Increasingly tight market tougher on Southern Nevada homebuyers

A carpenter takes a measurement at a custom home under construction in the Ridges Las Vegas, a luxury residential community in Summerlin, Thursday, June 11, 2015.

Summer usually ushers in prime homebuying season in Southern Nevada, but that could change drastically in 2017.

A severe housing shortage continues to befall the valley, driving up prices and creating major competition among buyers for the few available homes.

The median sale price of an existing single-family home in Southern Nevada surged to $250,000 in May, according to data released Monday by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR). That’s a jump of more than .4 percent from last month and more than 9.1 percent from May 2016.

As the school year concludes, activity in both the new and existing home market tends to increase throughout Southern Nevada. With the supply of resale homes dwindled down below a two-month supply, though, local Realtors anticipate a more difficult market for buyers.

“We’re dealing with a housing shortage, and our housing supply has been getting tighter every month,” GLVAR President David J. Tina said. “This is creating challenges for potential buyers and for our members.”

“Homes are selling faster each month too, so buyers need to be aggressive and move quickly when they find a home they like," Tina said. "At the same time, it’s encouraging to see that we’re still able to sell more homes each month and that home prices are increasing, but at a more gradual pace.”

A six-month supply of available homes is considered to be a healthy market, according to industry experts.

GLVAR showed 4,972 single-family homes listed for sale at the conclusion of May. That’s down more than 34.8 percent from a year ago. Sales also have been increasing. More than 3,500 single-family homes sold in May, moving up more than 22 percent from last month and almost 30 percent from last May.

Short sales accounted for 3.1 percent of all local sales last month, and another 3.7 percent of May sales were bank-owned. Both numbers represent significant drops from last year as Southern Nevada’s housing market recedes further from recession.

Real Estate

CORRECTION: This version corrects certain percentages that were originally provided by GLVAR. | (June 7, 2017)

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