Southern Nevada single-family home prices rose 7.3 percent for March

Southern Nevada’s housing market showed no signs of weakness in March.

The median price of a local single-family home reached $220,000 in the month, up 7.3 percent from $205,000 a year ago, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. The condominium and townhome median ticked up 2.6 percent, to $118,000.

Sales increased as well. Closings of properties listed through the association’s Multiple Listing Service grew by 3.9 percent year over year, to 3,488 units.

“The local housing market continues to be as stable as it has been in many years,” said association President Scott Beaudry. “Local home prices have been hovering around $220,000 for months. On the other hand, we’re still dealing with a very tight housing supply. This tight inventory might be keeping prices up, but it makes it harder for buyers to find the right home for them.”

Through the first quarter, local home sales were ahead of their pace of a year ago, Beaudry added. The supply of homes available for sale slipped to three months, down from four months in recent quarters.

A six-month inventory is considered a balanced market.

The number of properties on the market through the Multiple Listing Service dipped 0.8 percent year over year in March, to 13,429.

Distressed sales continued to dwindle.

In March, 5.9 percent of local closings were short sales, in which the bank lets the homeowner sell a house for less than what’s owed on the mortgage. That was down from 8.3 percent in March 2015. Another 7.1 percent of sales were bank-owned closings, down from 9.3 percent a year earlier.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.