Single-family home price hits $200,000 in Las Vegas

Local home prices were up just enough in July to reach a benchmark.

The median price of a single-family home hit $200,000 in the month for its highest level since August 2008, when it marked $210,000, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

The median ticked up $100 from June to July, but was up 11.1 percent year over year, the association said.

Still, July’s price was well below its June 2006 high of $315,000.

The median bottomed out at $118,000 in January 2012.

“It’s a nice milestone to see our GLVAR median home price hit the $200,000 mark again,” said Heidi Kasama, the group’s president. “This tells you how far we’ve come back from the depths of our downturn a few years ago, but also how much room we have before home prices in our area get back to where they were at their peak.”

The median price of existing condominiums and town houses was $106,000, down 2.8 percent from June to July, but up 15.8 percent year over year.

As they have for much of 2014, sales lagged year-to-year levels. Association members sold 2,642 single-family units in July, down 10.2 percent from July 2013. Condo and town house closings dipped to 672, down 2.7 percent year over year.

Slack sales are happening even as inventory is rising. The market had 7,266 units available without pending or contingent offers, up 55.2 percent compared with July 2013. But at less than three months’ worth, supplies are about half of what they’d be in a balanced market.

Nontraditional sales did see slight gains in July. The association said 35.6 percent of resales were bought with cash — an indicator of investor activity. That was up from 34.7 percent in June, but still close to a five-year low and well below a February 2013 record of 59.5 percent.

Short sales increased for the second straight month, to 11.5 percent. That was up from 10.8 percent in June.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.