According to Mark Stark, owner of Prudential Americana LLC (one of the largest Prudential franchisees in the country), the Las Vegas real estate market has made a full return to traditional sales. In February 2014, bank foreclosures and short sales combined only made up a meager 14% of total closed transactions.
This is due in large part to the failure of Congress to extend the Mortgage Debt Relief Act at the end of 2014. This Act allowed short sale homeowners to avoid paying taxes on the unpaid balance of their loan when they sold for less than what was owed. Instead, these potential sellers are opting to stay in their homes and make the payments rather than be faced with one huge tax bill.
And, though it is possible (anticipated?) that Congress will
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