Home builders saw mixed results last month in southern Nevada, although buyers bought far more homes and paid higher prices for them in 2021 compared to last year.
Home builders achieved 977 net sales – newly signed contracts minus cancellations – in September, 12 percent more than in August, but 5 percent less than last year, according to a report by Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research Monday.
Last month, a total of 149 new home sales were canceled, most since October 2020, although buyer traffic for construction projects increased in September compared to the previous two months, the company reported.
Overall, home builders completed 9,011 sales in southern Nevada that year through September, up 17 percent from the same section in 2020, and withdrew 11,275 new home permits (33 percent), indicating a big jump in construction plans.
Additionally, buyers paid an average closing price of $ 421,790 for newly built homes last month, up 13.9 percent from last year.
For single-family homes – by far the best-selling product for builders in southern Nevada – buyers paid a record median of $ 450,114 last month, an increase of 15.4 percent compared to the previous year.
After a buyer signs a sales contract, it can take several months before the home is ready and the purchase can be completed.
The Las Vegas housing market has accelerated over the past year, with rapid sales and record prices, fueled mainly by the lowest mortgage rates that have allowed buyers to break their budgets. Southern Nevada has also seen more out-of-state buyers than usual during the pandemic, real estate professionals said, as people sought more space amid widespread work-from-home agreements.
On site, builders have put buyers on waiting lists, submitted bids for lots and regularly raised prices in view of the strong demand, supply bottlenecks and higher own costs.
Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith noted the rise in new home prices, writing in Monday’s report that the market is “now starting to see the real effects” of high demand and low supply.
Smith said “home builders’ base bid prices continue to rise,” and projects with an average base price between $ 400,000 and $ 750,000 accounted for more than 50 percent of net new home sales that year.
By comparison, communities with average prices below $ 300,000 made up just over 3 percent of sales this year, he added.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.
