Metropolitan Las Vegas economy is moving along on a steady, slow course. In the last few months it has been up a little, then down a little, sort of trying to find a groove where to stay. The main reason to the moderate performance continues to be the weak residential real estate market that seems to be searching for something to grasp hold of to halt the slide.

The Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators edged lower in August by a minuscule 0.11%, reports the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV. The major contributors to the modest drop were new and existing home sales, each of which took a humorless dive from the figures a year ago. They were about 40% lower. Ouch.

On the other hand, a category that keeps on giving is the new residents. Over 6,000 people moved into the area last month and even though it's a little less than last year, it's still a solid number. These folks have to find housing somewhere in the valley and hopefully they'll start to turn those pathetic sales figures around.

Another bright spot is the total employment that went up around 2.0%. Residential construction, especially in the single-family sector, has seriously declined during the slump, but the strong commercial side has compensated for that loss. There are multiple condominium and resort projects under way, including MGM Mirage's CityCenter, the Turnberry Towers and the Trump International Hotel & Tower.

Once we get the housing segment straightened out, the index will begin climbing again.