Southern Nevada home prices pass $400,000

A report released Friday by Las Vegas Realtors shows local home prices passing the $400,000 mark for the first time while demand continues to outpace supply.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during July was $405,000. That tops the previous record of $395,000 set in June. The median home price is up 22.7 percent from $330,000 one year ago. The median price of local condos and town homes sold in July was $224,250. That’s also an all-time record and up 14.4 percent from $196,000 in July of 2020.

LVR President Aldo Martinez said he expected local home prices to pass $400,000 this summer, and that “the median affordable price for Southern Nevadans may soon be out of reach. As we’ve been saying for months, housing prices are rising faster than incomes here in Southern Nevada, and that seems unsustainable over the long term. Even with mortgage interest rates near all-time lows, we know it’s getting difficult for first-time buyers and working-class families to afford a home.”

He said many buyers are turning to condominiums and town homes, while others “will have to revert to renting because they’re no longer able to purchase at these prices.”

Martinez, a longtime local Realtor said the low supply of homes available for sale continues to push up prices. This presents a challenge for potential buyers — and a rare opportunity for sellers. He said: “This has become evident as we continue to see more homes come to market than we have in the past 10 years. July will make the fifth consecutive month where the inventory of homes going to market will surpass the previous month, with 4,077 new listings having gone to market.”

By the end of July, LVR reported 3,007 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. Although down 37.4 percent from the same time last year, Martinez noted the number of homes listed without offers actually increased for the fifth straight month — “indicators of the market fighting with all its might to normalize, but consumer consumption continues to remain strong.” For condos and town homes, the 662 properties listed without offers in July were more than were listed during the previous month, though that inventory is still down 58.1 percent from the same time last year.

LVR reported a total of 4,225 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold during July. Compared to one year ago, July sales were up 0.8 percent for homes and up 24.7 percent for condos and town homes. So far this year, local home sales are on pace to exceed last year’s total and surpass the last post-recession high of 38,153 in 2011.

Martinez mentioned another phenomenon hitting the Las Vegas market this year has been the luxury market, which had historically seen 300 to 400 units over $1 million sold per year. This year alone, he said 961 such units have sold, with 928 of them single-family homes. At this pace, he said that would be 1,500 luxury homes sold in 2021, a record. The median price for the luxury market, or homes selling for more than $1 million, is currently $1,450,000, with the highest sale this year at $25 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, and homeowners are staying in their homes longer and are slower to move than in past years. Martinez urged buyers to be patient and persistent, as more homes are starting to be listed for sale lately. Although bidding wars are still common and many homes attract multiple offers, he said many go back on the market and “are then awarded to the next buyer in line.”

An increasing number of buyers are paying cash for homes. During July, LVR reported that 31.7 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s up from 16.8 percent one year ago, when the housing market was still adjusting to the onset of the pandemic. However, that’s still well 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 July. That compares to 1.2 percent of all sales one year ago, 2 percent two years ago, 2.9 percent three years ago and 6.4 percent four years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of July 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 July was nearly $1.7 billion for homes and nearly $214 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in July were up 30 percent for homes and up 52.6 percent for condos and town homes.

Homes have been selling faster than in previous years. In July, 96 percent of all existing local homes and 94.5 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 76.7 percent of all existing local homes and 70 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.