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The Las Vegas real estate market is still seeing house prices on the rise. Add in that the housing inventory isn’t growing in Las Vegas Valley and surrounding areas. What you get is a market that is slowing down the pursuit of a home owning dream for many people.
According to a report released August 9th by the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR), the median price of Las Vegas houses listed during July through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was $236,000 an increase of 7.3 percent from last year’s $218,000.
The median price of condominiums and townhouses sold in July was $115,000. Interestingly, this is the same as it was this month in 2015 and it remains unchanged from the previous month.
Real Estate Market Showing Low Inventory
With the increasing prices and the lower sales last month, Las Vegas is bringing in lower numbers when it comes to sales from last year. This means that the higher prices may finally be putting a squeeze on the market.
According to the report, the total number of residential properties sold in July was 3,447, compared to July of last year when 3,815 homes, condominiums, and townhouses sold. These numbers show a 4.2 percent decrease in condos sales, and a 7.2 decrease in houses sold this year compared to last year.
The real estate market is considered balanced with a 6-month supply of inventory. However, the current Las Vegas inventory consists of less than a three-month supply of houses for sale. The limited supply continues to be the trend for 2016, and it’s causing a drop in sales for homes in the lower price ranges.
GLVAR’s statistics show that the homes that are selling are reaching closing at an increased rate. In July, 74.9 percent of houses sold within 60 days, an increase from the 69.4 percent in July of 2015. The percent of condos sold within 60 days rose to 68.8 percent in July from 65.2 percent last year.
Short Sales Still Down in Las Vegas
Short Sales Still Down in Las VegasBy month’s end, GLVAR’s reports indicated 7,338 single-family homes remained for sale without receiving offers, down 1.3 percent from last July. Condos and townhouses also experienced a significant decrease from last month with 1,212 properties listed for sale without receiving offers.
On the up-side, fewer homeowners listed their houses for sale due to distress, with an increase in traditional home sales versus short sales wherein lenders control the transaction, allowing the owner to sell the house for less than they owe. In July, 5.7 percent of local sales were short sales, down 7.1 percent from last year. The number of bank-owned sales is 5.9 percent. This number is a decrease of 7.7 percent from July of 2015.
Cash purchases are down from 27.1 percent in July of last year to 25.8 percent this year in Southern Nevada. Cash buyers are adding stability to the real estate market this year, even as their influence is on the decline. Still, investors in Southern Nevada are more active than in other markets.
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