Southern Nevada home sales on the rise

Report shows 8.7 percent increase in sales over last year

Despite a tight housing supply, more existing homes are selling in Southern Nevada. According to a recent report by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, Southern Nevada home sales increased in August and are running well ahead of last year’s sales pace.

“It’s good to see that we sold more homes last month than we did during the previous month and year, even with this persistently tight inventory we’ve been dealing with this year,” said 2016 GLVAR President Scott Beaudry, a longtime local Realtor. “This shows that the demand for homes remains strong.”

According to GLVAR, the total of existing local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in August was 3,789, up from 3,454 in August of 2015. Compared to the same month one year ago, 8.7 percent more homes, and 14.7 percent more condos and townhomes sold in August.

So far in 2016, Beaudry said local home sales are outpacing 2015 when GLVAR reported 38,578 single-family home, condominium, townhome and high-rise condo sales. That was more than in 2014, but fewer sales than during each of the previous five years.

GLVAR also reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold during August through its Multiple Listing Service was $235,000. That was down slightly from $236,000 in July, but still up 6.8 percent from $220,000 one year ago.

GLVAR reported the median price of local condominiums and townhomes, including high-rise condos, sold in August was $115,000. That was up 4.5 percent from $110,000 last year at this time.

A one-month fluctuation in the median price of a home is not unusual, Beaudry said, even in a housing market where homes have been appreciating steadily for a few years.

“We’re starting to see a more normal rate of appreciation, where prices are going up more gradually, as opposed to the double-digit increases we’ve seen the last few years,” Beaudry said.

At the same time, he said Southern Nevada still has less than a three-month supply of homes available for sale, when a sixmonth supply is considered to be a balanced market.

The total number of single-family homes listed for sale on GLVAR’s MLS in August was 13,222, down 2.8 percent from one year ago. GLVAR tracked a total of 2,366 condos, high-rise condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS in August, down 31.6 percent from one year ago.

By the end of August, GLVAR reported 7,594 single-family homes listed without any offer. That’s down 5.8 percent from one year ago.

For condos and townhomes, the 1,244 properties listed without offers in August represented a 46.4 percent decrease from one year ago.

Beaudry said it’s also encouraging to see continued declines in distressed sales and a corresponding increase in traditional home sales, in which lenders are not controlling the transaction.

In August, 4.1 percent of all local sales were short sales — when lenders allow borrowers to sell a home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. That’s down from 6.2 percent of all sales one year ago. Another 5.5 percent of all August sales were bank-owned, down from 7.0 percent one year ago. know how much money we have, or how the collection of monthly dues is going. We have been told that financial information cannot be shared with us. We are not asking for specific details, especially as it might relate to which homeowner is not paying dues. Please enlighten me as to what as homeowners we have a right to see. Thanks in advance.

A: NRS 116.31175 states the board of directors shall, upon written request, of the unit owner make available the books, records and other papers of the association for review at the business location of the association.

Those records include the financial statement of the association, the budget, the reserve study, contracts and all court records relating to a civil or criminal actions to which the association is a party. The board must provide a copy of these records within 21 days.

There are exceptions as the law does not apply to personnel records of the employees of the association, records pertaining to another homeowner and any document such as the board’s minutes that are being developed for final consideration by the board and has not been placed on an agenda for final approval.

You can request a copy of each monthly financial statement which would show the income and expenses for the month, year-to-date and a balance sheet. You would not be given a copy of the delinquent homeowners but you would be provided with the total amount of delinquencies.

In addition, NRS 116.3118 allows a unit owner to make requests to inspect, examine and audit association records. You would need to make an appointment with the community manager and or treasurer of the association, if selfmanaged.

The board has the right to charge $ 10 per hour to review these records and a fee for copying the records of 25-cents for the first 10 pages and 10-cents for each page thereafter.