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June sales of existing and repossession properties in Las Vegas, Nevada reached 4,702, the highest since the June 2004’s 4,414, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

Local sales of single-family homes in June rose 16.3 percent from the previous month and 70 percent higher from the same month a year ago. Townhome and condominium sales increased to 917, almost thrice their numbers the previous year.

The home sales increase resulted to an 11.9 percent drop in home inventory in the area to 20,613 compared a year ago. Condominium inventory also dropped by 5,416 or 2.2 percent. Home Builders Research housing analyst Dennis Smith said that the affordability factor will continue to boost property resales for three more years.

Smith said that as long as home prices continue to drop, it can never be said that the housing market has reached the bottom.

Meanwhile, a market survey showed one out of five potential homebuyers are interested in purchasing deeply discounted repossession properties. Additionally, 15 percent of survey respondents want to buy distressed properties using the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers or other incentives.

The study noted that many Americans are aware that with the growing number of repossession properties in the market, there are many great deals to have. However, they are in dire financial situation that purchasing a home is the last think on their minds.

Some of those who are interested in purchasing a property believed that home prices would not drop further, while others are motivated by government incentives to make a purchase.

About third-quarter of respondents are concerned about their jobs, preventing them to consider making a purchase, while 16 percent are concerned about selling their present properties. Only 8 percent of respondents are concerned about the possibility that property prices will continue to fall.

On the other hand, industry experts believed that sales figures in Las Vegas would have been higher if lenders and banks did not imposed voluntary moratorium on repossession properties last year. They pointed out that the backlog of bank-owned properties will be most welcome by the housing market.

In June, about 3,460 repossession properties were closed in Las Vegas, more than twice the sales from June the previous year.

Lake Las Vegas is now one of many deluxe Las Vegas communities being downed by falling foreclosed property prices.

Last month, almost 10 percent of houses at the Lake Las Vegas development are already in foreclosed distresed property inventories or in short sale lists, according to property research firm Applied Analysis. Almost 80 percent of foreclosed property and short sale units are unoccupied.

Former property investor Ed Santacruz said his investment in Lake Las Vegas ruined his finances. He said he had to let his hotel-condo become a foreclosed property because he could not find anyone to lease the property to help him cover the mortgage payments.

Last year, Transcontinental Corp., the developer of Lake Las Vegas, lost the entire development to foreclosure after it failed to pay its $540 million loan. Subsequently, the new owners filed for bankruptcy. One of the development’s anchor hotels, operated by Village Hospitality, has also filed for bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure auction, and one of the three golf courses in the development has been abandoned.

Home values in the development have been falling as more and more units enter foreclosed property inventories.

The foreclosure of Lake Las Vegas was caused by the same factors that ruined other high-end developments in tourist-dependent areas. The community was developed to cater to tourists, vacation-home buyers and investors.

The desert resort living concept adopted by Lake Las Vegas was first envisioned by businessman J. Carlton Adair in the 1960s. He was the one who bought the land, but he became bankrupt before he realized his vision. Transcontinental took over the project in 1990.

Launce Rake, a spokesperson for the liberal watchdog Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said the development represented the excessive dreams of developers in recent years. Rake said that some high-end developers thought there was unlimited supply of investors willing to put their money in high-end homes.

Real estate broker Lynne Hoffman also invested in Lake Las Vegas, but she has not been able to sell her home despite cutting her price down by the thousands to $488,000.

Nevertheless, Frederick Chin, head of Atalon Group’s unit LLV Holdco LLC that now owns the development, said the firm will reposition the resort development to protect the interests of investors and homeowners.

Foreclosed property listings in Lake Las Vegas show that a condo purchased in 2004 for $359,000 is being sold at $76,900, a mansion purchased for $2.7 million in 2005 is now listed at $1.2 million and a condo sold in 2004 for $1.2 million is now offered for resale at only $389,000. Even the mansion bought by singer Celine Dion in 2002 for $1.2 million is now being sold at only about $795,000.