The Las Vegas new-home market is getting worse, while sales of existing homes remain brisk amid falling prices, according to statistics released Monday by a research firm.
SalesTraq reported the 267 closings of new homes in April puts the four-month total this year at 1,085. At that rate, the homebuilding industry would fall well short of the 5,438 closings recorded in 2010.
The 267 closings in April are 44 percent lower than April 2010. The new-home market has tumbled since a federal tax credit effectively expired in April 2010.
The homes being sold are smaller and cost less. The median price of those closed in April was $189,099, 7.5 percent below April 2010. The price per square foot fell to a new low of $91.17, which is 12.4 percent below the $104.05 square foot price in April 2010.
Builders aren’t optimistic about a recovery by taking out 313 permits in April, 34 percent fewer than April 2010. For the year, 1,141 permits have been issued, which puts the region on track to fall below the 3,776 issued in 2010.
The weak economy and better-priced existing home market has drawn people to those properties. Las Vegas recorded 4,970 closings of existing homes in April, 13.8 percent higher than April 2010. It’s only 95 fewer closings than March.
Earlier this month, a report released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said sales of its listings handled by Realtors fell 9 percent between March and April. Those will show up as closings at a later point.
The GLVAR doesn’t track sales not on its Multiple Listing Service.
Las Vegas has had 17,935 existing home closings through the first four months of the year, SalesTraq reported. The area is on track to surpass the 51,124 closings in 2010.
The median price of homes closed in April fell again to $106,900, down from $108,900 in March. The price is 14.5 percent lower than April 2010’s median price of $125,000.
The average price per square foot of homes closed in April was $70.08, down from $70.24 per square foot in March and down 14 percent from April 2010’s price of $81.15.
In the existing home market, foreclosure properties closed for a median price of $105,000. Traditional sales closed for $110,000 and short sales closed for $120,000. Homes sold at auction went for a median price of $90,100.
SalesTraq reported 1,833 homes were repossessed in April, down from 2,097 in March. So far this year, 6,476 homes have been repossessed. Based on that trend, the region will surpass the 17,528 foreclosures in 2010.