Vegas run of record home prices continues

A recent Las Vegas Realtors (LVR) report shows the local housing market continuing its run of record home prices and an increasingly tight housing supply.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during February was $450,000. That tops the previous record set in January. The median home price is up 26.8 percent from $355,000 one year ago.

The median price of local condos and town homes sold in February increased to $260,000. That also breaks the all-time record set the previous month and is up 31.6 percent from $197,500 in February of 2021.

LVR President Brandon Roberts, a longtime local Realtor whose one-year term as president began on Jan. 1, said local home prices have more than tripled over the past decade. Prices have been climbing steadily since hitting their post-recession bottom in January of 2012, when the existing single-family home price in Southern Nevada was $118,000.

“Local home prices can’t keep going up this fast forever,” Roberts said. “The increases we’ve been seeing in the last year or so are just not sustainable. It remains to be seen how much higher these prices can go and when we might start to see the market stabilize, as many national experts have been predicting. Either way, I seriously doubt you’ll see home prices more than triple again in a single decade.”

By the end of February, LVR reported 1,741 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s down from January, but up 3.8 percent from the same time last year. The 316 condos and town homes listed without offers in February represent a 53.2 percent decrease from one year earlier.

LVR reported a total of 3,183 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in February. Compared to one year ago, February sales were down 9.1 percent for homes and down 7.3 percent for condos and town homes.

Similar to the past few months, Roberts said February’s sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale.

So far this year, sales of existing local homes are down from the same time in 2021. According to LVR, 2021 was a record year for existing home sales in Southern Nevada. The total number of existing local homes, condos, town homes and other residential properties sold during 2021 was 50,010. That was the first time the association reported more than 50,000 local properties changing hands in a year and topped the previous record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales. By comparison, LVR reported 41,155 total sales during 2020.

During February, LVR reported that 30 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 26 percent one year ago. While that percentage increased over the past year, it’s still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.

Aided by restrictions on evictions and foreclosures during the ongoing pandemic, the number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.4 percent of all existing local property sales in February. That compares to 0.6 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.5 percent of all sales two years ago, 2.6 percent three years ago, 3.8 percent four years ago and 10.6 percent five years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of February 2022. LVR distributes statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not account for all newly constructed homes sold by local builders or homes for sale by owners. Other highlights include:

■ The total value of local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during February was more than $1.3 billion for homes and nearly $190 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in February were up 10 percent for homes and up 19.7 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes have been selling faster this year than previous years. In February, 88.6 percent of all existing local homes and 93.3 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 81.9 percent of all existing local homes and 77.4 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors (formerly known as GLVAR) was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 17,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of Realtors, LVR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit LasVegasRealtor.com.