numbers are a bad thing. However, this doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend. It could just be a one month anomaly.
The president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, Heidi Kasama, believes that June’s jump was a one-time event. However, distressed sale numbers aren’t that significant as there were only about 300 closings per month for short sales.
The average price for a single family home in January 2012 was $118,000. That price has now nearly doubled. Equity grows when prices are higher. Houses are no longer going under water. People no longer need to pursue desperate measures in order to keep their houses.
Kasama stated, “It psychologically changes for many homeowners. At one point, things were hopeless. Now, they’re walking away from something that has value to them again.”
Short sales and bank owned sales are likely going to stay under 25 percent of the market during the foreseeable future.
Kasama also stated, “We’ve had people talk about shadow inventory for five or six years. But when I talk to reps from Fannie Mae, they’ve cut down on (bank-owned) listing agents. They don’t have enough listings for them. They can’t find enough inventoryfor the agents they have.”
The broker owner of Kelly Realty Group doesn’t think Nevada’s foreclosure legislation is done yet. He explained that short sale and foreclosure laws have been on a sort of roller coaster. First they were tightened, then loosened, then tightened again. He also believes that June’s blip is likely going to happen again. This is because more than one-third of homeowners owe more than their home’s value.
He stated, “I think there’s a window of time where we’re going to see an uptick in short sales and distressed properties.”
There are about 50,000 homeowners in the Las Vegas valley that are more than 90 days late on their mortgage, and have likely already received a default notice.
If you are behind in your mortgage payments, you should seek the help of a Las Vegas real estate attorney. Simon Law can help you proceed with a foreclosure or short sale. Your options will be evaluated and a decision will be made as to the most efficient route for you financially. For more information about real estate law in Las Vegas, contact 702.451.7077or info@marcsimonlaw.com.
