Southern Nevada Home Prices Heat Up in May

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According to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR), local home prices heated up in May 2016, as the housing supply remained tight.

GLVAR reported the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada during May increased to $229,250. That was up 8.5 percent from $211,250 one year ago.

Meanwhile, GLVAR said the median price of local condominiums and townhomes, including high-rise condos, sold in May was $118,000. That was up 5.4 percent from $112,000 one year ago.

"As we head into the summer, we're seeing more demand for the limited number of homes that are available for sale," said 2016 GLVAR President Scott Beaudry. "Demand is exceeding supply in most parts of the country, but I think it's more pronounced here in Southern Nevada. Our tight housing supply seems to be driving up prices, especially for entry-level homes. Even with our limited inventory, we're still selling more homes so far this year than last year."

According to GLVAR, the total number of existing local homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in May was 3,349, down slightly from 3,363 total sales in May of 2015. Compared to the same month one year ago, 1.6 percent fewer homes, but 4.9 percent more condos and townhomes sold in May.

Beaudry said local home sales in 2016 have been running nearly 10 percent ahead of the pace from 2015, when GLVAR reported 38,578 single-family home, condominium, townhome and high-rise condo sales. That was more than in 2014, but fewer sales than during each of the previous five years.

Beaudry noted that the number of homes listed for sale in Southern Nevada increased slightly in May compared to the previous month and year. But at the current sales pace, he said Southern Nevada still has less than a three-month supply of homes available for sale, when a six-month supply is considered to be a balanced market.

The total number of single-family homes listed for sale on GLVAR's MLS in May was 14,220, up 4.8 percent from one year ago. GLVAR tracked a total of 3,676 condos, high-rise condos and townhomes listed for sale on its MLS in May, up 5.9 percent from one year ago.

By the end of May, GLVAR reported 7,626 single-family homes listed without any sort of offer. That's up 6.9 percent from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 2,237 properties listed without offers in May represented a 1.4 percent decrease from one year ago.

GLVAR continued to report declines in distressed sales and a corresponding increase in traditional home sales, where lenders are not controlling the transaction. In May, 4.5 percent of all local sales were short sales - when lenders allow borrowers to sell a home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. That's down from 7.3 percent of all sales one year ago. Another 6.1 percent of all May sales were bank-owned, down from 8.0 percent one year ago.

Though they continue to make up a smaller percentage of the local housing market, Beaudry said short sales might continue to be an attractive option for some homeowners in 2016 since Congress voted in late December to again extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. If Congress had not voted to again extend this tax break to help distressed homeowners, any amount of money a bank wrote off in agreeing to sell a home as part of a short sale would have been taxable when sellers file their federal income taxes.

GLVAR said 28.2 percent of all local properties sold in May were purchased with cash, down from 29.1 percent one year ago. That's less than half of the February 2013 peak of 59.5 percent, indicating that cash buyers and investors are still more active in Southern Nevada than in most markets, but that their influence continues to wane.

Other market highlights include:

• The monthly value of local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during May was more than $744 million for homes and nearly $95 million for condos, high-rise condos and townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales volumes in May were up 10.1 percent for homes, but down 2.0 percent for condos and townhomes.

• In May, 71.2 percent of all existing local homes and 67.7 percent of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 71.1 percent of all existing local homes and 62.4 percent of all existing condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.