Las Vegas home values rising at second-fastest rate in US

U.S. home values are rising at their fastest pace since the peak of the bubble last decade, and Las Vegas is near the front of the pack, a new report shows.

The median estimated home value in the Las Vegas area was $260,800 last month, up 16.5 percent from a year earlier, according to home-listing service Zillow.

That was second fastest among the 35 metro areas listed in the report, behind San Jose, California, at 26.2 percent. Seattle was third at 13.6 percent. Nationally, home values climbed 8.7 percent year-over-year, the fastest since June 2006, Seattle-based Zillow reported.

Locally, the median sales price of a previously owned single-family house peaked that same month at $315,000, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas said in a statement that the spring buying season “has been a perfect storm of strong demand and tight supply,” and homes that come up for sale “are moving very quickly.”

Despite Southern Nevada’s rapid price growth, it’s still a lot cheaper to buy a home here than in other hot markets. The median home value in San Jose is $1.26 million, and in Seattle it’s $490,000.

First American Financial Corp. released a report Thursday with findings that mirrored Zillow’s.

According to the Santa Ana, California-based title company, San Jose house prices in March were up 19.3 percent from a year earlier — the largest jump in the country — followed by Las Vegas (15.1 percent) and Seattle (12.2 percent).

Among states, First American reported, Nevada topped the list with 13.2 percent price growth.