Greater Las Vegas Home Prices Set Another Record in November

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According to a new housing report by Las Vegas Realtors, local home prices set another all-time record for the sixth straight month, while sales keep increasing and the housing supply keeps shrinking.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada during November 2020 was $345,000. That's up 12.4% from $307,000 during the same month last year and breaks the previous record set one month earlier. Local condos and townhomes sold for a median price of $199,700 in November. That's up 14.1% from $175,000 in November of 2019.

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

"Like other places around the country, we're seeing multiple offers on properties listed for sale," said 2020 LVR President Tom Blanchard. "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% from one year ago. For condos and townhomes, the 1,288 properties listed without offers in November represent a 24.7% 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% of all local properties sold in November were purchased with cash. That compares to 23.7% one year ago. That's well below the February 2013 peak of 59.5%, 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% of all existing local property sales in November. That compares to 2.0% of all sales one year ago, 2.6% two years ago and just under 5% three years ago.

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 housing 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 townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in November were up 46.9% for homes and up 51.9% for condos and townhomes.

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