Report shows Southern Nevada housing market stable

Leaders of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and UNLV’s Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies aren’t buying into recent news reports wondering if the housing market could be headed for another bubble.

Ed Coulson, director of the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies and professor of economics at UNLV, cited three major factors that make a housing bubble unlikely.

First, he told a group of GLVAR members during a Nov. 8 meeting at the association, Southern Nevada has a tight housing supply, unlike market conditions leading up to the Great Recession and the housing downturn that accompanied it. Second, he said, local home prices have been stable for many months, not rising rapidly like they were during the housing boom a decade ago. Finally, mortgage interest rates are near historic lows, helping housing affordability.

Coulson sees “no price bust or price boom.” Rather, he said, “everything in Las Vegas is in an equilibrium.”

GLVAR President Scott Beaudry agreed, saying GLVAR’s local housing statistics paint a picture of unprecedented stability.

The organization reported earlier this month that the local housing supply remained tight as Southern Nevada home prices and sales dipped slightly from previous months but still remain ahead of this past year’s levels.

According to GLVAR, the median price of existing single-family homes sold during October through its Multiple Listing Service was $233,250. That was down slightly from September but still up 5.1 percent from $222,000 one year ago.

Meanwhile, the median price of local condominiums and townhomes sold in October was $117,550. That was up 18.7 percent from $99,000 one year ago.

“Local home prices continue to appreciate at a slower rate year over year,” Beaudry said. “Overall, these GLVAR statistics show what a stable housing market we have. They also reflect some seasonal factors. The housing market tends to slow down in the fall as kids go back to school and the weather cools off, so it’s no surprise to see local home sales and prices cool off a bit in October.”

Beaudry, a longtime local Realtor, said the Southern Nevada housing supply “has been very tight for many months now.”

While he is not expecting that to change soon, he is hoping more homes owned by investors and others will hit the market starting this spring. Beaudry said Southern Nevada has been hovering below a three-month supply of homes available for sale, when a six-month supply is considered to be a balanced market.

According to GLVAR, the total number of existing local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in October was 3,225. That was down slightly from September but up 5.5 percent from 3,057 one year ago. Compared with the same month one year ago, 6.7 percent more homes and 6.1 percent more condos and townhomes sold in October.

In 2016, Beaudry said, Southern Nevada is on pace to sell more existing homes than during 2015 and during 2014 but fewer than during each of the previous five years.

Homes also have been selling faster this year. Compared with one year ago, the number of days single-family homes stayed on the market before selling during October decreased 20.7 percent, from 58 days on the market in October 2015, to 46 days in October 2016.

The sales pace was faster for condos and townhomes, which saw a 35.7 percent decrease in the number of days these properties stayed on the market during October 2016 compared with the same month one year ago, going from 70 to 45 days on the market.

GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its nearly 13,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The trade group is the local representative of the National Association of Realtors, For more information, visit www.LasVegasRealtor.com. E-mail your real estate questions to communications@glvar.org.