It is no secret the real estate market in Las Vegas has been volatile over the last decades or so, and now, a new Nevada law is putting the brakes on the number of foreclosures in the city and throughout the state. 

According to recent information, there were only 30 homes served with default notices in July and August, compared to nearly 400 on average for each of the six months prior.   Additionally, there were only 76 home auctions scheduled in July and 85 in August, compared to an average of nearly 240 per month during the preceding years.  

South Nevada was the epicenter of the country’s foreclosure crisis, and experts are hoping the new law has helped.   Others are apprehensive, but did acknowledge the improvement. 

The reduction in foreclosures occurred as a result of Senate Bill 490, which was approved by Nevada state legislature and took effect on June 12.   The law made permanent Nevada’s Foreclosure Mediation Program, which had originally only been a temporary program.  

According to Jon Gedde, chairman of the Nevada Mortgage Lenders Association, the law is 100 percent responsible for the reduction in foreclosures.   Gedde predicts foreclosure rates will eventually return to a “normal” pace.  

The foreclosure program is giving delinquent homeowner breathing room, but it is not the first time mortgage lenders have taken a less aggressive approach in the state.   In 2011, lenders were required to provide more paperwork before seizing homes under the “robo-signing” law.   That law reduced the number of foreclosures per month from more than 3000 to about 800.