Market Update: Las Vegas Real Estate Prices Continue Growth While Inventory Shortages Cause Sales Slowdown
Market Update: Las Vegas Real Estate Prices Continue Growth While Inventory Shortages Cause Sales Slowdown
LAS VEGAS, NV – As an example of scarcity not being able to keep up with demand, the ongoing housing shortage in red-hot real estate market Las Vegas has begun to take its toll on sales; while reports indicate that prices on houses and apartments continue to rise, the lack of available options in the market – and the inability of local developers to continuously produce new units at a pace which adequately satisfies demand – has caused a slight cool-down on home sales in the region.
As of current time, Las Vegas possesses less than a two-month supply of homes available for sale on the market; for any given area’s real estate market to be considered “balanced,” a six-month supply is typically called for. And it’s this imbalance – coupled with ever-increasing demand thanks to a rebounding economy and subsequent growing populace – that is driving home the fact that there are simply not enough homes for sale in Southern Nevada.
Part of the overall issue is that, while numerous developers and contractors are going about the business of constructing more properties, they are simply proving unable to keep up with demand at a sufficient pace given the rapid expansion of the market in the last few years, according to a statement by Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors President Christopher Bishop.
I’ve heard reports saying that they can’t employ enough people to build enough homes to keep up with the supply and demand. I wouldn’t say the market has slowed down. I would say the effects of the shortage have now caught up with us,” he said. “Sales have continued to go up over the last few years, even as our inventory has been going down. But with fewer homes on the market each month, it seems like it was only a matter of time before it started to affect sales.”
Currently, the median price for a single-family home in the Southern Nevada region during the month of February 2018 was approximately $275,000; this represents a 3.8 increase from the previous month and an impressive 14.6 percent jump from the same period one year prior. Meanwhile, the median price last month of townhouses and condominiums was $150,000, a whopping increase of 27.1 percent from February 2017. All told, the grand total of homes, townhouses, and condominiums sold during the month of February 2018 came in at 2,704; this represents an overall decrease of 5.4 percent from 2017, although the sales of condos and townhouses did rise 1.8 percent.
All in all, this news merely proves that Las Vegas real estate is hot, and shows no sign of cooling down in the near future. Clearly, more resources need to be allocated into the region to up construction rates to satisfy an ever-present and ever-increasing demand as Southern Nevada continues to grow and prosper.
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About the Author
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® and reports for independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher helps keep a keen-eye on what's happening in the Las Vegas Nevada community on behalf of Shelter Realty Inc.