Southern Nevada housing market feels effects of coronavirus crisis

A recent report released by Las Vegas Realtors shows the local housing market feeling the effects of the worldwide pandemic and economic downturn.

LVR’s statistics for April, the first full month since Nevadans were ordered on March 17 to “stay home for Nevada,” show local home sales dropping but prices holding relatively steady.

LVR — formerly known as the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors — reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during April was $310,000. That was down 2.8 percent from a record price of $319,000 in March but still up 3.3 percent from $300,000 in April 2019.

LVR reported that the median price of local condos and town homes sold in April was $180,250. That is down 2.8 percent from March, but up 6 percent from April 2019.

“We’re starting to see how this crisis is hitting our housing market,” said LVR President Tom Blanchard, a longtime local Realtor. “We expected sales to decline. But I think many people are surprised to see so little change in April compared to last year at this time in the number of people canceling contracts to buy homes here. It’s also a good sign to see home prices holding up relatively well. As we keep telling our members, we will get through this by working together.”

LVR reported 1,190 canceled sales contacts in April. That is down from 1,335 cancellations in April 2019.

Blanchard noted how well the local housing market was performing two months ago, when LVR reported that existing local home prices finally broke their record. In February, the median single-family home price hit $316,000, topping the previous peak of $315,000 set in June 2006. Then March set a new high-water mark with a median home price of $319,000.

According to LVR, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada hit a post-recession bottom of $118,000 in January 2012 before rebounding.

The total number of existing local homes, condos and town homes sold during April was 2,411. Compared with the same time last year, April sales were down 31.4 percent for homes and down 41.6 percent for condos and town homes.

Through the first quarter of 2020, local home sales were running ahead of last year’s pace. According to LVR, the total number of existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in Southern Nevada during 2019 was 41,269. That was down from 42,876 sales in 2018 and from 45,388 in 2017.

Meanwhile, Blanchard said the local housing supply remains tight. The sales pace through April equates to just over a three-month supply of homes available for sale. A six-month supply is considered a more balanced market, he said.

By the end of April, LVR reported 6,043 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That is down 18.7 percent from one year ago. For condos and town homes, the 1,772 properties listed without offers in April represented a 3 percent drop from one year ago.

LVR reported that 13 percent of all local properties sold in April were purchased with cash. That compares to 21.8 percent one year ago. That’s well below the February 2013 peak of 59.5 percent, indicating that cash buyers and investors were less active last month in the local housing market.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the number of so-called distressed sales in April remained near historically low levels. The association reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for 1.5 percent of all existing local property sales in April. That compares with 3 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.5 percent two years ago and 8.4 percent three years ago.

Blanchard expects distressed sales to remain low, at least during the coming months, because of a 90-day moratorium on evictions and foreclosures ordered March 29 by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of April. LVR distributes statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not necessarily account for 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 April was more than $712 million for homes and nearly $85 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared with a year ago, total sales values in April were down 27.9 percent for homes and down 38.7 percent for condos and town homes.

■ In April, 82.1 percent of all existing local homes and 75.6 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares with a year ago, when 74.3 percent of all existing homes and 79.3 percent of all condos and town homes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 15,000 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 www.LasVegasRealtor.com.