A Las Vegas Realtors recent report shows local home prices holding steady as families were preoccupied getting their kids in school, graduates off to college and all the seasonal reasons that cause what LVR leaders called a momentary pause while the market readies for its last surge before the expected holiday slowdown begins.
Meanwhile, the local housing supply continues to grow slowly, making August the seventh straight month when there were more properties available without offers than in the previous month.
LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during August was $405,000. That matches the all-time record set in July. The median home price is up 20.9 percent from $335,000 one year ago. The median price of local condos and town homes sold in August was $229,000. That’s also an all-time record and up 23.8 percent from $185,000 in August of 2020.
“After setting records each month since January, expectations of this continued trend were high. However, we always have to account for the seasonal conditions that cause pauses in our markets. As noted in our opening remarks, these pauses are normal, at least for now,” said LVR President Aldo Martinez. “Prices have been rising much faster than incomes. That’s not sustainable over the long term. Even with mortgage interest rates near all-time lows, it’s still presenting challenges for some buyers and working-class families to afford a home. This is prompting some buyers to consider alternatives to the single-family detached residential home and start looking at more affordable options like condominiums, town homes and even renting.”
Martinez, a longtime local Realtor, said the current sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale. However, he added that more homes have been hitting the market lately, stabilizing what had previously been a steadily shrinking housing supply.
By the end of August, LVR reported 3,256 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. While up from the previous month, that’s down 29.8 percent from the same time last year. The 687 condos and town homes listed without offers in August was down 55.5 percent from one year ago.
LVR reported a total of 4,098 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold during August. Compared to one year ago, August sales were up 10.3 percent for homes and up 29.8 percent for condos and town homes. So far this year, local home sales are on pace to exceed last year’s total.
As for other trends, Martinez said the high end of the local housing market continues to outperform the overall market. At the current sales pace, he said 2021 should be a record year for sales of homes priced over $1 million.
The local housing market has been rebounding steadily since hitting its post-recession bottom in early 2012. Since the pandemic started, Martinez said the local market has been more in line with national trends, with a shortage of homes available for sale, strong demand and historically low mortgage interest rates leading to record home prices. Compounding matters, he said builders are not constructing enough homes to meet demand. Homeowners are staying in their homes longer and are slower to move than in past years. Martinez urged buyers to be patient and persistent, noting that more homes are becoming available in recent months.
At the same time, an increasing number of buyers are paying cash for homes. During August, LVR reported that 47.1 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 17.5 percent one year ago, when the housing market was still adjusting to the onset of the pandemic. While that percentage is higher than it has been in years, it’s still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.
With eviction and foreclosure bans still in place, the number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.3 percent of all existing local property sales in August. That compares to 1.2 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.1 percent of all sales two years ago, 2.5 percent three years ago and 6.1 percent four years ago.
These LVR statistics include activity through the end of August 2021. 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 August was more than $1.5 billion for homes and nearly $225 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in August were up 29 percent for homes and up 66 percent for condos and town homes.
Homes have been selling faster this year than in previous years. In August, 96.4 percent of all existing local homes and 95.8 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 77.2 percent of all existing local homes and 73.1 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 16,500 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.