Home Prices Remain Frozen, Positive Outcome is Possible

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Reports from the outside regarding Las Vegas real estate are more than encouraging; the only issue is the fact that the good news is not for local residents. The Montreal Gazette reports that the continued recession in which the Vegas market currently finds itself has created an attractive buying environment for… Canadians. It’s a market in which housing prices allow a Canadian resident to buy a $50,000 property and then get a hefty monthly rate for it, as pointed out by broker Steve Martel from Ottawa, a professional who was quoted by The Gazette.

That kind of advice looks pretty solid seeing as home princes have again failed to go up in the Las Vegas area. As shown previously by the results of Standard and Poors’ Case Shiller Home Price Index, and now by a private survey cited by The Las Vegas Review-Journal, prices are not doing so well.

Although price increases have been recorded around the country, Las Vegas is still struggling to find its groove. Forecasts are decent with future decreases, if any, being negligible. According to local real estate professionals, despite overall positive numbers recorded until now, Las Vegas can in no way match up with other major cities that have not been hit as hard as Sin City. For example, 21,866 is the number of single-family homes available for sale in the Multiple Listing Service in September; and 3.8 is the decrease in percentage compared to that same month in 2010.