Home prices set another record amid signs of a shift

Even as local home prices continue to set records, a recent report released by Las Vegas Realtors suggests the hot housing market may be starting to shift.

LVR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during May was $482,000. That breaks the record set the previous month. The median home price is up 25.2 percent from $385,000 one year ago. The median price of local condos and town homes sold in May increased to $285,000. That also breaks the all-time record set the previous month and is up 39 percent from $205,000 in May 2021.

LVR President Brandon Roberts, a longtime local Realtor, said existing local home prices have more than quadrupled since hitting their post-recession bottom in January 2012, when the median single-family home price in Southern Nevada was $118,000. At the same time, he said, fewer homes are selling and more homes are hitting the market.

“The slowdown in sales and increase in our housing supply are signs that things may be starting to calm down a bit,” Roberts said. “Even though prices are still going up, it’s welcome news for potential buyers to see more homes on the market. As we’ve been saying for months, the rate of appreciation we’ve seen over the past year or two seems unsustainable.”

By the end of May, LVR reported 3,570 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 75.8 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 797 condos and town homes listed without offers in May represent a 50.7 percent jump from one year earlier.

LVR reported a total of 3,758 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in May. Compared with one year earlier, sales were down 8.8 percent for homes and down 6.6 percent for condos and town homes.

With the increased inventory, May’s sales pace equates to more than a one-month supply of properties available for sale. While that’s up from past months, Roberts said, it’s still a very tight housing supply and well below what would be considered a balanced market.

This year, existing local home sales are down from the same time in 2021. According to LVR, 2021 was a record year for existing home sales in Southern Nevada, with 50,010 homes, condos, town homes and other residential properties selling.

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 May, LVR found that 33.6 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 30.9 percent one year ago. While that percentage has been increasing this year, it’s still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.

Aided by restrictions on evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic, the number of distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.6 percent of all existing local property sales in May. That compares with 0.7 percent one year ago, 1.5 percent of all sales two years ago, 2 percent of all sales three years ago, 2.6 percent four years ago and 6.8 percent five years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of May. 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 May was nearly $1.7 billion for homes and nearly $260 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared with one year ago, total sales values in May were up 8.4 percent for homes and up 24.1 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes have been selling faster this year than previous years. In May, 96 percent of all existing local homes and 97.9 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares with one year ago, when 93.3 percent of all existing local homes and 89.8 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.