A report released Wednesday by Las Vegas Realtors shows local home prices holding steady for the month of August. Seasonal reasons like families getting their kids in school, graduates off to college are believed to be behind the pause.
August is the seventh straight month when there were more properties available without offers than in the previous month.
LVR reports the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada through its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during August was $405,000.
That matches the all-time record set in July. The median home price is up 20.9% from $335,000 one year ago.
“After setting records each month since January, expectations of this continued trend were high. However, we always have to account for the seasonal conditions that cause pauses in our markets. As noted in our opening remarks, these pauses are normal, at least for now,” said LVR President Aldo Martinez. “Prices have been rising much faster than incomes. That’s not sustainable over the long term. Even with mortgage interest rates near all-time lows, it’s still presenting challenges for some buyers and working-class families to afford a home. This is prompting some buyers to consider alternatives to the single-family detached residential home and start looking at more affordable options like condominiums, townhomes, and even renting.”
The current sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale. However, he added that more homes have been hitting the market lately, stabilizing what had previously been a steadily shrinking housing supply.
LVR reported a total of 4,098 existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold during August. Compared to one year ago, August sales were up 10.3% for homes and up 29.8% for condos and townhomes. So far this year, local home sales are on pace to exceed last year’s total.
As for other trends, Martinez said the high end of the local housing market continues to outperform the overall market. At the current sales pace, he said 2021 should be a record year for sales of homes priced over $1 million.