LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas' ailing real estate market received some much-needed good news on Friday. The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reports home sales are up, and the number of homes on the market is dropping.

Real estate experts say existing home sales not only improved, they reached levels not seen since the valley's housing boom in 2004. Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors President-elect Paul Bell says the time to buy is now. "This is a great opportunity," he said. "We are looking at a repeat of over 40,000 sales in 2010."

The Realtors Association reports nearly 46,879 housing sales in 2009. The association reports 28,618 sales in 2008. 4,196 housing units sold in December alone. That number represents an increase of nine percent from 3,843 sales in November.

Read the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors 2009 Report

Applied Analysis Principal Jeremy Aguero says that means fewer homes on the market. "The number of housing units available for sale (is) at its lowest (point) in more than a year," he said. "Investor activity is higher here, and so there is a lot of motivation to (buy)." Aguero says the largest incentive is the valley's low home prices, which are down more than 56% from their peak in 2006. But, Aguero warns the market still needs time to rebound. "It doesn't mean that we are out of the woods. What we'd like to believe is that as that inventory starts to come down and pricing starts to stabilize, that it means the bottom of the housing market. But, we need more than a couple of months for the data to reflect that," he said.