Las Vegas home prices, sales decline

A recent Las Vegas Realtors report shows the recent slowdown in the local housing market continuing, with declining home prices and sales.

LVR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during November was $430,990. That’s down 2 percent from October, and down from the all-time record price of $482,000 in May. The median home price is still up 2.6 percent from $420,000 one year ago.

The median price of local condos and townhomes sold in November was $260,000. That’s down 2.3 percent from the previous month and down from the all-time record price of $285,000 in May. Condo and townhome prices are still up 8.3 percent from $240,000 in November 2021.

“Local home prices are starting to look more like they did a year ago. But we’re certainly in a different place than we were last year, when prices were soaring and setting records. Of course, as we said at the time, those conditions were not sustainable,” said LVR President Brandon Roberts, a longtime local Realtor. “The shift we’ve seen since mortgage interest rates started rising earlier this year has sparked a situation where many buyers are struggling to afford a home, while many homeowners are reluctant to sell and give up the historically low interest rate they’re enjoying on their current home.”

Despite the recent slowdown, local home prices are still more than triple what they were during their post-recession bottom in January of 2012, when the median single-family home price in Southern Nevada was $118,000.

By the end of November, LVR reported 7,342 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 161.7 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 1,633 condos and townhomes listed without offers in November represent a 229.9 percent jump from one year earlier.

LVR reported a total of 1,983 existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold in November. Compared to November of 2021, sales were down 53.5 percent for homes and down 46.4 percent for condos and townhomes.

With more homes available and fewer selling, the sales pace in November equates to more than a four-month supply of properties available for sale — compared to less than a one-month supply at this time last year.

Roberts said this is a significant change from 2021, which was a record year for existing home sales in Southern Nevada, with 50,010 homes, condos, townhomes and other residential properties selling. That was the first time LVR reported more than 50,000 local properties changing hands in a year, and it topped the previous record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales. By comparison, LVR reported 41,155 total sales during 2020.

During November, LVR found that 28.8 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s down from 30.1 percent one year ago, and well below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent.

The number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for 0.5 percent of all existing local property sales in November. That compares to 0.6 percent of all sales one year ago, 0.8 percent two years ago, 2 percent of all sales three years ago, 2.6 percent four years ago and just under 5 percent five years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of November 2022. LVR distributes statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not account for all 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 November was nearly $805 million for homes and nearly $126 million for condos, high-rise condos and townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in November were down 50.9 percent for homes and down 42.4 percent for condos and townhomes.

In November, 73.6 percent of all existing local homes and 76.4 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 91.3 percent of all existing local homes and 90.8 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors (formerly known as GLVAR) was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 17,000 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.