Median single-family Las Vegas home price rises 9.5 percent in January

The Las Vegas Valley's housing market started 2016 on strong footing.

The median local price of an existing single-family home rose to $219,000 in January, up 9.5 percent from $200,000 a year earlier, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday.

The median price among condominiums and townhomes sold in the month was $119,990, a 14.3 percent gain compared with $105,000 a year ago.

Association President Scott Beaudry forecasted a steady market as 2016 wears on.

"We're expecting the local housing market to follow last year's trends and stay fairly stable," Beaudry said. "We still have challenges with our low housing supply and with too many underwater homeowners, but I see room for both of those issues to improve this year."

Beaudry added that the market should continue to improve as the population grows and more owners build equity in their homes.

Overall sales increased as well. Realtors sold 2,348 homes in January, up 4.8 percent from 2,239 closings in the same month of 2015.

The market remains relatively tight, with a four-month supply of homes at the current sales pace. Industry experts consider a six-month inventory a balanced market.

Distressed sales continued to shed market share. Seven percent of January's closings were short sales, in which the lender agrees to let the homeowner sell for less than the mortgage owed. That was down from 9.7 percent a year earlier. Another 7.9 percent of sales were bank-owned, compared with 9.4 percent a year ago.

— Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.