LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said June was the fifth straight month that the area saw a jump in the price of existing homes in the area.
The five-month stretch of price increases is the longest since 2004, realtors noted. They attribute tightening inventory as a reason for the price jumps.
"Banks are putting far fewer homes on the market than they did in past years," GLVAR President Kolleen Kelley said. "This is leading to a very tight housing supply that is pushing up prices – at least for now."
"Only time will tell if these recent price increases prove to be somewhat artificial. I think it depends largely on how banks handle the mortgage defaults in their portfolios," Kelley added.
Realtors said the median price of single-family homes sold last month was $131,785, which amounted to a 3 percent jump from the price in May. That also amounted to a nearly 6 percent jump from the median price a year ago.
In June, only 3,945 homes, condos and townhomes were sold, which is down from May's total of 4,134 and June 2011's total of 4,540.
Despite the dip, Kelley noted existing home sales are ahead of 2011's record pace of 48,186 sold homes in the Las Vegas-area.
Realtors also noted bank-owned homes accounted for 27.8 percent of all existing home sales in June, which was down from May.
"Since banks have been encouraging short sales and doing fewer foreclosures, short sales have finally surpassed [the sale of] foreclosures," Kelley said. "And since short sales are a better alternative than a foreclosure for homeowners and for our neighborhoods, we think this is a good thing."
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