As a result of the dense Las Vegas home inventory outweighing the sales rate, home prices in the metro area continued to get more affordable at the end of 2011, Vegas Inc reports.
According to the most recent Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices in Las Vegas fell 0.8 percent in December from the previous month, while declining 8.8 percent on an annual basis.
As a result of this continuous decline, prices in the city are now close to levels unseen since the beginning of 1997. It's believed a high rate of foreclosures in Las Vegas continues to be a driving factor behind the dropping home prices. This high foreclosure rate may have a direct link to the city's unemployment rate of 12.7 percent, which could be preventing homeowners from making their monthly mortgage payments.
While this decline in home prices is not the most promising news for current homeowners, it has created an opportunity for entry-level homebuyers to purchase homes for sale in Las Vegas at bargain prices that they would not have been able to afford at the housing market's peak.
