Las Vegas house prices reach new record in August

Las Vegas house prices hit another record high last month despite widespread economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes — the bulk of the market — was $335,000 in August, up 1.5 percent from the prior all-time high, set in July, and 9.8 percent from August of last year, according to a new report from trade association Las Vegas Realtors.

Reversing a recent run-up in sales, however, buyers scooped up 2,910 houses last month, down 12.5 percent from July and 8.1 percent from August 2019, according to LVR.

Meanwhile, Southern Nevada’s tight inventory of available listings shrank further, as 4,639 houses were listed without offers at the end of August, down 3.5 percent from July and 40.3 percent year-over-year.

LVR reports data from its resale-heavy listing service.

“The Las Vegas housing market continues to defy expectations, though we’re not sure how long this momentum will last as we continue to deal with this pandemic and accompanying economic downturn,” LVR President Tom Blanchard, a broker with Renters Warehouse, said in a news release.

Las Vegas’ tourism-dependent economy has been devastated by the coronavirus outbreak, which has kept people home and away from crowds for fear of getting infected. The housing market initially was hit with severe turbulence by the turmoil, but lately it accelerated with fast-rising sales and record prices despite high unemployment.

By all accounts, record-low mortgage rates are providing much of the fuel, as they let buyers lock in lower monthly payments.

Around the U.S., sellers are “clearly in the driver’s seat” amid rising prices and low supply, with homes typically going under contract with a buyer just 13 days after they’re listed, according to housing site Zillow.

“It’s difficult to imagine that the housing market will be able to sustain the frenzied demand we are currently experiencing, but we have yet to see any signs of slowing,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at listing site Realtor.com, said in a recent news release.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.