Home sales, prices fall in October

By Buck Wargo

Monday, Nov. 10, 2008 | 11:52 a.m.

The number of home sales listed by Realtors dipped slightly in October as median prices fell to $190,000, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported.

October’s 2,718 sales were 55 fewer than September and marked only the second time this year that sales fell from a prior month. Despite the drop, it’s the second highest number of sales in any month this year. There were only 974 sales in October 2007.

So far, the existing-home market doesn’t appear to have taken a hit from the financial meltdown on Wall Street in September and subsequent drop in the stock market.

The median price of homes sold in October was down $5,000 or a drop of 2.6 percent from September. Prices are down 31 percent from October 2007, the Realtors’ group reported.

Bank-owned properties continue to have a large effect on the housing market, President Patty Kelley said. These foreclosures have added to the inventory and driven down home prices.

Two of every three homes sold in Southern Nevada are owned by lenders, Kelley said.