Local home prices in record territory despite pandemic

A report released Thursday by Las Vegas Realtors shows local home prices setting another all-time record despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn, with more homes selling in July than the same time last year.

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 July was $330,000. That’s up 1.5 percent from the previous record price set in June and up 8.9 percent from a median price of $303,000 in July 2019.

The trend is similar for local condos and town homes, which sold for a median price of $196,000 in July. While short of a record, that is up 12 percent from $175,000 in July 2019.

“The Las Vegas housing market is not just a bright spot in the economy. It’s on fire,” said 2020 LVR President Tom Blanchard, a longtime local Realtor. “Local home prices are at record levels, with historically low interest rates, strong demand and a tight housing supply driving the market. Another factor contributing to these record prices is that higher-priced homes are making up a larger share of the homes being sold right now. After seeing sales slow down when this pandemic hit our state, it’s good to see that we sold more homes last month than we did during the same time last year.”

LVR reported a total of 4,025 existing homes, condos and town homes were sold during July. Compared with the same time last year, July sales were up 5.3 percent for homes but down 3.3 percent for condos and town homes. 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 local home sales running ahead of last year’s pace and existing local home prices finally breaking the longstanding record of $315,000 set in June 2006.

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 steadily since then.

Blanchard said the number of local homes available for sale remains well below the six-month supply considered to be a balanced market. He said the sales pace in July equates to less than a two-month supply of homes available for sale.

By the end of July, LVR reported 4,806 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That is down 38.4 percent from one year ago. For condos and town homes, the 1,581 properties listed without offers in July represented a 15.2 percent drop from one year ago.

LVR reported that 16.8 percent of all local properties sold in July were purchased with cash. That compares with 21.7 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, the number of so-called distressed sales in July remained near historically low levels. The association reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for 1.2 percent of all existing local property sales in July. That compares with 2 percent of all sales one year ago, 2.9 percent two years ago and 6.4 percent three years ago.

Blanchard expects distressed sales to remain low as long as state and federal moratoriums remain in place to prevent most evictions and foreclosures.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of July. 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 July was nearly $1.3 billion for homes and more than $140 million for condos, high-rise condos and town homes. Compared with one year ago, total sales values in July were up 14 percent for homes and up 5.6 percent for condos and town homes.

■ In July, 76.7 percent of all existing local homes and 70 percent of all existing local condos and town homes sold within 60 days. That compares with one year ago, when 78 percent of all existing local homes and 74.3 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.