By HUBBLE SMITH REVIEW-JOURNAL:More than half of Las Vegas home sales in March were foreclosures or short sales, the president of Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said Monday.

The association reported 1,478 escrow closings for single-family homes during the month, a 34.6 percent increase from February. It was the third straight monthly increase. Sales are down 7.9 percent from the same month a year ago.

"What an increase we had in March," association President Patty Kelley said. "People are coming outside, the weather's getting warm and they've heard doom and gloom all winter long. There's some great deals out there, and they're not going to last forever."

She said foreclosure homes are getting multiple offers. It's taking longer for banks to approve sales and for buyers to close escrow.

"It's starting to become a feeding frenzy," Kelley said. "The banks, the title and escrow companies are backed up. They laid off all their people and now they don't have the staff to handle the volume. We could get foreclosures and short sales out of the inventory. We have buyers coming back, but the banks can't act fast enough."

What did the Realtor say upon being informed of an imminent nuclear holocaust?

"Now is the best time to buy!"

As a Realtor, I believe I have earned the right to poke fun at my profession in good light hearted humor. I have been around many a conversation where Realtors are being touted as always saying "It is a great time to buy Real Estate!" Lets face it, I have heard it all up to this point.

Your probably asking yourself "Why the joke to start off the blog entry?" Well the answer is very simple, what if that joke and other media rhetoric caused people to abstain from the market? Today most people are immune to the fact that this may very well be a great time to buy Real Estate. Everyday mainstream media spanks Real Estate with their flame thrower and everyday I find properties that have multiple offers on them. Coincidence? I think not. So I pose to you the question, "Why not buy a home for 250K that sold for 375K a year ago?"

In the past I have referred to this market transition as the "Real Estate Steals Era." As much as I would enjoy a pat on the shoulder about this ingenius marketing ploy, it is very simplistic in nature. If your looking to get a steal of a deal on a home, it appears now is the time to do it. Want to buy a million dollar home in Lake Las Vegas? How much do you want to pay? If your looking in the 600K to 750K range, they are out there for the taking.

Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors President Patty Kelly is optimistic about our Real Estate future here in Las Vegas. The numbers speak for themselves and they are indicating people are ready to buy in Las Vegas The fact of the matter is, if you could sum up this blog entry, "There's some great deals out there, and they're not going to last forever."(GLVAR President Patty Kelley)

Last week we wrote about how the Las Vegas Market may be hitting the bottom. Our blog entry titled "Has Las Vegas Real Estate Hit The Bottom? Analyst Dennis Smith Believes It Has" shared some real world experiences on the Real Estate battlefield. We took you behind "agent lines" to express what real world agents are going through in our market. These days we are seeing many multiple offer situations from everyday buyers and investors alike. Do they know something we do not know? Perhaps they undertand our market correction and want to capitalize on the shift to realistic housing prices.

The information is now in your hands and you have the task of deciphering whether or not this is indeed a great opportunity to buy or just another Realtor punchline. There are more Real Estate Buyers and Investors than there are comedians, so keep that in mind when you are considering the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.