Local for-sale housing inventory shrinking, data show

Local for-sale housing inventory shrinking, data show
 

Agency shows 43 percent dip in homes for sale in February compared with year earlier


BY HUBBLE SMITH


Maybe it's a ruse devised by real estate agents to deceive buyers into thinking Las Vegas could run out of homes for sale. Or maybe the market is starting to feel the effects of the robo-signing law that makes it more difficult for lenders to file for foreclosure.


Either way, for-sale housing inventory has been steadily declining, a February report from Keller Williams Realty shows.


Total inventory of homes on the Multiple Listing Service fell to 7,873 in February, a loss of almost 1,700 properties from the previous month and down from 14,036 a year ago. 




JERRY HENKEL | LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS 
David Brownell adjusts a sold sign March 13 on a home at 7221 Silver Valley St. in northwest Las Vegas. The total inventory of Southern Nevada homes on the Multiple Listing Service fell to 7,873 in February, a report from Keller Williams Realty shows.




With 3,627 escrow closings in February, that's a little more than two months' supply of inventory, the lowest it's been since David Brownell of Keller Williams began compiling his monthly reports five years ago.


"By the middle of the year, we could be below 5,000 (inventory)," the Realtor said. "That may be lower than any time during the crazy months of 2004, 2005 and 2006."


Also, inventory of real estate-owned, or bank-owned, homes has shrunk to 1,314, less than one month's supply at current sales levels.


About half of existing-home sales in Las Vegas are foreclosures and one-fourth are short sales. That's about to flip as banks figure out how to deal with the new law, Brownell said.


"REO closings are going to drop dramatically in the next 60 days," he said. "It's not out of the question to think that there will be fewer than 1,000 REO units available. There's just no inventory out there."


Scheduled trustee sales have dropped to fewer than 50 a day, sometimes as few as 10 or 15 a day, compared with 200 a day in March 2011. Trustee sales are down as much as 90 percent in recent weeks, Brownell noted.


To really get a good sense of where the market is headed, Brownell points to total new listings (4,663) added in February and total new escrows (6,188) added in the month. Of the new listings, 1,318 were real estate-owned, and 1,814 were short sales. Of those in escrow, 1,807 were REOs and 2,970 were short sales.


Brownell said he doesn't buy into the theory that banks are holding onto a "shadow inventory" of 50,000 to 75,000 foreclosures in order to control prices.


"I have seen commentary on YouTube from a local real estate agent that prices could go up as much as 10 percent or more during these next few months as supply gets tighter," he said. "I am not sure that I agree. Instead, we may see investors taking a timeout as they wait for the next wave of bank-owned properties to come on the market."


HOMEOWNER EVENT


Nearly 3,500 homeowners at risk of foreclosure attended a two-day event at Cashman Center on March 9-10 that brought them face to face with their mortgage servicer or nonprofit housing counselor.


It was the fifth workshop presented by the Hope Now alliance of mortgage servicers, investors and counselors since 2008. More than 20 banks participated in the event, including major lenders such as Bank of America, Chase, Citi, US Bank and Wells Fargo.


"Las Vegas, like so many other markets, has been facing an unprecedented housing crisis for the past few years and the ability of so many groups to come together on behalf of at-risk homeowners is truly remarkable," Hope Now Executive Director Faith Schwartz said.


BUILDING PERMITS


The city of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency reported 177 new single-family unit building permits and 114 multifamily units in the fourth quarter. Their valuation was $20.7 million and $7.8 million, respectively.


Also, there were three new commercial and hotel-motel permits issued in Las Vegas with a total valuation of $418,000, including additional permits for The Smith Center for the Performing Arts that opened March 10 at Symphony Park.


Of the 995 certificates of occupancy recorded in Clark County in the fourth quarter, 207 were in the city of Las Vegas.


HOTEL BUYOUT


Want to keep uninvited guests out of your wedding party or corporate event?


Consider renting an entire hotel in Las Vegas. It's possible at the 150-room Rumor hotel on Harmon Avenue and the 64-room Artisan hotel on Sahara Avenue, both owned by the Siegel Group.


Rumor, across from the Hard Rock Hotel, is going for $13,000 a night, less than $100 a room, including hotel staff. The Artisan, just off Interstate 15, is available for $4,000 a night, or about $65 a room.


That's something the megaresorts can't offer, Siegel Group business affairs director Michael Crandall said.


"We are the only hotel group in all of Las Vegas that can create this type of offer," he said. "Each property can accommodate everything from a great party to a fashion show by the pool to a concert under the stars."


COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS


Cathy Jones of Sun Commercial Real Estate represented Service First Bank of Nevada in the 22-month lease of a 55,900-square-foot office at 8349 W. Sunset Road. The value of the transaction was $136,444.


She also represented Bank of Nevada and Twin Otter International on a 24-month lease for a 49,300-square-foot industrial building at 2806 Perimeter Road. The transaction was $62,605.