LAS VEGAS, NV (KXNT) - The Las Vegas housing market kicked off the new decade with home prices and sales both increasing from the same time last year, but giving back gains made in December.
So says a report released Thursday by the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® (GLVAR). The GLVAR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service during January 2020 was $305,000. That was down 2.6% from December, but up 1.7% from January of 2019.
Meanwhile, the median price of local condos and townhomes sold in January was $175,000. That was down 1.7% from December, but up 2.9% fromJanuary of 2019.
“January is usually one of our slowest months for home sales and prices, and this month was a good example of that seasonal trend,” said 2020 GLVAR President Tom Blanchard, a longtime local REALTOR® whose one-year term leading the association began on Jan. 1.
After seeing the median local home price in December come within a few thousand dollars of its all-time peak, Blanchard said he still expects that price record to fall sometime this year.
“I think it’s a good bet that this will be the year we finally break the record for our median home price,” he said. “At the same time, it’s important to keep in mind that we’re still not back to our all-time high set way back in 2006. Most markets around the country have already surpassed their pre-recession record for home prices. When you factor in the rate of inflation over that time, you could argue that local home prices should be much higher than they are.”
Before slowing down in the last year or so, local home prices had been soaring since early 2012, posting double-digit gains from year to year while climbing back from their post-recession low point.
According to GLVAR, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada peaked at $315,000 in June of 2006 before falling during the recession. Local home prices hit a postrecession bottom of $118,000 in January of 2012.
By all indications, Blanchard expects the local housing market in 2020 “will look a lot like it did last year,” with gradually increasing or stable home prices, strong demand for housing and a persistently tight supply. As long as Southern Nevada continues to enjoy economic, job and population growth, he expects the housing market to continue on its current course.