Southern Nevada home prices hovering this summer

After climbing steadily since 2012, local home prices have been hovering this summer, with a report released this month by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors showing prices back to where they were in May.

GLVAR reported that the median price for existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during August was $295,000, matching the median price in May. That’s up 1.7 percent from July and up 13.5 percent from $260,000 in August of 2017. The median price of local condos and town homes sold in August was $169,950. That’s up 2.4 percent from July and up 23.8 percent from the same time last year.

“Our housing market has been cooling off a bit this summer. I wouldn’t say we’ve shifted from a seller’s market to one favoring buyers, but we’re starting to see the scales tilt more in that direction,” said GLVAR President Chris Bishop, a longtime local Realtor. “Home prices and sales are starting to soften around the country. Most experts, including NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, have been predicting slower appreciation and more inventory heading into 2019.”

At this rate, Bishop added, “It may be some time before our local home prices surpass their all-time peak, like they have in most markets around the country.”

According to GLVAR, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada peaked at $315,000 in June of 2006. Prices hit a post-recession bottom of $118,000 in January of 2012.

Meanwhile, Bishop said the housing supply increased in August, which he called good news for potential buyers. However, he said Southern Nevada still has less than a two-month supply of existing homes available for sale when a six-month supply would be a balanced market. By the end of August, GLVAR reported 5,818 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up from July and up 12.8 percent from one year ago. For condos and town homes, the 1,184 properties listed without offers in August represented a 73.4 percent increase from one year ago.

The total number of existing local homes, condos and town homes sold during August was 3,881. Compared to one year ago, August sales were down 6.4 percent for homes, but up 11.0 percent for condos and town homes. Overall, he said sales so far this year remain behind last year’s pace.

GLVAR reported that 24.8 percent of all local properties sold in August were purchased with cash. That compares to 25.8 percent one year ago. That’s well below the February 2013 peak of 59.5 percent, suggesting that cash buyers and investors are still active in the local housing market, but have been playing a much smaller role than they were five or six years ago.

The number of so-called distressed sales continues to drop. GLVAR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 2.5 percent of all existing local home sales in August, down from 6.1 percent of all sales one year ago.

These GLVAR statistics include activity through the end of August 2018. GLVAR 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 August was nearly $1.1 billion for homes and more than $146 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales volumes in August were up 11.0 percent for homes and up 34.2 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes and condos continue to sell quickly. In August, 87.5 percent of all existing local homes and 90.2 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 83.3 percent of all existing local homes and 90.4 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days.

Chris Bishop