Las Vegas June home sales hit record high- reports

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Sales of residential homes in Las Vegas, one of the hardest hit regions in the three-year U.S. housing slump, soared to a record high in June, according to published reports.

Sales of single-family homes and condominiums jumped nearly 87 percent to 4,702 in June from a year earlier, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors said on its Web site.

The total surpassed the previous peak in June 2004, Thomas Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting, who tracks regional housing data. A spokesman for the Las Vegas Realtor group did not return a call seeking comment.

The data may add to signs that the three-year housing slump that has wreaked havoc on the global financial system may be coming to an end. Nationwide, sales of previously owned homes increased for a second straight month in May, helping to cut the overhang of supply that has weighed on prices, the National Association of Realtors reported last month.

Analysts have noted that more affordable house prices and low interest rates are beginning to entice buyers looking for houses as a home or investment. Banks and mortgage companies heavy with costly inventory obtained via foreclosure have been eager to lower prices to draw buyers, boosting sales data.

The median Las Vegas house price of $140,000 was unchanged in June from May, and down 56 percent from three years ago, according to the Las Vegas realtors.

Even so, U.S. house prices are expected to drop further as rising unemployment exacerbates mortgage defaults and leads to more foreclosures. Nationwide, prices have declined about 33 percent since mid-2006, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. (Reporting by Albert Yoon; Editing by Christian Wiessner)