In February 2010 3,800 homes were auctioned via trustee sales in Clark County, but only 550 of these were bought by third parties. This is a continuation of the 2009 trend, when 3,000 sales took place at the trustee sales auctions during the last five months of the year – just a fraction of those up for auction. The majority of properties are priced uncompetitively at the price of the outstanding debt, and revert to the banks as Real Estate Owned, or have the auction canceled or postponed as a result of negotiations between the lender and homeowner.  Many of the properties that are acquired via Las Vegas trustee sales are quickly released onto the traditional real estate market by the investors that purchased them.

This heavy volume of product is likely to continue for at least two years as a result of:

• The estimated volume of shadow inventory
• Possibility of a new wave of foreclosures as the middle classes have trouble meeting mortgage payments
• Low likelihood of a rapid economic upturn

If there is artificial stimulus via government intervention then this may limit the flow of trustee sales.