Las Vegas homes sitting on the market longer as sales drop

Supply continues to outpace demand in Southern Nevada as homes are sitting on the market without offers longer and sales continue to drop, according to the latest statistics from Las Vegas Realtors.

The number of homes sold in September dropped 16.2 percent from the previous month and 1.6 percent from September of last year, according to LVR.

Last year Las Vegas’ housing market had its worst year of sales since the Great Recession in 2008.

The Las Vegas Valley currently leads the country in new listings, according to Redfin data, outpacing cities such as San Diego and Sacramento.

At the end of last month, LVR, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service, had 5,458 single-family homes sitting on the market without any offer, a 34.2 percent increase from a year earlier. There were also 1,731 condos and townhomes listed without offers, a 67.2 percent increase from a year earlier.

LVR President Merri Perry said some good news about the overall economic outlook may provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

“The interest rate cut announced in September by the Fed can only help the housing market,” Perry said. “While I don’t think this will have a dramatic impact, it certainly helps people, especially prospective homebuyers.”

Condos and townhome prices hit an all-time high again, and single-family home prices could set a record in the next few months.

The median price of an existing single-family home sold in Southern Nevada last month was $479,900, a 6.6 percent increase from September of last year and close to the all-time record of $482,000 set in May 2022, according to LVR.

The trade group expressed optimism that sales this year won’t be as bad as last year.

“For most of 2024, home sales have been ahead of the pace set in 2023, which was the slowest year for existing local home sales since 2008,” LVR said in a news release. “LVR reported a total of 29,069 sales of existing local homes, condos and townhomes in 2023. That was down from 35,584 total sales in 2022. That followed a record year for existing local home sales in 2021, when LVR reported 50,010 total properties were sold.”

Las Vegas finds itself in the middle of a housing crisis as the residential market is still locked due to homeowners sitting on low interest rates they got during the pandemic. There is also a shortage of affordable housing and a lack of land due to government control. Affordability has become the number one election issue for Nevada residents.

A Clark County government housing official recently admitted at a UNLV panel that half of the county has likely been priced out of the housing market.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.