The Goad Team's Blog

For this months Las Vegas Market Update there is good news and more good news.  We have been tracking the number of Listings and number of sales since May of 2007 to keep a better eye on the market and any changes that have been taking place and here are those figures...

Month 2007	# of Sales	# of Resale Homes on the Market
May	2,080	27,541
June	1,961	28,185
July	1,735	28,864
August	1,701	29,290
September	1,273	29,942
October	1,234	30,314
November	1,479	27,851

So what do we mean by good news and more good news?  Well if your a seller in the Las Vegas market...The good news is that the number of listings on the resale market if finally DECLINING.  As you can see above the number of homes on the market has steadily been increasing from May-October.  Also note that during that period the number of sales has been declining.  HOWEVER for the month of November the number of Sales increased, while the number of homes on the market has declined.  This is great news for sellers in that while it is still a "Buyer's Market" there are some slight signs of improvement.

So what about the news for Buyers?  Again while there has been a slight improvement in the market for sellers, we still are in a "Buyer's Market" with plenty of great deals out there.  Many buyers ask us "Should we wait to buy at this time?"  This is a very complex question because it depends on a lot of variables.  We believe prices will continue to decline for a bit longer. HOWEVER with that being said Mortgage Lenders are continuing to tighten their guidelines, in other words making it tougher and tougher to qualify for a loan.  I have seen buyers get turned down for a mortgage loan over the last month that would have qualified 3-6 month ago.  So if you wait for prices to decline a little more, by the time they decline you may not be able to qualify for a loan at that time, whereas today you may be able to.  The key thing in this market it to get a great deal on a home and get it today.  For example...lets say you buy a home today at 15% below market value and you qualify for a mortgage today.  You would still be better off than waiting 6 month (and for purposes of this example lets assume prices will decline another 10%) and then you find out at that time you can no longer qualify for a mortgage loan, due to fact that the lenders have tightened their guidelines again. 

Now obviously if you have excellent Credit, Great Income, Verifiable Assets and Income, etc. the lenders tightening their guidelines is not as big of an issue and you may indeed want to wait a little longer before buying.  But if you are like most people in Las Vegas that have Less than perfect Credit, a moderate income, and maybe work for tips that you cannot verify, etc. there may be a good chance of not only missing out on a get a great deal, but you may no longer be able to buy.

Call a member of The Goad Team today and we can go over your individual situation and help you decide if Now is a good time to buy for you, or if you should wait a little longer.  We are always here to help.