LVR report forecasts a warm winter for local housing market

A recent Las Vegas Realtors report suggests the Southern Nevada housing market may be in store for an unseasonably warm winter.

LVR reported the median price of an existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during November was $420,000. The median home price is up 21.7 percent from $345,000 one year ago. That tops the record high set the previous month by 2.4 percent.

The median price of local condos and town homes sold in November was $240,000. That also breaks the all-time record set the previous month and is up 20.2 percent from $199,700 in November of 2020.

LVR President Aldo Martinez, a longtime local Realtor, agreed with forecasts from experts such as Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, who recently said he expects home prices will increase at a “gentler pace” over the next several months as mortgage interest rates rise.

“We’re probably looking at more modest growth for 2022,” Martinez said. “If our median home prices continue to go up by double digits in 2022, it’ll be the first time we’ve had three straight years of double-digit price growth in more than a decade. The closest we came to that was in 2012 and 2013.”

The local housing supply remains tight, with homes selling faster than in past years. Martinez said the current sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale.

By the end of November, LVR reported 2,805 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s down 25.3 percent from the same time last year. The 495 condos and town homes listed without offers in November represent a 61.6 percent decrease from one year ago.

LVR reported a total of 4,135 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in November. Compared with one year ago, November sales were up 7.8 percent for homes and up 18.7 percent for condos and town homes. Martinez said he expects local home sales to remain strong into 2022. As Yun said, “This winter, there will be more sales compared to pre-pandemic winters going all the way back to 2006.”

Luxury homes continue to outperform the overall market. Martinez said 2021 already set an all-time record for sales of local homes priced over $1 million — more than doubling the number of such homes sold during 2020 and tripling the number of million-dollar home sales during 2018.

It has been nearly a decade since the local housing market hit its post-recession bottom. The median single-family home price has increased by more than $300,000 from its low point of $118,000 in January 2012. Since the pandemic, Martinez said, Southern Nevada has more closely followed national trends, with a shortage of homes available for sale, strong demand and historically low mortgage interest rates paving the path to record home prices.

Martinez added that builders have not been able to keep up with population growth and demand in recent years, “adding to our supply issues and leading to higher home prices.”

During November, LVR reported that 30.1 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 18.9 percent one year ago. While that percentage has been increasing lately, it’s still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.

With government-imposed restrictions on evictions and foreclosures this year, 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 November. That compares with 0.8 percent of all sales one year ago, 2 percent of all sales two years ago, 2.6 percent three years ago and just under 5 percent four years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of November. 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 November was more than $1.6 billion for homes and nearly $219 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared with one year ago, total sales values in November were up 26.8 percent for homes and up 41.9 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes have been selling faster this year than in previous years. In November, 91.3 percent of all existing local homes and 90.8 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares with one year ago, when 84.7 percent of all existing local homes and 77.6 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.