Las Vegas is one city where it’s no longer possible to nab a great deal on a foreclosed home anymore as the number of these homes has shrunk considerably.

Tim Kelly of Max Extreme in Las Vegas was one of the first people to comment on the situation, and he said that homes which previously only cost around $80,000-$125,000 are now being fought over with multiple offers. This situation points to the fact that the number of foreclosed homes on the market has decreased overall.

But should buyers really be surprised? The global economic recession and the bursting of the housing bubble in 2007 seems all but a distant memory now. It’s no secret that the number of people losing their homes has decreased all across the nation as the economic situation has eased slightly. This means that there are naturally going to be fewer homes available for foreclosure deals.

There has been a significant decrease in the number of bank-owned homes available in general, though. Figures presented by the Multiple Listing Service have shown that there has been a decrease of 40% in the number of bank-owned homes on the market from March of 2011; 1,437 homes in 2012 down from 2,643 homes in the previous year.

Forecasts for the number of foreclosed homes on the market look good for those who are worried about foreclosure though, as the robo-signing law came into play in October of 2011. This law means that banks now have to provide affidavits when they want to foreclose a home. This has largely been the cause of the number of bank-owned homes decreasing so significantly.

The first step of the foreclosure process is a notice of default. There were 3,364 of these in Las Vegas, the First American Title Insurance Company reported, but in January of 2012 this had dropped to a measly 195.

Tim Kelly said that this law had placed the banks at a significant disadvantage because the law now favors refusing to pay the mortgage on a house and remaining in one’s home because the banks are not going to be able to act quickly.

To an extent, this is true because if a family is facing foreclosure in Las Vegas then why would they leave their home willingly? It’s a desperate measure, but surely this law in Las Vegas will have to be looked at some point because the balance has now been placed too much in favor of the defaulting party?

Some people believe that the banks are purposely avoiding foreclosing lots of homes at the same time because then they will end up flooding the market with homes. But the number of default notices has, in fact, declined, so it has to be said that it’s more due to the fact that the economy is recovering and more and more vulnerable people are managing to recover and less because the banks have a master plan to make more money.

All of this is a mirroring of the nation as a whole, though, because the numbers of foreclosures are declining nationwide as the aftermath of the global economic downturn has steadily evaporated.