SAN FRANCISCO (DQNews) -- Las Vegas home sales rose above a year ago for the 11th consecutive month in July as investors and first-time buyers - including many making "cash" deals - continued to target lower-cost, post-foreclosure properties. The overall median sale price fell nearly 4% from June, marking a low point for the decade and ending a brief period in which that price gauge and others had held steady, a real estate information service reported.

Nearly 70% of the Las Vegas homes and condos that resold in July were foreclosure resales, meaning those homes had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months. That was the same as in June but up from 62.5% in July 2008. Foreclosure resales peaked in April at 73.7% of total resales, according to MDA DataQuick. The San Diego firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

A total of 5,311 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County) last month, down 3.8% from June but up 28.5% from a year ago. It was the highest sales total for any July since 6,530 homes sold in July 2006.

July marked the 16th consecutive month in which sales of existing single-family detached houses rose on a year-over-year basis. The 3,925 single-family house resales last month were the highest for any July since 4,555 sold in July 2005. Resale Las Vegas condos have seen an annual sales gain for 13 straight months and in July sales were the highest for that month since 2005.

Sales of Las Vegas new homes remain extremely slow, largely because home builders can't compete with discounted foreclosure resales. Last month's 430 new-home sales fell 9.5% from June and fell 44.7% below a year ago. July's new-home total fell about 74% short of the average number sold in that month since 1994, when DataQuick's complete Las Vegas region statistics begin. The lowest month for new-home closings was January 2009, when 249 sold.

The median price paid for resale single-family detached houses - by far the region's largest home-type category - is one of the best gauges of overall price trends. That median also fell in July, declining to $135,100 after holding at $140,000 during May and June. Last month's resale house median was the lowest since it was $135,000 in June 2000. It stood 56.7% below its $312,250 peak in June 2006.

Another price gauge analysts watch fell in July after flattening out in May and June: The median paid per square foot for resale single-family detached houses dipped to $75 in July, down from $177 in May and June and down 34.2% from a year ago. July's figure was 60.6% lower than the $190 peak reached in June 2006.

Las Vegas foreclosures will continue to play a leading role in the Las Vegas housing market for the foreseeable future, mainly by keeping downward pressure on prices and by luring investors and first-time buyers. In July, 3,683 houses and condos were lost to foreclosure in Clark County, up 1.7% from June and up 26% from a year ago. It was the second-highest monthly total, behind 3,718 this February, since foreclosures began to surge in 2006. The figures are based on the number of trustees deeds filed with the county recorder's office. The document signals that a home was lost to foreclosure.

Tags: Las Vegas Real Estate Homes For Sale Homes Condos Foreclosures

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