The good news in Las Vegas real estate come from the resale segment where sales have been improving gradually all year. It's the new homes that are continuously finding it hard to attract buyers. The latest statistics for them aren't pretty.

For September, new home closings reached only 976 units which in turn add up to 8,292 for the year-to-date tally and that is a steep 46.7% drop from last year, reports Home Builders Research. Another way to look at the decline is to compare the third quarter sales of 2,545 to the all-time top performer that was the fourth quarter in 2005 with 11,198 units sold. A significant shift. These numbers are very indicative where this once high-flying market sector now is.

Weak demand is also dragging down the price of new houses, as expected. The median value fell to $251,000 in September, a 2% loss from August and down 20% from this time last year. The pattern here is the same as with existing property although the median price disparity between them is rather wide. The resale median price is now below $200,000.

And that's where the big problem is for the new home. Resale values have become outright attractive in recent months, especially in the lower end of the scale, and they are selling well. Successfully marketing new homes being built in the out-lying suburbs isn't that easy either. Often the builder is also working on lots it bought at the peak of the market and in this deflating environment cannot bring the price below certain point without facing a loss.

This of course has forced many builders out of the market altogether or at least pushed them to the sidelines to wait out the storm. Indeed, the feeling in town is that new home demand is slowly building up behind the scenes and once the market stabilizes and mortgage loans again become reasonable to acquire they'll be ready.