LAS VEGAS 2012 -- THE YEAR OF THE
SHORT SALE?

According to prominent local real
estate groups the shrinking inventory
of bank-owned homes will make the
market lean more toward short sales
in 2012.

Election year pressures and the new
Nevada law making foreclosures more
difficult is certain to increase the
number of short sales.

The Las Vegas Association of Realtors
reported 44,633 home sales through
November 2011, showing stabilization
in Southern Nevada's housing market.

Realtors are closely monitoring notices
of default, the first step in foreclosures,
to ascertain the effects of the new
Nevada law which so far has slowed the
default notices process.

There has been a notable shift from
bank-owned closings in favor of short
sales and traditional sales such as
cash transactions and new mortgages.

The bank-owned inventory is down about
50 percent from a year ago. Homes for
sale on the Multiple Listing Service
decreased from 15,855 a year ago to
11,086 in November with 47 percent of
them listed as short sales.

We expect to see an uptick in short sales
this year as banks have streamlined
approvals. Whereas short sales took 8
months to a year to get approved a couple
of years ago, some are completed within
a week now.