Home prices on the rise; still below 2022’s peak

A recent Las Vegas Realtors report shows local home prices increased from the previous month, though they are still well below their all-time peak set one year earlier.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during May was $442,120. That’s up 2.8 percent from $430,000 in April, but down 8.3 percent from the record home price of $482,000 set in May 2022.

The median price of local condos and townhomes sold in May was $275,000. That’s up 1.9 percent from the previous month, but still down 3.5 percent from the record condo and townhome price of $285,000 also set in May 2022.

LVR President Lee Barrett, a longtime local Realtor, said these statistics suggest the local housing market may be putting its most recent downturn in the rearview mirror.

“Prices have now increased for a couple of months in a row heading into what is usually our strongest selling season,” Barrett said. “It seems safe to say that we’re bouncing back from the bottom of this recent downturn.”

By the end of May, LVR reported 3,645 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 2.1 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 925 condos and townhomes listed without offers in May represent a 16.1 percent increase from one year earlier.

Meanwhile, fewer homes are changing hands compared to last year. LVR reported 3,000 local homes, condos and townhomes sold in May. Compared to May 2022, sales were down 20.3 percent for homes and down 19.6 percent for condos and townhomes.

The sales pace in May equates to less than a two-month supply of properties available for sale. Last year at this time, Southern Nevada was facing an even tighter inventory and had about a one-month supply, Barrett said.

Local home sales are on pace to be lower than they were in 2022, when LVR reported 35,584 sales. That followed a record year for existing home sales in 2021, when LVR reported 50,010 homes, condos, townhomes and other residential properties were sold. That was the first time LVR reported more than 50,000 local properties selling in a year. It topped the record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales.

During May, LVR found that 21.9 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s down from 33.6 percent one year ago. It’s also well below the May 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent set a decade ago, indicating that investors have been less active in the local housing market.

The number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for 1.2 percent of all existing local property sales in May. That compares to 0.6 percent one year ago, 0.7 percent two years ago, 1.5 percent three years ago, 2 percent four years ago and 2.6 percent of all sales five years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of May 2023. 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 May was more than $1.3 billion for homes and nearly $197 million for condos, high-rise condos and townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in May were down 22.2 percent for homes and down 24.1 percent for condos and townhomes.

■ In May, 77.1 percent of all existing local homes and 79.1 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That’s down from one year earlier, when 96 percent of all existing homes and 97.9 percent of all existing condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors (formerly known as Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors) was founded in 1947 and provides its nearly 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.