Local home prices stabilize as summer kicks off

A recent Las Vegas Realtors report shows local home prices stabilizing to start the summer, with fewer homes changing hands.

LVR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during June was $440,990. That’s down 0.3 percent from May and down 8.1 percent from $480,000 in June of 2022. Local home prices had been increasing in recent months, but are still below the all-time record of $482,000 set in May of 2022.

The median price of local condos and townhomes sold in June was $275,000, as it was in May. That’s down 1.8 percent from $280,000 in June of 2022 and still below the all-time record condo and townhome price of $285,000, also set in May 2022.

LVR President Lee Barrett, a longtime local Realtor, said these statistics reflect a persistently tight housing supply combined with continued demand for housing in Southern Nevada.

“After increasing gradually for a couple of months, it looks like local home prices have hit a plateau — at least for now,” Barrett said. “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.”

By the end of June, LVR reported 3,680 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 1 percent from the previous month, but down 36 percent from the same time last year. Likewise, the 930 condos and townhomes listed without offers in June represent a 0.5 percent increase from May, but a 30.6 percent decline from one year earlier.

Meanwhile, fewer homes are changing hands. LVR reported a total of 2,939 existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold in June. Compared to June 2022, sales were down 14.1 percent for homes and down 12.2 percent for condos and townhomes.

The sales pace in June equates to less than a two-month supply of properties available for sale. Last year at this time, Southern Nevada had just over a two-month housing supply.

Local home sales are on pace to be lower than they were in 2022, when LVR reported 35,584 total sales. That followed a record year for existing local 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 previous record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales.

During June, LVR found that 25.1 percent of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That’s down from 34.2 percent one year ago. It’s also well below the May 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5 percent set a decade ago, suggesting 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 June. That compares to 0.5 percent one year ago, 0.7 percent two years ago, 2.2 percent three years ago, 2.2 percent four years ago and 2.6 percent of all sales five years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of June 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 June was more than $1.2 billion for homes and nearly $190 million for condos, high-rise condos and townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in June were down 22.5 percent for homes and down 13 percent for condos and townhomes.

■ In June, 81.3 percent of all existing local homes and 82.6 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That’s down from one year earlier, when 95.4 percent of all existing local homes and 96 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

Las Vegas Realtors (formerly known as GLVAR) 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. Each member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit www.LasVegasRealtor.com.