Las Vegas Settles Down

The once red-hot Las Vegas housing market is now showing signs of a return to normalcy, proving once again that markets do work, if they are allowed to function.

Larry Murphy, president of Sales Traq, a Las Vegas firm that tracks new housing production within the context of the whole housing market, reports prices are now on a plateau in both the new and resale housing sectors.

Because the number of new home subdivisions is now at a four-year high, demand may look like it's slowing to some builders. "It's not," says Murphy. "With 337 active subdivisions, average sales per subdivision slipped to 6.58 in October this year, the lowest point since January, but still healthy."