Home sales up last month as prices continue tumble

By Tim Richardson

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 2:43 p.m.

The trend of more sales and lower prices in the Las Vegas housing market showed no signs of change last month.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said 2,783 single-family homes were sold by a Realtor in September. That's an increase of more than 9 percent from a month earlier and up 181 percent from September 2007.

Despite the increase in sales, prices are headed in the opposite direction.

The Realtor association said the median price of a single-family home last month was $195,000. That's down 7 percent from a month earlier and down 32 percent from last September.

The Las Vegas area had 22,784 homes on the market last month, which is down about 6 percent from last year.

The trend also is evident in the condo and townhouse market.

Sales are up about 81 percent in the past year (386 sales last month), although the price has dropped to $119,450 -- a fall of 32 percent since September 2007

"As home prices keep getting lower, sales keep going up. This month’s statistics show the greatest increase in year-over-year sales that we’ve seen in many years," GLVAR President Patty Kelley said in a statement. "This tells us that qualified buyers are recognizing that now is a great time to buy a home, especially here in Southern Nevada."

At last month's sales pace, the Las Vegas area has an eight-month supply of homes on the market.