Home prices set record for sixth straight month amid pandemic

A report by Las Vegas Realtors shows local home prices setting an all-time record for the sixth straight month while sales keep increasing and the housing supply keeps shrinking.

LVR (formerly known as the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors) reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during November was $345,000. That’s up 12.4 percent from $307,000 during the same month last year and breaks the previous record set one month earlier. Local condos and town homes sold for a median price of $199,700 in November. That’s up 14.1 percent from $175,000 in November of 2019.

LVR reported a total of 3,761 existing local homes, condos and town homes were sold during November. Compared to the same time last year, November sales were up 26.1 percent for homes and up 34.7 percent for condos and town homes.

“Like other places around the country, we’re seeing multiple offers on properties listed for sale,” said 2020 LVR President Tom Blanchard, a longtime local Realtor. “The supply of available homes is very low, and demand is high. I hope the new year will bring some additional inventory as local homeowners start to feel more comfortable moving. We can easily absorb three or four times the current available inventory without tilting the scales of meeting our current demand for housing here in Southern Nevada.”

He said the number of local homes available for sale remains well below the six-month supply considered to be a balanced market. In fact, the sales pace in November equates to just over a one-month supply of homes available for sale, creating what Blanchard said is a local housing shortage.

By the end of November, LVR reported 3,756 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s down 42.5 percent from one year ago. For condos and town homes, the 1,288 properties listed without offers in November represent a 24.7 percent drop from one year ago.

For years, Southern Nevada made national news for riding a real estate roller coaster, with pre-recession home prices soaring to record highs and then falling faster than almost anywhere else in the U.S. during the Great Recession. Even during this pandemic, Blanchard said the local housing market is now more closely mirroring national trends, with a tight supply and historically low mortgage interest rates contributing to rising sales and record prices.

Meanwhile, LVR reported that 18.9 percent of all local properties sold in November were purchased with cash. That compares to 23.7 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 and economic downturn, the number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.8 percent of all existing local property sales in November. That compares to 2 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.6 percent, two years ago and just under 5 percent three years ago.

That’s similar to statistics from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which found that short sales and foreclosures have been accounting for fewer than 1 percent of all sales nationwide in recent months.

Blanchard expects distressed sales to remain low as long as government-mandated moratoriums remain in place to prevent most evictions and certain foreclosures.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of November 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 November was nearly $1.3 billion for homes and more than $154 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in November were up 46.9 percent for homes and up 51.9 percent for condos and town homes.

■ Homes are selling faster than they were a year ago. In November, 84.7 percent of all existing local homes and 77.6 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 73.3 percent of all existing local homes and 74.8 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors 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.