Friday, January 24, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Report: Median home price up 8 percent

The median price of a new home in Las Vegas rose 8 percent last year based on the entire year to $183,577, said Larry Murphy, president of SalesTraq, a company that tracks the local housing market.

The existing home market sizzled in 2002, with a 20 percent gain in sales while median prices rose 7.4 percent to $139,000.

"But that figure is understated," Murphy said. "Look at the last three months of the year in which prices rose 7.1 percent, 9.5 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, over similar periods last year (2001).

"The message is clear: Prices are rising in Las Vegas and we can expect that to continue for at least the first six months of 2003."

While everyone seems certain they'll see even greater price increases in the resale market this year, Murphy said it's also possible Las Vegas will break last year's record of 34,811 existing homes sales.

Overall, the Las Vegas market absorbed 57,094 housing units in 2002. Forecasting that the market will reach 60,000 units in this year, a 5.2 percent gain, is not a stretch.

There were 22,283 new home sales in 2002, down 2.4 percent from the previous year, but Murphy said it was still an incredible year for Las Vegas.

"A lot of analysts will point to the decline in new home sales and say 2002 wasn't a great year," he said. "They will point to the 5.1 percent gain in new home permits as a deciding factor, forgetting that the market had fewer home permits than last year as late as October."

Another key statistic Murphy said will be overlooked in the new home market is the number of subdivisions under construction.

Las Vegas Valley was at or below 290 new home subdivisions for eight months last year. The number of subdivisions dipped below the 300 mark only twice in 2001.