Las Vegas Now

Market Watch Report
End of Year 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada

Happy New Year! Well…..another year of living the Las Vegas real estate dream has come to a close. And, we’re all still here. At a minimum, let’s raise our glasses to that fact. That alone speaks volumes. So………..Cheers!

2010 was a year without a lot of surprises. Things stayed pretty constant throughout. Those who projected the beginning of a turnaround (was there anyone who took that side?) were left to grasp a few glimmers of hope that came to pass and those who warned of another year of further crashes throughout the market – the Gloom and Doomers – were also off the mark.

The home buyer tax credit, which many worried was artificially propping up an otherwise much worse market, came to an end. And while we agree that we did see a slowdown in closed units in the months that followed, certainly, those numbers did not dip to the lows that were being presented at that time.

Hopefully, the 2011 Las Vegas real estate market will begin to show signs of a turnaround. However, I believe that we will probably see another year very similar to 2010. Of course, massive job creation or a spike in interest rates could move the pendulum in either direction, and quickly.

Here’s what I noticed as I reviewed the end of year statistics as well as each month’s numbers throughout the year:

1. Inventory is climbing. December was the first time that available inventory had declined since April, but it is up 50% from the same time in 2009. REO and Short Sale inventory climbed 58% and 68% respectively over that same period. The available inventory is showing signs of stabilization. From August through December, the available inventory has remained between 14,119 on the low end to 15,353 at the upper end.

2. Contingent and Pending properties are down. Since April, this number has been trending downward, from 16,193 in April to 10,849 in December—a 33% decrease. For the year, the number of contingent and pending properties is down 17%.

3. They’re baaaaacck. The next wave of REOs may be upon us. In December, there were 1,880 REO closings—the highest number since March 2010. We shall see.

4. Final Short Sale numbers proved us wrong. Earlier in the year, I predicted that Short Sales would pass REOs as the largest portion of closed units in a given month. They got close, but did not quite make it. In June, REO closings were 38% of the closed units for the month and Short Sales were over 34%. However, the spread started moving back the other way in July, and at the end of the year, REOs were back to 50% of the closed units and Short Sales had declined to 26%.

5. There is one other thing to note about Short Sales in 2010. While the general perception is that Short Sale successes are on the rise, a closer look at the numbers shows this is just not the case. Overall, Short Sales are successful between 8 – 12 % of the time, or 1 out of every 8 – 12 Short Sales actually closes. This statistic has remained pretty consistent over more than just these past 12 months. Many theories abound. I will save that for another discussion.

6. Finally, distressed sales (REO and Short Sale) continue to dominate the market. They comprised 77% of the closed units in December 2010. This number has been as high or higher for some time. With the number of homeowners underwater at around 80% and Las Vegas having the highest percentage of distressed assets in the United States, look for things to remain the same for awhile. The turnaround everyone is looking for may still be a few years away.

Thanks for your continued support and readership. I really enjoy sharing every month. And again, Happy New Year!

David

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