Why are there so many houses for sale without listings?

Q: GLVAR's stats show 12,379 (local housing) units out of a total of 22,570 available -- more than 50 percent of all listings in Las Vegas -- have no offers of any sort. Is that normal? -- Rob H., New Jersey

A: As you suggest, the latest local housing statistics from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors through the month of October do show an increase in the number of homes listed for sale without any sort of pending or contingent offer on them.

In fact, by the end of October, GLVAR reported 12,379 single-family homes listed without any sort of offer. That's an increase of 4.1 percent from September and an increase of 53.3 percent from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 3,314 properties listed without offers in October represented an increase of 5.2 percent from last month and 75.9 percent from last year.

This is something we're watching closely, but I'm not overly concerned about this statistic.

Personally, I have been saying for months that these year-over-year comparisons in our local housing statistics can be a bit deceiving since this year's data is being compared to a time last year when local home sales and prices were being sparked by the federal tax credit that was being offered to first-time homebuyers. What's more, in October of 2009, that federal tax credit had just been extended to include move-up homebuyers as well.

Compared to one year ago, GLVAR's statistics in the fall of 2010 have shown some decreases in median price and total home sales. Again, this is not surprising.

In many cases, I think our local housing statistics show that the tax credit for homebuyers prompted many buyers to purchase homes sooner than they would have, cutting into the demand for housing today.

I can see why you and other observers are asking about the percentage increase in this inventory category. But I think it's also worth noting that overall inventory is not increasing much.

In fact, GLVAR reported that the total number of homes listed for sale on its Multiple Listing Service actually declined slightly from September to October. GLVAR reported a total of 22,570 single-family homes listed for sale at the end of October. That's down 0.7 percent from 22,719 single-family homes listed for sale at the end of September, but up 7.5 percent from one year ago.

I know all these statistics can be confusing. To put this into perspective for the average reader, local homeowner or prospective buyer, I think it's safe to say we see the local housing market continuing to bounce along the bottom. Consider that home prices have been relatively stable now for nearly two years.

I always hesitate to make bold predictions. But if I had to bet, I'd bet that local housing prices are more likely to rise than fall in the coming year or two.

And GLVAR's statistics suggest that many well-funded and traditionally savvy buyers agree, paying cash for affordably priced homes at a record rate.

I think it's telling that the percentage of local homes purchased with cash continues to approach half of all home sales, accounting for 46.5 percent of all sales in October, up from 45.4 percent in September.

We're not aware of any other major city in the nation that has seen such a high percentage of cash buyers for such a prolonged period of time. I think this speaks volumes about our housing market and how well-funded buyers believe that prices here will eventually appreciate.

For more information on local real estate issues, and Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors' latest local housing statistics, consult a qualified local Realtor or visit lasvegasrealtor.com.