Prices edged up slightly from the previous month according to the Greater Las Vegas Association
of Realtors.

Realtors sold 2,890 single family homes during the month, a 10.1 percent decrease from June and
a 8.7 decrease from the same month a year ago.

The median price rose 0.9 percent during the month, to $133,000, the sixth straight month of increasing
prices, up 9 percent from a year ago.

Some housing market observers believe that the price increase is artificially induced and that prices
will fall again when lenders start unloading their"shadow inventory."

CoreLogic financial analysis firm estimates 58,000 Las Vegas homes are in some stage of default.

Association President Kelley said, "I think lenders are trying to get hold of people in default and go
through with the short sale."

The latest statistics show that about 40 percent of closings are short sales. Foreclosures have
dropped to about 20 percent of closings, compared with a high of nearly 50 percent in recent years.

The largest quarter over quarter gains in asking prices were recorded in Tuscon, San Jose and
Phoenix. Las Vegas was up among the top ten gainers with a 4.5 percent increase of asking
prices in the second quarter, with none of the metro areas in Florida on the list.

The median price for 3,496 new listings in Las Vegas and Henderson in July was $149,500,
up 3.2 percent from June and up 15.1 percent from July a year ago.

The inventory of single family homes available for sale in Las Vegas without a pending offer
grew 16.3 percent to 4,293 units in July, down 60 percent from a year ago.

There were 682 condo and townhome sales in July at a median price of $66,500, down 3.2 percent
from the previous month, but a 12.7 jump from a year ago.

One Las Vegan has made nine propositions since February. He's hired professionals to help him
find the right house. Four banks have pre-qualified him.

Yet, every time he's made an offer on a home, someone else has swooped in, usually an investor
with cash, often with a higher bid -- to snatch the property from his clutches.

He recently offered $138,500 for a $124,900 house and got rejected, his bid being the third highest.

A local realtor said that "Las Vegas is a buyer's market only in regard to price. In reality, it's
practically impossible for someone relying on a mortgage to buy here today. There are just too many people chasing too few homes."

In a clash between between cash investors and mortgage backed buyers, the financed buyer loses
almost every time. In the past 10 months or so, according to this realtor, more than 90 percent of his sales on homes priced at $125,000 have gone to cash buyers.

Investors dominate the game. Cash has long reigned in the local Las Vegas and Henderson housing market. The Vegas association of Realtors reported in February 2011 that cash buyers made up 51 percent of all local buyers. It was the first time that cash transactions were the majority of sales here or perhaps anywhere in the country according to officials.

This trend has intensified -- numbers show that 54 percent of buyers paid cash in June.

Investors remain hot in the Las Vegas market because homes are undervalued. The median home price for a
single family home was $131,785 in June down from a peak of $290,000 in fall 2006, and below a national
average of $190,100.

Investors can even find better deals on attached housing. Among townhomes and condos, the local
median price was $69,000 in June, compared with $205,000 in mid-2006.

Two year high set in May followed by 8.4 percent drop in June. The steep decline suggests a weaker
job market and slower growth could make the housing recovery uneven.

Las Vegas based SalesTraq reported 353 new home sales in June, down from 413 in the prior month and
a 1.1 per cent decrease from the same month last year.

While the new numbers show moderation, new home closings in the past three months appear to be
signaling positive momentum, with total sales up 25 percent on a year to year basis.

As new home communities in Las Vegas have closed out in recent months and new ones have cropped up,
sales volume has remained relatively tight at 1.6 closings per subdivision in June.

Builders are more confident and are breaking ground on more homes. Mortgage rates are at record lows. And home prices have stabilized after losing a third of their value in six years.

Sales of previously occupied homes fell in June to their lowest level since October. But sales were up 4.5 percent from a year ago.

Low inventory is holding back sales. Nationally, there were 144,000 new homes for sale in June, just above May's 143,000, the lowest on record since 1963. At the current pace, it would take 4.9 months to exhaust the June supply.

A six month supply is generally considered healthy by economists.

In Las Vegas, the median price of a new home was $196,500 in June, compared with $197,945 in May.

Reduced inventory is pushing up overall home prices. The median price of a new home, however, fell 1.9
percent in June from May to $232,600.

Home builders in Las Vegas and Henderson pulled 648 new home permits in June, 41.8 percent increase
from a year ago.

Although concerns about the shadow inventory of foreclosures, underwater homes and a stubbornly high unemployment rate exist, Home Builders Research Friday reported 438 new home sales in June at a median price of $194,490, a 3 percent decrease from a year ago.

"The slight drop is nothing to worry about said Dennis Smith, President. Year over year comparisons have been bouncing up and down for some time. "

"I was a little surprised at the price drop. I think the number of new home sales and prices are actually lagging demand. Looking at permits, I think we will probably see 600 to 650 new home sales in the next few months."

"I think we have settled into a level of activity on new homes that we will see into the rest of the year."

Existing home sales continue to post big monthly numbers with 4,297 recorded resales in June, bringing the six month total to 25,626, a 12 percent increase from a year ago. The median price is up $10,000, up 9.1 percent, at $120,000.

Smith questions what seems to be an "artificially induced" recovery. The biggest factor driving the recovery is a shrinking inventory of homes available for sale, which nobody saw coming a year ago.

According to Core Logic there are still 55,600 homeowners in Las Vegas and Henderson delinquent on their mortgages by 90 days or more, and 61 percent have negative equity in their home. And that doesn't include those who have not yet received a notice of default and are living in their homes without making payments.

That means Las Vegas could see another 75,000 homes in the so called "shadow inventory" that have not yet gone through the foreclosure process.

Home sellers are thriving in San Jose, San Francisco and Las Vegas, where price cuts are relatively uncommon and homes are sold often at or near their asking price according to a spokesman at Zillow.com.

On the other end of the spectrum, Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland are still buyer's markets with homes taking longer to sell and buyers getting an average discount of 5 percent off the asking price.

Zillow analyzed data on sales-to-list price ratios, the number of days listings spent on Zillow and the percent
of homes on the market with a price cut and ranked the 50 largest metro areas.

Las Vegas came in at 0.995 on the sales to list price ratio or half a percent difference between the sale and
list price, and only 18 percent of listings saw a reduction in May. That compares with a 0.949 ratio in Chicago where 40 percent of list prices were reduced in May.

A seller's market is not necessarily one in which home values are rising, but one in which sellers are more
likely to sell their home for close to asking price and where listings spend less time on the market.

A buyer's market is one in which buyers have more bargaining power, thanks to listings lingering longer
on the market and being forced to cut asking prices.

The Las Vegas Realty Association reported that the median single family home price was $131,785 for
June, the fifth straight month of increasing prices.

Banks are putting fewer foreclosure homes on the market than they did in previous years, which is
leading to a tight housing supply that's pushing up prices at least temporarily according to the group's
President.

"It's very competitive out there, people are having to deal with multiple offers. Investors are still out
there because people who foreclosed or went to short sales have to rent for a couple of years so
the rental market is heating up."

Home sales fell in June as the inventory of single family homes for sale continued to decline.

The median home price increased 5.9 percent from a year ago to $131,785, the fifth straight month of
rising prices. It's the highest median price since December 2010.

Single family home sales dropped to 3,214 in June, an 11.4 decrease from the same month a
year ago, while 731 townhomes and condos were sold, down nearly 20 percent from a year ago.

Short sales pushed higher to 1,350 in June, or 34.2 percent of all sales. The number of real
estate or bank owned homes sales fell to 1,097 homes, or 27.8 percent of all sales.

Inventory of single family homes available for sale in June fell to 25.4 percent to 16,930. Of these,
3,690 homes are available without a pending or contingent offer.

The good news for people wanting to sell their homes if the 11.5 increase in the median price of
new listings which went to $144,900. The median price for real estate owned homes rose 5.4 percent
to $118,000, while short sale prices dipped to 1.2 percent to $117,250.

Most of these contracts were written 60 days ago or more, and don't reflect today's prices, said the
President of the Realtors Group.

"Overall, prices are going up a bit but I don't know if its going to sustain itself. It depends how the
lenders handle the remaining inventory of REOs."

She said the banks are giving incentives for short sales, including $3,000 in relocation expenses, to
avoid going into foreclosure.

Maybe the banks are starting to figure it out. Instead of dealing with the legal challenges and expense of
foreclosures banks are now approving more short sales, or homes sold for less than the principal
mortgage balance.

According to David Brownell of Keller Williams Realty of Las Vegas, for the first time since the foreclosure
crisis struck Las Vegas five years ago, short sales closings outnumbered foreclosures in May.

He reported 1,289 short sales closings during the month compared with 1,275 real estate owned or
bank owned closings. Foreclosures accounted for more than half of all existing home sales over the
last few years, while short sales bounced between 20 and 25 per cent. Now they are about even at 32
percent each.

The shift in sales could be attributed to the robo signing law passed last year which requires lenders
to provide an affidavit of authority to foreclose.

Bownell said, "look for the shift to continue in the coming months, as the momentum for short sales
has been on the increase for many months even before the bill was passed."

"Pressures from all levels of government have encouraged banks to seek other solutions other
than foreclosures."

"I hate to say it, but are there more foreclosures to come? It is my opinion that the answer is yes, said
a spokesman for Wells Fargo."


The tricky part is getting mortgage investors on board.About 70 percent of Wells Fargo 10 million mortgage
holders portfolio are backed by government sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD.

"So, at the end of the day, it's not up to the banks, it's up to the investors to accept a short sale."

Bank of America has completed more than 200,000 short sales in the last two years.

Brownell said that the real estate market has yet to feel the full impact of the robo-signing law.

Lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings against more U.S. homeowners in May, setting the stage
for increases in home repossessions and short sales - scenarios that could further weigh down
home sales in coming months.

Default or home auction notices were filed for the first time against 109,051 homes last month. That's
an increase of 12 percent from April and up 16% versus May last year, according to RealtyTrac.

The firm monitors documents filed on properties with mortgages that have gone unpaid. Once that
process begins, homes can end up foreclosed, sold at auction or via a short sale.

May was the first month since January 2010 that the number of homes on the foreclosure path rose
on an annual basis.

This data reflects how banks and mortgage servicers have been stepping up efforts this year to address
unpaid mortgages.

Notably, cities and states that have been foreclosure hotbeds throughout the housing downturn - Las Vegas, Nevada, California and Arizona - each reported sharp annual declines in home repos last month.

One factor: banks are increasingly opting to resolve foreclosure via short sales.

A $25 billion settlement reached in February between the nation's largest banks and mortgage lenders cleared the way for banks to move against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

Some 33 states saw annual increases in homes entering the foreclosure process last month, with New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida posting the biggest gains.

Some 8.7 million U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process between January 2007 and last month. Of
these 4.3 million homes ended up being foreclosed.

"The trend we are seeing is actually short sales becoming the preferred method for many lenders, rather than bank repos."

Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh announced on Wednesday that the company will be handing it's Kentucky operations over to it's parent company Amazon.com.

This decision is a result of the company's focus on downtown Las Vegas redevelopment efforts and it's impending move of 1,300 workers from Henderson into the former City Hall building.

Zappos has two warehouses in Kentucky that it had expected to soon outgrow. Rather than buy another warehouse, the company decided to fold it's distribution facilities into Amazon's existing network.

Amazon acquired Zappos in 2009. Zappos will retain control of it's 6pm outlet store in Kentucky.

Hsieh said about 2,000 Zappos employees will by September transfer to Amazon, a move which comes with a 5 percent average bump in overall compensation.

Though the changes are happening far from Las Vegas, they will have big ramifications for the company's headquarters city. "This allows us to focus more on what we are doing for our campus relocation."

The company will now enlist the help of Craig Adkins, who was overseeing the Kentucky operations, for downtown redevelopment efforts. Adkins will contribute his warehouse and logistics knowledge to startups with the Downtown Project, a Zappos related revitalization group led by Hsieh.

Zappos is adding a photo studio to its downtown headquarters for product and clothing photo shoots. The studio is an expansion.

"This is all part of our strategic plan for Zappos to help transform downtown Las Vegas as a hub for entrepreneurs."

Shedding it's Kentucky operations does not mean that Zappos will be giving over the rest of business to Amazon. Operations in Las Vegas and San Francisco will be run independently of the online Amazon.

"This is driven by the fact that Amazon is extremely excited about our efforts to revitalize downtown Las Vegas and set the stage to ultimately bring more technology and innovation to the Vegas community, which will only help Zappos in the long run."

While development remains fairly moribund in the rest of the Las Vegas valley, there's suddenly
a diverse array of projects in various states of planning and completion downtown.

Here are just a few --

The Econo Lodge at 1150 Las Vegas Blvd. south is being sold to a non-profit group which will
link up with the Las Vegas Urban League, Lutheran Social Services of Nevada and other non-profits to
offer transitional housing for veterans along with medical and social services for that population.

Variety Early Learning Center will move from 990 D St. to the former Nevada State Museum at 700 Twin
Lakes Drive, for kids from 2 months to school age to help them prepare for kindergarten.

The Las Vegas Gateway Project will add a commercial development that will revitalize the area while retaining
it's Latin feel. There is approval for a 90,595 square foot shopping center at at the Northwest corner of Charleston and Fremont.

At the same intersection, there is approval for 85 Urban Loft townhouse units.

Simon Malls received approval to build a 159,250 square foot addition to the existing outlet mall and expand the parking garage.

After years of financial limbo, Juhl Lofts at 4th St. and Bonneville Ave. seems ready to go.

There is approval for a 14 story mixed use building with 257 units and 7,580 square feet of commercial space at Casino Center and Coolidge Ave. and approval for a 1,200 unit residential project at Charleston and 4th St.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans a big office building at Las Vegas Blvd. and Clark. Perhaps
employees will want to live near work and will push up housing demand downtown.

The Zappo's affiliated Downtown Project has proposed a much discussed shipping container development at
Fremont and 7th Sts. The project will use actual steel shipping containers for bars, restaurants and such.

And here's hoping -- Solterra, a British Columbia based company, has approvals for 2 buildings at Hoover and
first St. -- a 50 story mixed use tower with 700 units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 14 story mixed use tower with 130 units and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.