Las Vegas home prices rising fastest in the country, still

Las Vegas home prices are rising at more than double the national average, a new report shows, and buyers are increasingly apprehensive.

Southern Nevada prices were up 12.8 percent year-over-year in October, compared to a 5.5 percent bump nationally, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index released Wednesday.

Las Vegas’ growth rate was fastest among the 20 metro areas listed in the report for the fifth consecutive month, and it was the only region with a double-digit price jump. San Francisco was second to Las Vegas, at 7.9 percent.

Locally, prices have been rising amid an improved job market and an expanding population. But lately, as values keep climbing fast and mortgage rates push higher — boosting borrowing costs — buyers have pulled back.

Almost 2,300 single-family houses were sold in November, down nearly 12 percent from the same month last year, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported.

Inventory has soared, too. Around 7,000 houses were on the market without offers at the end of November, up 54 percent from a year earlier and the highest level in two years, according to the GLVAR, which pulls data from its resale-heavy listing service.

Nationally, slower price growth “can be read by many as an ominous sign” that a broader downturn is coming, “but it’s not necessarily an indicator that the sky is falling,” Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at home-listing site Zillow, said in a statement.

Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, said in a statement that prices are still climbing. As he sees it, the market is “taking on a healthy diet that will allow it to be in better shape for the homebuying season come spring.”

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.