Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Low home prices spur sales, traffic

Even though sales remain weak, the number of potential buyers checking out new homes rose in April and fewer people canceled their purchases, according to a local research firm.

Home Builders Research reported that all six areas of the valley reported higher traffic than in March and that sales were up in each of the areas as well.

The numbers also show that people are shopping for affordable homes. More than 78 percent of the new single-family homes sold in April were priced under $200,000.

North Las Vegas had the highest number of home sales per subdivision at 2.15 in its 47 subdivisions, up from less than one in March, the firm reported. Henderson had the fewest number of sales per subdivision at 1.54 for its 59 subdivisions.

There were 11 percent more people who walked through active subdivisions in April, according to Home Builders Research. There were 343 new home sales in April, which makes 1,475 for the year. That’s down 62 percent compared to the first four months of 2008.

The cancellation rates in those areas dropped as well. In the southwest, which has the most active subdivisions at 112, the cancellation rate went from 31 percent in March to 23 percent in April. The northwest saw cancellation rates drop from 34 percent in March to 20 percent in April, while cancellation rates remained at 19 percent in Henderson.

The median price for April sales was $215,650, the lowest since February 2005, said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research.

There were three sales of single-family homes priced at more than $1 million.

Some 40 percent of the homes sold in April were priced below $200,000 and 38 percent were priced between $200,000 and $300,000, Smith said.

There were few sales above $300,000. Some 18 percent of the sales were between $300,000 and $500,000 and only 4 percent were above $500,000, Smith said.

In the resale market, lower-priced homes continue to fuel sales with 3,652 total sales in April, which puts the valley on pace for nearly 40,000 sales this year, Smith said.

The median price of those transactions dropped to $130,000, a 43 percent decline in the past year. It may take another two to three months before prices flatten, Smith said.

DHI Mortgage led the way in the first quarter with $18.7 billion in loans or a 16.6 percent share of the market. It had 93 loans that averaged $201,465, Smith said.

Countrywide KB Home Loans was second with an 11.2 percent market share. Its 63 loans averaged $194,639, Smith said.

The others are Pulte Mortgage, 8.7 percent; HomeAmerican Mortgage, 7.3 percent; and Metlife Home Mortgage, 7 percent. Pulte Mortgage had the highest loan rate at $235,530.

In other housing news:

First American CoreLogic reported that while prices of homes continue to fall in Nevada, the price declines in Nevada and California appear to be decelerating. California’s decline of 24.9 percent in March was the smallest since March 2008 and Nevada’s 25.9 percent decline over March 2008 was the smallest in six months.

The firm reports that Las Vegas had the third lowest loan performance behind California’s Inland Empire and Miami.

According to calculations of MDA DataQuick, 74 percent of the Las Vegas area homes and condos sold in April were foreclosure resales.

Government insured FHA loans accounted for almost 53 percent of all April purchases with absentee buyers acquiring 36 percent of all homes, the firm reported.

Absentee buyers are often investors but also include second-home buyers.

The median price per square foot for resale homes in April fell to $78, down 3.7 percent from March and down 37.6 percent from April 2008. That’s 59 percent below the $190 peak in June 2006, the firm reported.

The firm reports the median resale price of homes was $140,950 in April, and $65,163 for condos. New homes sold for a median price of $218,000, the firm reported.

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