Prices of higher-end homes up 30 percent in past year

Wealthy households in Nevada were not immune to the dramatic loss of property values that ravaged the state’s housing market during the recession, nor do they appear to be missing out on the recovery, according to a new report.

The ninth edition of the High Net Worth Report by The Private Bank at Nevada State Bank found statewide higher-end homes are up more than 30 percent compared with values reported a year ago. The report used homes 4,500 square feet or larger for analysis.

This subset of home sales reported an overall median size of 5,000 square feet and an average purchase price of $1 million during the first half of 2013 in Clark and Washoe counties.

Higher-end home prices are up 30.4 percent in Southern Nevada and 42.3 percent in Northern Nevada in 2013 compared with last year.

“The higher-end segment has been keeping pace with the strong percentage increases reported in the overall housing market during the past 12 months,” said Russell Price, executive vice president of The Private Bank at Nevada State Bank.

Price said although higher-end home construction remains off levels seen before the recession, and virtually nonexistent in the north, there are signs that this segment will gradually rebound if the economy and per-square-foot values continue to improve. The report identified 2007 as the year Clark County’s housing market peaked. During that year, the market reported 408 existing-home sales for units 4,500 square feet or larger at a median price of $257 per square foot, or $1.35 million.

At the market’s lowest point, 596 existing high-end homes sold in 2009 at a median price of $101 per square foot, or $517,557.

As of June 30, there were 332 sales with a median price of $135 per square foot, or $730,000.

Meanwhile, home sales of newly constructed units over 4,500 square feet remain sluggish in Southern Nevada, according to the report.

Only 27 new homes were sold so far this year in Clark County. Since 2007, only 301 new high-end homes have sold in Clark County, compared with 289 in 2007 alone.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.