By Hubble Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 07.20.2010

July 20--New-home sales in Las Vegas spiked to 972 in June, driven by 79 high-rise condominium sales and a rush to beat the June 30 escrow closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, which Congress extended at the eleventh hour.

June sales more than doubled the 476 figure from the same month a year ago, and the 2010 first-half total of 2,995 new-home sales is up 27 percent from a year ago, Home Builders Research reported Monday.

The firm counted 4,298 existing-home sales during the month, compared with 4,536 resales in June 2009. For the year, existing-home sales have increased 7.5 percent to 21,773.

While June's numbers are encouraging, Home Builders Research President Dennis Smith said he wouldn't be surprised if July figures drop to where they were earlier in the year.

"This will be the result of the market supporting itself without the aid of the tax credit," Smith said. "Look at what we've got, 900 (new-home) closings in June. That's double from past months, but I think most builders are realistic to the fact that the tax credit was a short-term fix."

There were 402 new-home building permits pulled in June, up from 368 a year ago. The six-month total of 2,862 permits represents an 82 percent increase from the year-ago period.

The median price of a new home declined for the third consecutive month to $186,957 in June, a 9.1 percent decrease from a year ago. Looking at price segments, Smith found that 63 percent of traditional new-home sales -- excluding high-rises -- were priced at less than $200,000; 28 percent were priced from $200,000 to $300,000; and 8 percent were priced above $300,000.

Resale median price rose $1,000 from a year ago to $126,000 in June. It's the first year-over-year increase in existing-home prices since first quarter 2007, but that's not to suggest the resale market is out of the woods yet, Smith said.

The long path to housing market recovery in Las Vegas is impeded by high foreclosure rates, short sales that take months for lender approval, record unemployment, tight lending policies and underwater mortgages, he said........read more