Southern Nevada home prices reach record despite pandemic

A report released July 7 by Las Vegas Realtors (LVR) shows local home prices breaking their all-time record despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn, though fewer homes are selling compared to the same time last year.

LVR (formerly known as the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors) reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during June was $325,000. That topped the previous record price of $319,000 set in March and is up 6.9 percent from a median price of $304,000 in June of 2019.

The trend is similar for local condos and town homes, which sold for a median price of $187,250 in June. While not a record, that’s up 5.3 percent from June of 2019.

“The demise of the housing market due to COVID-19 was highly overrated. The Las Vegas housing market is alive and well,” said 2020 LVR President Tom Blanchard, a longtime local Realtor. “Home sales increased nearly 45 percent from last month. We’re also adding homes to our overall inventory. The inventory may still be tight, but buyers are willing to pay more for a home here.”

LVR reported that a total of 2,934 existing local homes, condos and town homes were sold during June — the third full month since Nevadans were ordered on March 17 to “stay home for Nevada.” Compared with the same time last year, June sales were down 15.1 percent for homes and down 35 percent for condos and town homes. However, sales were up significantly from the previous month.

Blanchard said it helps that the local housing market was on solid footing when Nevada declared a state of emergency in March, with home sales running ahead of last year’s pace and existing local home prices finally breaking their all-time record of $315,000 set back in June of 2006. LVR statistics showed that March set a high-water mark with a median single-family home price of $319,000 before stalling in April and May and then hitting a new peak in June.

According to LVR, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada hit a post-recession bottom of $118,000 in January of 2012 before rebounding.

Even with fewer homes selling during the pandemic, Blanchard said the number of homes available for sale remains well below the six-month supply considered to be a balanced market. The sales pace in June equates to just over a two-month supply of homes available for sale.

By the end of June, LVR reported 5,079 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s down 35 percent from one year ago. For condos and town homes, the 1,616 properties listed without offers in June represented a 16.6 percent drop from one year ago.

LVR reported that 15.7 percent of all local properties sold in June were purchased with cash. That compares with 20.2 percent one year ago. That’s well below the February 2013 peak of 59.5 percent, suggesting that cash buyers and investors have been less active in the local housing market.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the number of so-called distressed sales in June remained near historically low levels. The association reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for 2.2 percent of all existing local property sales in June. That compares with 2.2 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.6 percent two years ago and 6.3 percent three years ago.

On June 25, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced he was lifting the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in phases, with residential evictions and foreclosures allowed to resume on Sept. 1. At least until then, Blanchard expects distressed sales to remain low.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of June 2020. LVR 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 June was more than $931 million for homes and nearly $94 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in June were down 9.4 percent for homes and down 31.2 percent for condos and town homes.

In June, 80 percent of all existing local homes and 76.3 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 78.8 percent of all existing local homes and 77.7 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors (formerly known as GLVAR) was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 15,000 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.