Las Vegas home price growth lagged US before coronavirus hit

Las Vegas home prices rose slower than the national average in February, before the coronavirus pandemic started shutting down much of the U.S. economy, a new report shows.

Southern Nevada prices in February were up 3.5 percent from the same month last year, compared to a 4.2 percent gain nationally, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Phoenix led the 20 markets listed in the report for the ninth consecutive month, posting a 7.5 percent year-over-year price jump.

The report covers sales that closed in February, the month before Southern Nevada and other U.S. markets started rapidly shutting down to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

Locally, the pipeline of home sales shrank fast amid last month’s chaos, when casinos and other Nevada businesses were ordered closed and job losses skyrocketed.

On the resale market, around 2,540 home sales were canceled in March, up 94 percent from March 2019, and buyers signed 3,175 sales contracts, down 24 percent, according to figures from trade association Las Vegas Realtors.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.