LVR reports rising prices, record year

A report released Thursday by Las Vegas Realtors shows 2021 was a record year for sales of existing homes in Southern Nevada, with more than 50,000 properties changing hands despite rapidly rising prices and a tight housing supply.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during December was $425,000. The median home price is up 23.2 percent from $345,000 one year ago. That tops the record high set in November.

The median price of local condos and town homes sold in December was $242,000. That also breaks the all-time record set the previous month and is up 30.1 percent from $186,000 in December of 2020.

LVR President Brandon Roberts, a longtime local Realtor whose one-year term as president began on Jan. 1, said the sales record is impressive given these unprecedented market conditions.

“It’s remarkable, especially considering this record was set during a pandemic, when local home prices have never been higher and the housing supply has rarely if ever been lower,” Roberts said.

According to LVR, the total number of existing local homes, condos, town homes and other residential properties sold in Southern Nevada during 2021 was 50,010. That was the first time the association reported more than 50,000 properties changing hands in a year and topped the previous record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales. By comparison, LVR reported 41,155 total sales during 2020.

The year ended with a shrinking local housing supply and with homes continuing to sell faster than during past years. The current sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale, Roberts said.

By the end of December, LVR reported 2,251 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s down 30.5 percent from the same time last year. The 387 condos and town homes listed without offers in December represent a 66.4 percent decrease from one year earlier.

LVR reported a total of 4,005 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in December. Compared to one year ago, December sales were down 3.8 percent for homes, but up 4.4 percent for condos and town homes. Roberts said he expects sales to stay strong in 2022 and agrees with national experts who have been forecasting “an unseasonably warm winter,” but likely a more stable year, for the housing market.

Luxury homes continue to outperform the overall market, with 2021 easily breaking the all-time record for sales of local homes priced over $1 million — more than doubling the number of such homes sold during 2020.

It has now been nearly a decade since the local housing market hit its post-recession bottom. Roberts noted the median single-family home price has now increased by more than $300,000 from its low point of $118,000 in January of 2012.

During December, LVR reported that 27.9 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 20.2 percent one year ago. While that percentage increased over the past year, it’s still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.

Aided by government-imposed restrictions on evictions and foreclosures during the ongoing pandemic, the number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.4 percent of all existing local property sales in December. That compares to 0.9 percent of all sales one year ago, 1.8 percent of all sales two years ago, 2.9 percent three years ago and 3.6 percent four years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of December 2021. LVR distributes statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not account for all 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 December was more than $1.6 billion for homes and more than $221 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in December were up 9.2 percent for homes and up 38.5 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes have been selling faster than in previous years. In December, 90.2 percent of all existing local homes and 90.6 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 84.3 percent of all existing local homes and 77.1 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 17,000 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. For more information, visit LasVegasRealtor.com.