In April 2006, the number of single-family houses listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service reached 18,467. That compares to early 2004 when there were 4,000 or fewer houses on the market at any given time.

Of the 18,467 listings in April, about 17,000 were active listings, meaning the balance were contingent or pending sales, said Linda Rheinberger, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

With that many listings, real estate agents will have to advise their clients differently than in the past, Rheinberger said.

"We do have to sell differently; not so much at a discounted price, but giving similar incentives as homebuilders are giving, or contributing to closing costs," she said. "Maybe toss in the washer, drier, refrigerators, a floor allowance."

Real estate agents also need to be cognizant of the new-home inventory, which real estate expert Larry Murphy puts at about 4,000 houses and condos and another estimated 6,000 converted condos.

Murphy, president of SalesTraq, said real estate agents need to take time to educate their clients about the market and how it is different than the past two years.

"Whenever a market changes you have to educate sellers to the realities of the marketplace," he said. "Their mindset is still last year.''

Real estate agents who have a client who needs to move a house fast should price competitively and offer buyer incentives, said Mike West, broker at Century21 MoneyWorld.

West said raising the sales commission, while not a reason to show a client a house, is a way to attract brokers and buyers.

The reason for the large amount of resale inventory is in part because of investors unloading properties they bought in 2004 and 2005, said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research Inc.

"We're still in that overhang, or hangover, period of the investors," he said.

The area's transient population along with people hoping to cash in equity to move up or move out also are factors, Smith said.

Another reason for the increase in inventory is an increase in foreclosures and defaults, a category that was almost nonexistent two years ago, West said.

The change in the market's inventory levels and the volume of sales may be a shock to some agents who only have experienced the Las Vegas housing market at its peak, Smith said.

"There's going to be years where income levels are extremely high and then there's going to be extremely low years," he said.

Smith said agents better update their business plans and learn to budget accordingly. He expects this type of market — one with a high number of listings and flat pricing — to last for at least two years, or until interest rates start to go down.

"It's kind of a gloomy outlook, but we still have growth," he said. "I think it's going to be a steady and consistent market."

Rheinberger said demand remains strong for houses and that properties are still selling.

She said the buzz in the national media, from CNN to Fortune magazine that Las Vegas is on a downward spin, is way off the mark.

"We only had 3,000 sales last week, give me a break," Rheinberger said.

In other news:

• Huffman Builders West recently opened an office park, Park Run Professional Plaza at the northwest corner of Charleston Boulevard and Hualapai Way, behind the Howard Hughes Corporate Center and fronting Park Run Drive. The center is 100 percent occupied, with each occupant owning their office space.

With an estimated cost of about $6 million, the Park Run Professional Plaza is comprised of one single-story building and one two-story building, housing five office spaces totaling 25,000 square feet.

• Imagine Schools recently broke ground on the 100 Academy of Excellence, its first charter school in Nevada, at 2341 Comstock Drive in North Las Vegas. The first 40,341-square-foot phase of the $6.2 million dollar project will have 24 classrooms for up to 650 students in grades kindergarten through fifth.

The estimated completion date for phase one is August of 2006. Phase two will add an additional 9,349 square feet, increasing the capacity for an additional 200 students for grades sixth through eighth.