Las Vegas home sales jump

Local home sales jumped and prices edged slightly lower in March compared to the previous month and year.

"Local homes were already selling at a strong pace, but sales increased significantly in March," said GLVAR President Paul Bell. "As for the slight decrease in median home prices last month, I think real estate investors are influencing that statistic because they tend to buy lower-priced homes, which are generally owned by banks."

According to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, 51.4 percent of all existing homes sold in Southern Nevada during March were purchased with cash. That's down from 53.8 percent in February.

As long as local home prices remain so affordable and lending standards remain relatively stringent, Bell said he expects the percentage of cash buyers to hover near record levels.

The total number of local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in March was 4,316. That's up from 3,371 total sales in February and up from 3,989 total sales one year ago.

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