Las Vegas Short Sales Report

Well... not really just Las Vegas Short Sales but since today's Las Vegas Real Estate market is primarily dominated by Las Vegas Short Sales as we all anxiously await for lenders to approve our short sales and let home owners move on in life with a reflection of the real estate correction... let's just call it what it is.

The Las Vegas Real Estate short sale market or The Las Vegas Short Sale Real Estate market... not sure which one sounds better.

Reports indicate that over 60% of homeowners in Las Vegas owe more then their home is worth so I don't think short sale numbers are going to go down anytime soon and the market will continue to be bogged down.

The numbers below reflect AREAS 101 through 606 on the Las Vegas MLS which includes Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, NV Real Estate. (And yes... this includes Summerlin Real Estate.)

Currently Available for Sale:

• 10,194 Total Listings for Single Family Homes, Condominiums (under five stories), Townhomes and Manufactured Homes.
• 4,852 Short Sales
• 3,714 Regular Sales
• 1,598 Bank Owned Homes

The number of Bank Owned Homes available for sale in Las Vegas has decreased significantly since November of 2009... and decreased significantly since tracking these numbers in our Las Vegas Bank Owned Homes for sale on the Las Vegas MLS reports.

Currently In Escrow - Contingent / Pending

• 14,401 Properties in Escrow
  
• 9,826 of these are Short Sales!
• 3,049 are REO aka Bank Owned Homes
• 1,514 are Listed as Regular Sales (Yes... there are regular sales going on out there.)

January Closings

To show how many lenders are bogging down Las Vegas Short sales for the Las Vegas real estate correction... let's take a look at how many of all those short sales are actually closing escrow.

• 3,147 Total Closings with the same criteria as above.
• 1,836 of these were Bank Owned Homes
• 684 of these were Las Vegas Short Sales
• 622 of these were Listed as Regular Sales.

So... while Las Vegas Short Sales by FAR dominate the Las Vegas Real Estate market, actual closings of Las Vegas short sales, while improving over previous reports... still lags. Especially considering that 5,467 of the Las Vegas short sales currently in escrow have contract dates of 2009 on them. In other words, we are going on the third month of 2010 and 55% of the short sales in escrow had contracts written on them in 2009!

Some more Interesting Facts:

3,917 of the 9,826 Las Vegas short sales in escrow are listed as Vacant Properties.

257 of the 684 Las Vegas Short Sales closed in January were with Buyers using FHA financing.

480 of the Bank Owned Homes that closed in January were bought with buyers using FHA financing.

928 Buyers of Bank Owned homes that closed in January were Cash Buyers!

ONLY 14 Cash Buyers closed escrow on Las Vegas Short Sales in January.

So... while cash is king when it comes to Bank Owned Homes, Listing agents advising their clients on short sales are giving the FHA buyers a shot. Representing buyers that are using FHA financing... my experience has been that they have a far greater chance of getting an accepted contract on a desirable home listed as a short sale then a Bank Owned Home.

For Las Vegas Real Estate Sellers who may have to do a short sale

If you need to do a short sale... right now may be the absolute best time to put your Las Vegas home up for sale. The Federal Reserve is planning on backing off of buying up Mortgage Backed Securities with the current dirt cheap interest rates and planning on the private sector to step up. Interest rates are projected to go up which means the buying power for buyers is going to go down.

Also, (as of right now) the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit is scheduled to end and buyers must have a home in contract by 04/30/2010 and closing by 09/30/2010. As there was in October / November of 2009 - there will be a rush of buyers in March / April.

As reported above -- Short Sales are still taking a significant amount of time but the new HAFA Short Sales Program is rolling out which shows that the Government and Loan Servicers are now FINALLY taking short sales seriously as a solution to help slow down the wave of foreclosures.

I was right about the Making Home Affordable Program when it was announced and due to my experience and reviewing the full 53 page HAFA Short Sale guidelines report, I think I'll be right that the new program will help when it comes to Las Vegas Short Sales. The HAFA Short Sale program goes officially into effect on April 5th. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have their own HAFA short sale versions rolling out later on around August that will be similar in nature.

With years of Las Vegas short sale experience and multiple short sales closed, I can certainly help you in consulting to see if a short sale is right for you. I not only have taken several Las Vegas short sale listings (the majority of which sold in the past year) but I also represent buyers in selecting which ones to go after which have a very high rate of success due to knowing which ones are a waste of time to begin with... and which ones to go after.

Undecided with loads of legal questions? Contact me for an Attorney reference for FREE legal advice on which alternative (Loan Modification, Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Short Sale or Bankruptcy) will be the best for you.

For the most part, Las Vegas Real Estate Agents are NOT Attorneys and should not be giving you Legal Advice. Giving Legal Advice is a sign of INEXPERIENCE in Las Vegas in Las Vegas Short Sales. The True Experts have an arsenal of references to the experts for you to utilize.

Use the Contact information below to get started with moving on in Life with somebody who may not tell you everything you want to hear... but what you need to hear.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group - REALTORS
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058

*Information on Las Vegas MLS activity is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Sales numbers do not reflect For Sale by Owners or direct sales. Even if the information is not 100% exact... it is a pretty accurate reflection of what is going on in the Las Vegas short sale real estate market... or is it the Las Vegas Real Estate short sale market?

Don't be "shorted" when it comes to moving forward.