by Calculated Risk on 5/08/2014 03:31:00 PM

Note: Usually I ignore the median price because it can be skewed by the mix of homes sold.  I mention the median in this post because I'm looking for price increases to flatten out in Las Vegas because of the rapid increase in inventory - and the median might be an early indicator.

This is a key distressed market to follow since Las Vegas has seen the largest price decline of any of the Case-Shiller composite 20 cities.

The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported GLVAR reports slight dip in Southern Nevada home prices

GLVAR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada during April was $192,000, down 1.5 percent from $195,000 in March, but still up 15.0 percent from $167,000 in April of 2013.
...
According to GLVAR, the total number of existing local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in April was 3,215, up from 3,094 in March, but down from 3,789 one year ago.

GLVAR said 41.4 percent of all existing local homes sold in April were purchased with cash. That’s down from 43.1 percent in March, and well short of the February 2013 peak of 59.5 percent.
...
GLVAR continued to track the transition from distressed to more traditional home sales, where lenders are not controlling the transaction. GLVAR has been reporting fewer short sales – which occur when lenders allow borrowers to sell a home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. In April, 12.4 percent of all existing local home sales were short sales, down from 12.9 percent in March. Another 11.4 percent of all April sales were bank-owned properties, down from 11.9 in March.
...
The total number of single-family homes listed for sale on GLVAR’s Multiple Listing Service in April was 13,833. That’s down 0.8 percent from 13,944 in March and down 0.3 percent from one year ago. GLVAR reported a total of 3,697 condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS in April, down 0.1 percent from 3,701 listed in March, but up 6.1 percent from one year ago.

By the end of April, GLVAR reported 6,420 single-family homes listed without any sort of offer. That’s down 0.8 percent from 6,470 such homes listed in March, but a 103.1 percent jump from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 2,264 properties listed without offers in April represented a 1.4 percent decrease from 2,295 such properties listed in March, but a 79.5 percent increase from one year ago.
emphasis added

There are several key trends that we've been following:

1) Overall sales were down about 15% year-over-year.

2) Conventional (equity, not distressed) sales were up 12% year-over-year.  In April 2013, only 57.5% of all sales were conventional.  This year, in April 2014, 76.2% were conventional. 

3) The percent of cash sales is down year-over-year (investor buying appears to be declining).

4) Non-contingent inventory (year-over-year) continues to increase, but the year-over-year rate of increase is slowing.  Non-contingent inventory is up 103.1% year-over-year (more than double)!

Inventory has clearly bottomed in Las Vegas (A major theme for housing last year).  And fewer distressed sales and more inventory means price increases will slow (a major theme for 2014), and this might be showing up in the median price.