Las Vegas home prices tick up 1.1 percent

The median price of a single-family home jumped to $202,000 in the month, up 1.1 percent from $199,900 in October, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday.

The median price among condominiums and town homes was $111,450, up 12.6 percent from November 2013.

Median prices are based on the November sale of 2,483 units through the association’s Multiple Listing Service. Closings were down 13.2 percent from October and off 7.8 percent compared with November 2013.

The market had 13,421 single-family listings in the month, down 7 percent month to month and 5.8 percent year over year. Condo and town home listings fell to 3,529 units, a dip of 3.4 percent month to month and 2.6 percent year to year.

At the current sales pace, the local market has a four-month supply of homes for sale. Industry professionals say a six-month supply represents a balanced market.

Association President Heidi Kasama said local Realtors might be selling fewer homes, but the listings that do close are going for more money. That’s propping up prices.

Kasama said she doesn’t expect big near-term changes in those trends.

“Our local housing market has been fairly stable this year. Unless something dramatic happens in the coming months, we expect to see more of the same in 2015,” she said.

November’s single-family median was still well below its June 2006 peak of $315,000. Prices bottomed out at $118,000 in January 2012.

The latest numbers also showed declines in market distress.

Short sales, when banks agree to a sale for less than what’s owed on a mortgage, made up 9.6 percent of local closings in November. That was down from 10.6 percent in October, though a bill before Congress could boost that share. The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to pass a bill that would extend a tax break on short sales through 2014. The law would make the tax break retroactive to Jan. 1. Realtors say the January expiration of the law has been a key factor pushing down local short sales.

Another 8.7 percent of local sales in November were bank-owned, down from 8.9 percent a month earlier.

Cash sales, which typically signal investor purchases, were 31.9 percent of the local market, compared with 35.1 percent a month earlier.

Cash buys peaked at 59.5 percent in February 2013.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.