The normally slow winter season for the Las Vegas real estate market continued a slight warming trend in March.
Existing-home prices jumped just less than 1 percent last month, bringing the median resale price to $242,000 in Southern Nevada, according to statistics released today by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR). Growth in the winter months always flashes as an encouraging sign for the local market, as spring and summer historically stand as the strongest months for home sales.
Last month’s median price moved up 10 percent from March 2016. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that near the bottom of the recession and housing crisis five years ago, the median home price sat at just $123,000.
“We continue to see a strong demand for housing heading into what is traditionally our best time of year for home sales,” GLVAR President David J. Tina said. “Combined with a tight supply, I think our home prices and home sales may continue to get a boost from the positive economic news we’ve been enjoying lately.”
Current growth could be driven as much by that shortened housing supply as any other factor. GLVAR reported 5,488 single-family homes listed for sale, down 23.9 percent from a year ago.
Southern Nevada has less than a three-month supply of homes for sale, and Realtors consider a six-month supply to be a balanced market.
Cash sales — typically a sign of homes being purchased by investors instead of residents — crept upward in March as well. Statistics showed 29.5 percent of all local properties sold in March being purchased with cash, compared to 27.7 percent a year ago. That figure peaked in February 2013 at 59.5 percent.