April Las Vegas home sales stagnate and prices slump: DataQuick

Las Vegas home sales in April were essentially flat over April 2010 with just a 0.4% uptick, while prices slumped 13% as foreclosures continued to dominate the market, according to DataQuick. About 4,500 new and resale homes and condos sold in the Las Vegas metropolitan area last month, down 9.5% from March. The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold was $116,500, sliding 13% from a year earlier and down 0.4% from March. It was the seventh consecutive month in which the median price fell year-over-year, and the magnitude of the decline was the highest in since the median fell 17.2% year-over-year in February 2010. Still, sales hit a five-year high in April, as investors and cash buyers flocked to the distressed market. DataQuick attributed the slight growth in sales to an influx of cash-only purchases. In April, 54.1% of sales transactions involved cash buyers, up slightly from 54% in March and up from 47.6% a year earlier. Cash buyers paid a median $90,000 for a home last month, according to the San Diego-based research firm. Prices are continually trending downward due to the amount of distressed sales every month. DataQuick said about 62% of all market sales in Las Vegas were attributable to distressed properties in April. This sector also made up 68% of the resale market. DataQuick reported a slight rise in the number of foreclosed properties in April. Lenders foreclosed on 3,682 single-family homes and condos during the month, up 8.9% from February and up 11.2% from April 2010. Write to Christine Ricciardi. Follow her on Twitter @HWnewbieCR.