Las Vegas property prices soared above $ 400,000 for the first time in the resale market last month, raising fears that many locals could be priced out as property prices keep reaching new all-time highs.
The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes – the majority of the market – was $ 405,000 in July, 2.5 percent more than the previous record high in June and 22.7 percent from July last year, according to a new report from the trade association Las Vegas Realtors.
Buyers bought 3,352 homes last month, 5.4 percent fewer than in June but a slight 0.8 percent more than in July 2020.
Meanwhile, the stock of available apartments rose sharply compared to the previous month, but remained low overall.
A total of 3,007 houses were on the market without offers at the end of July, 22.5 percent more than in June, but 37.4 percent less than in the previous year, according to the association.
LVR reports data from its reselling listing service.
The housing market in southern Nevada has seen record prices and rapid sales for months, largely thanks to cheap borrowing costs that have allowed buyers to break their budgets. Home seekers have inundated properties with bids and routinely paid above asking price, and home builders have regularly raised prices, put buyers on waiting lists and accepted bids on land, multiple sources say.
In addition to low borrowing costs, the market was fueled by an influx of buyers from more expensive markets.
Las Vegas saw more out-of-state shoppers than usual during the pandemic, particularly from California, as many people working remotely have left high-priced areas to live in larger homes in cheaper areas like southern Nevada.
Las Vegas Realtors President Aldo Martinez said in a press release that he expects local property prices to exceed $ 400,000 this summer and that “the average affordable price for southern Nevadans may soon be out of reach.”
Home prices are rising faster than incomes in the Las Vegas area, and that “doesn’t seem sustainable in the long run,” said Martinez, branch manager at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties.
“Even with mortgage rates near all-time lows, we know that first-time buyers and working-class families will find it difficult to own a home,” he said.
Many buyers turn to condominiums and townhouses, which are typically cheaper than single-family homes, while others are forced to rent “because they can no longer buy at these prices”.
Realty One Group’s agent Michelle Hardy-Rodriguez recently said she works with many first-time buyers. Many of them work in the Las Vegas tourism industry and many are being retired, she said.
“You can’t keep up with the rising costs,” she said.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.
