Las Vegas is bucking a national trend when it comes to housing

According to a new research report from online real estate brokerage Redfin, the median price for a home in the U.S. was up 1.5 percent year over year for the four weeks ending July 9, ending a streak of five straight months of declines. However, not all cities in the U.S. are contributing to that statistic, as 19 posted declines for the same period, led by Austin, at 9 percent.

Las Vegas, at 6 percent, saw the third-biggest drop, behind Austin (9) and Detroit (7.4), and the cities that saw the biggest increase in home sale prices were Milwaukee (13.5), Providence (9.2) and Miami (7.8).

The daily average for a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage may have also passed its most recent high-water mark, as it dropped back below 7 percent (6.96), according to Redfin, however is still at its highest level since November.

Las Vegas is leading the way in one statistic, a drop in new listings for all of the top 50 cities in the U.S., with a 49 percent year-over-year drop. Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett noted in a news release for June’s housing numbers that more supply is needed to return to a more stable market.

“The number of homes being sold and available for sale were also remarkably similar from the previous month. Builders are doing what they can to bring more new homes to market, but we still need more homes available for sale.”

Redfin outlined how this impacts affordability when it comes to real estate, noting a homebuyer on a $3,000 monthly budget can afford a $450,000 home with today’s average rate. That buyer has lost $30,000 in purchasing power since February, when they could have bought a $480,000 home with that month’s average rate of around 6 percent. The drop is more extreme when compared with a year ago, when a $3,000 monthly budget would have bought a $510,000 home at a rate of about 5.3 percent.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.