Las Vegas Homes News: New Home Sales Up, However Pace Stays Slow

For a second straight month in
April, a lot of people purchased new homes, many of which are Las Vegas homes, which is a positive sign.
However, sales stay far beneath the pace of a strong housing market.

The Commerce Department told Tuesday,
new home sales increased 7.3 percent last month to seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 323,000. A pace of about 700,000 new-home sales a month is what
a normal housing market would generate.

People have
slight motivation to purchase new Las Vegas homes, in part since they’re
relatively costly. The average cost of a new home increase more than
2 percent from March to $217,900. New-home prices are more than 30
percent higher the median price of re-sales twice the usual markup.

Michael Gapen, senior U.S.
economist at Barclays Capital told, “This was a better-than-expected
report, but at the same time I am hesitant to read too much into it. Total home
sales remain well below their longer-term healthy levels.”

Going back 47 years, Americans purchased the
least number on records last year. Eminent unemployment, tight
credit and a lingering fear that prices will fall further have deterred a lot
of would-be purchasers. 

However, chief economist with
Metrostudy, Brad Hunter, remarked that the number of foreclosures has reduced
in some areas due to backlogged state courts. As a consequence builders in
attractive locales are “increasing prices, signifying some recovery in those
submarkets.”            

After dangerous winter weather had forged a lot of
areas on winter, new Las Vegas home purchases lifted in every region last
month. Sales increased more than 15 percent in the West, 7.7 percent in the
Northeast, almost 5 percent in the Midwest and more than 4 percent in the
South. 

In order to illustrate a little
that more homes had been sold, purchases for the recent 3 months were also
revised. 

Since record keeping started in
1963, the number of new homes on the market is at its down point-about 174,000.
It would acquire 6.5 months to clear them off the market at present pace of
sales. That would be the most minimal supply in a year.

However, analyst told the supply
of new homes for sale is being kept normally low. A healthy level for home
building is far below.

Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo told,
“Builders stay hesitant to raise inventories, as they face hard competition
from foreclosures.”